Taiwan Today

These days, displays of lanterns are held at many places, including department stores. One of the best places to view lanterns in Taipei is a Buddhist or Taoist temple. The lanterns shown on the opposite page were part of a temple show. Figures are from Chinese folktales. Among the most popu­lar lantern themes is the dragon, which is a fear­some beast in Western legend but a benevolent one in China. Dragons are symbols of dignity and the bringers of good luck. In dynastic times, the emperor occupied the Dragon Throne. Chinese still say "Wang-tse ch'eng-lung", an expression of hope that one's son will become a dragon (man of dignity). The dragon ship (left) was a contest entry. Those who ride the dragon ship will reach their destination without difficulty, because Lung Wang (the Dragon King) is also the god of rain and water and no evil spirit dares to offend him. Not so long ago, you made your own lanterns or went without. Now commercialization has come to the Lantern Festival, as to most everything else. Lanterns at right are displayed in shops. Prices are so reasonable that few people go to the bother of handcrafting their own these days. As can be seen, jet planes have joined the lantern parade. Bottom right, mini dragon dancers turn out to add noise and· action to the Lantern Festival.

What's a Chinese New Year season without dragon and lion dances? From the New Year to Lantern Festival, a period of two weeks, dragons chase the pearl and the lion cavorts for his comedian partner. Troupes give these dances throughout Taiwan—in villages as well as cities. One of Taipei's favorite dragon dancing teams (left) is made up of American service­men, who visit local schools and institutions of both countries. Dragon dances require a large number of participants. They need the stamina of a bull and the agility of a deer. The lion dance troupes are smaller and tend to be commercialized. They perform in front of business establishments to drive away evil spirits and assure a year of good fortune. A red envelope of money is given the dancers. If the lion has to "climb" to the 2nd or 3rd floor, the price is higher. Firecrackers accompany all dances.

Drama, floats and feasting are also part of the Lunar New Year merrymaking. One of the strange customs still to be seen in Taiwan is folk drama performed on stilts (top). The scene shown here is from the famed "Hsi Yu Chi" (Record of a Journey to the West), a 16th century adventure tale. An omnicompetent monkey (Sun Wu-kung) overcomes superhuman obstacles as he escorts Hsuan Tsang, a Buddhist priest, on a journey to the Western Paradise (India) to obtain the Sutras. Street parades are not always such a much during the New Year's season but they never fail to attract a crowd, including the small fry who are having their winter vacation (bottom). Among the delica­cies are rice dumplings made in round (yuan) shape to symbolize a new beginning. "Round" implies harmony in Chinese, so this is a food that will help the family get off on the right food. Turtle cakes are for longevity because the turtle lives so long.

Taiwan has nearly 5,000 Buddhist and Taoist temples. Although the Chinese are usually considered an a-religious people, it is esti­mated that about half of the 14 million peo­ple of Taiwan visit temples or pay tribute to their ancestors at home on the occasion of the Lantern Festival. However, it is not fair to say that Chinese worship ancestors. They do not. Their attitude is the very pragmatic one that without forbears, there is no existence. So it is that according to the great sage Mencius, the most unfilial act of all is not to have progeny. In an overpopulated world, this may no longer matter but old beliefs and customs die very hard. The Chinese Communists are try­ing to wipe out the family but without much success. Religious exercise and bows to an­cestors are frowned upon but carried out in secret. The syncretism of free China allows Buddhism and Taoism to exist side by side with no conflict. In fact the faithful of one use the temples of the other as the occasion warrants. But the beliefs are different.