A three-month exhibit of Chinese culture opened at the Chung shan Museum in suburban Taipei on New Year's Day. On display are paintings, jade, porcelains, musical instruments, and many others. Art objects suggesting the spirit of traditional Chinese culture are emphasized. On the first floor is the famous painting depicting the stories of the "filial 24" together with portraits of the 24 loyal ministers. The so-called "four treasures" (wen fang szu pao - brush, paper, ink stick, and ink slab) to be found on the desk of a Chinese classical scholar are also to be seen. The exhibit is in response to the Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement.
The 21st Provincial Fine Art Show at the Provincial Museum in Taipei's New Park brought together 163 Chinese paintings, 109 Western-style oils and watercolors, and 22 sculptures. Introduced at the opening were three prize winners: Su Feng-nan in Chinese painting, Liao Hsiu-ping in Western-style painting, and Ho Heng-hsiung in sculpture. "This event," said Chen Hui-kun, one of the judges, "is aimed at providing the rising generation with the right spur for developing their talents. On the one hand, we want them to assimilate what's best in our rich art heritage, and on the other, to work as vanguards of new fields of fine arts."
The 294 works of art will be seen in Taichung and Tainan after the Taipei show.
The exhibition of tray landscapes at the China Post gallery in Taipei was the first of its kind in Taiwan. Among the 90 displays, some were of scenic attractions on the Chinese mainland.
Lin Hsueh-chieh, known in art circles as Yu Tien Lou Chu, is the creator of the miniature garden collection.
Tracing the history of miniature landscaping, Lin said: "It was already very popular in China in the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.) and was at the zenith of its glory in the Sung dynasty (960-1,280 A.D.), the time that also saw the production of China's best porcelain pieces." Probably it was started by scholars who loved gardening but could not afford real gardens.
"In creating miniature gardens with bits of trees and rocks," Lin said, "many satisfied their love of nature and art."
The 90 landscapes showed a wide range of style. Some were wall hangings in polished wooden frames.
Other one-man Taipei shows included:
1. Religious paintings by the young Christian artist P. Chen at the Hai Tien gallery.
2. Reproductions of cave wall paintings by Prof. Hu Ke-ming at the China Post gallery.
3. Modern works by an American, R. Gruhlke, at the International gallery.
A Chinese money exhibition marked the 12th anniversary of the National Historical Museum in downtown Taipei. The 20,000-odd coins and bills tell the history of Chinese money.
The U.S. Information Service, Taipei, sponsored a five-day English textbook exhibit at the U.S.I.S. library.
The Postal Museum had an exhibition of greeting cards. Photos of the Vatican Ecumenical Council were shown at the St. Vincent Student Center.
The U.S. Department of Commerce mobile trade fair displayed products of 40 American manufacturers of laboratory apparatus in downtown Taipei.
One Out of Four
Taiwan's student population stood at 3,086,590 as of December 31, according to statistics of the Taiwan Provincial Education Department. This means one of every four persons on Taiwan is a student.
TPED's figures showed 2,364 educational institutions of all levels with 9,989 faculty members.
The student breakdown showed 78,878 attending 555 kindergartens, 2,257,720 at 1,143 elementary schools, 663,653 at 551 middle schools, 85,346 undergraduates at 56 colleges and universities, and 993 graduate students at 59 schools.
Not included are students on the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu.
Meaning of Rebirth
While government authorities went on providing policies and guidelines for the Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement, the problem of defining rebirth was taken up by the press. The English-language China News of Taipei urged clarification by the Kuomintang. The paper maintained that the movement should be more than glorification of the distant past. "In art," the paper said, "cultural renaissance means going forward to new forms and new ideas in the Chinese spirit. In literature, it implies portrayal of Chinese life and thought without ... imitation of either the old East or the new West ... It must be a flowering of Chinese thought ... "
A leading Chinese-language paper said:
"From the study of history we come to understand that the Renaissance in Europe was the spiritual awakening of man - an awakening to the future, the hope, and the dawn." The paper urged dedication on the part of writers and artists. "Without an urge that comes from their inmost minds, without an understanding of what our times need, without the mood of devout and earnest prayer - the efforts of writers and artists will get nowhere." The paper said writers and artists must free themselves from the shackles of publishers of trash and the movie industry - so they may create for their time, their country, and their people, and their deepest feelings. "Only in this way will there be a rebirth of literature and art and with it a radiantly blooming spring ... "
The paper also published an article by Dr. Lin Yutang entitled "How To Bring About A Renaissance of Literature and Arts." Dr. Lin also cited the Renaissance in Europe, and C0mmended a book by the late Liang Chi-chao, an erudite Chinese scholar, The History of Chinese Scholarship and Thinking in the Last 300 Years.
Science Development:
The promotion of science development is expected to be one of the major functions of the projected National Security Council.
In pursuance of a resolution adopted by the National Assembly last March, the new agency operating under President Chiang Kai-shek is expected to be activated soon. It will take over the work of the present National Defense Council.
Satellite Station
An earth station will be built on Taiwan to bring the island into the global satellite communications system.
The Chinese Government Radio Administration has asked the International Telecommunication Satellite Consortium to provide experts to determine site of the station and assist in detailing equipment specifications.
Taiwan's overseas telecommunications now depend on a high-frequency system handicapped by wave propagation. The satellite system will provide signals largely free of interference. The Republic of China is expected to enter the satellite age by early 1969.
INTELSAT launched the world's first commercial communications satellite - known as “Early Bird” - over the Atlantic Ocean on April 6, 1965. It has capacity of 240 telephone channels linking North America and Europe. A satellite of the same type and capacity since has been orbited above the Pacific.
The global system will be completed by late 1968. Two satellites will be placed in equatorial orbit, another over the Pacific, and a fourth over the Indian Ocean. Each will have capacity of 1,200 channels.
INTELSAT has a membership of 54 nations. Through the Pacific satellite, Taiwan will have direct communications with the West Coast of the United States, Australia, Hongkong, and other Asian countries.