Taiwan Today

To 81's top word men

The strobe lights flashed their camera images and united with televi­sion spotlights to flood the main hall of Taipei's Armed Forces Cultural Center with super-daylight.

But the lights did not reveal the usual glittering stars of stage and screen - but a group of more sedately dressed, somewhat reserved personalities from the world of words. This was the annual Golden Tripod Awards Cere­mony, the occasion on which the publishing and recording industries recognize the accomplishments of, mostly, "behind-the-screens" colleagues - the writers, lyricists, editors, poets, technicians and others who manipulate the recorded word.

Over 1000 word industry representatives attended the ceremony to applaud awards to outstanding colleagues who help staff the newspapers, magazines, recording and publishing companies they manage and work for. In many ways, this year's ceremony has been more impressive than previous shows.

Sponsored by the Government In­formation Office, the proceedings were televised for the first time in their six year history. Through the most power­ful medium of our time, the general public shared in recognition on a show­ biz scale of mostly, non-entertainment figures, and heard the winners respond to awards with words of joy and wis­dom. The awards, themselves, were increased to 14 in four categories this year: the book award, author award, and the cover design award in the Book Category; the editor's award, art design award and magazine award in the Magazine Category; the lyrics award, melody award, singing performance award and recording award in the Recording Category and the reporting award, news commentary award, colum­nist's award and news photography award in the Journalism Category.

The Golden Tripod ceremony this year was conducted by well-known figures in the news, literary and record­ing arenas. Noted poet Yu Kuang­-chung and writer and radio program hostess Lo Lan were the emcees for the Book Category. Publisher Liu Shau­-tang of Biography Magazine and editor Chien Ching-hui of the Literary Criticism Magazine were emcees for the Magazine Category. Radio program hostess Tao Hsiao-ching and singer­ comedian Chang Ti co-hosted the Recording Category. Finally, China Daily News deputy director Huang Chao-yen and Chang Hsu-hua, chair­man of the Journalism Department of Chinese Culture University, emceed the Journalism Category.

Dr. James Soong, director general of the sponsoring Government In­formation Office, after welcoming the participants, urged the TV audience to give books and records as New Year presents, "to enrich the spirit of our lives and to nourish our flourishing publishing and recording industries."

A relaxed mood characterized the proceedings. Lists of winners were announced prior to the ceremony. Golden-Tripod-award-winning works were introduced by a multi-media slide and films display as the winners ac­cepted the awards.

Three Hundred Years of Taiwan (editor Huang Tien-ching), The Music Student's Encyclopedia (editor Hsu Chang-hui) and A Treasury of Chinese Classics (editor Kao Shang-ching) shared the book award. Editor Kao of the Classics said he determined to compile the massive series of 40 volumes -a modern language version of works of Chinese classic literature and philosophy- out of his own love and respect for ancient China's sages and writers.

Sun Hsiao-ying of Young Lion, Kuo Ming-yen and Wu Hwei-kuo of Popular Science, and Liu Hsu-hwa of Crown shared the editor's award in the Magazine Category.

Editor Wu, commenting on use in Taiwan of foreign technical terms, expressed his hope that through popular participation, "science will come to speak fluent Chinese, too."

Singers Shi Shiao-rong, Tang Hsiao-shi and Tsai Ching shared the singing performance award and, in turn, re­ warded the audience with performances I of their winning songs.

Reporter Lee Li-kuo of the China Times won a reporting award for his poignant series on refugees living in the Thai-Cambodian border camps. Cheng Rong-nin of the Great China Evening News won a reporting award for her features on rural construction in Taiwan.

News commentary awards were shared by economists Wang Tsuo-rong of the China Times, Lu Long-lin of Young Warrior's Daily and Yang Nai­-fang also of the China Times.

Economist Wang noted that the specialists of our times, while assuming their traditional roles in helping build a just and prosperous society, should not forget they have access to a new assistant - mass communications.

The real winner of the day, it is hoped, was the general public. As Huang Nan-hui, Tomorrow’s World Magazine editor, and the winner of the magazine art design award, noted: "As long as one works hard, tomorrow is bound to be a better day than today." And inspired to work harder, presumably, as a result of enhanced public recognition, the writers, artists and technicians involved will turn out greater spiritual feasts for a hungering public.

COMPOSER FLIES TO U.S.

Sitson Ma, celebrated composer and pianist who defected from Red China a decade ago and is now an American resident, left for the United States after contributing his first Chinese ballet, Romance in the Dragon Palace, in Taipei. The Romance in the Dragon Palace, the first ballet composed and performed by Chinese in the Republic of China, roused high interest 'and notice in the local art world.

CELLIST FROM MAINLAND:

Chooses freedom in ROC

Miss Li Tien-hui is the eighth stu­dent from mainland China to defect to the West. The 41-year-old cellist, who was studying music at the University of Minnesota, arrived in Taipei from the United States.

Dressed in maroon suit and white blouse, Miss Li demonstrated her skills on the cello for the reporters, playing a suite by Bach. She followed with a rendition of the popular tune "Hymn to the Republic of China," written by Liu Chia-chang.

Miss Li chose to defect and come to the Republic of China in spite of a scholarship she received from the Peiping regime to study in America.

She said that on the mainland she had been teaching music at the Tientsin Music Conservatory for the past 17 years, with the exception of nearly five years during the Cultural Revolu­tion (1966-1975) when she was sent to work in the fields. "During that period, I was not allowed to practice my music," she said.

She said that she saw countless others like herself, pressured by the Communist authorities.

"Such oppression of innocent people initiated my desire to free myself from the Communist system," Miss Li, a graduate of the Shengyang Music Conservatory, explained.

Miss Li's father was a diplomat before the Communist takeover, and her mother was very active in charity work. They came from the traditional Chinese intellectual family, a target for the Red Guards during the Cul­tural Revolution.

After many trials, her endeavors at the cello finally won her a scholar­ship to study at the University of Minnesota last March. During her stay in the United States she had the oppor­tunity to meet the young Chinese violinist Lin Chao-liang and cellist Ma Yo-yo, both of whom advised her to go to Taiwan.

Any lingering hope on her part that the Communist system on the mainland would soften was dispelled with the new crackdown on such outspoken writers as Pai Hua, she said. Thus her decision to come to Taiwan.

TEA RITES OF ANCIENT CHINA:

Old Ceremony Revived

Serving a distinguished guest a cup of fine tea is a typical Chinese way of expressing hospitality.

Since Emperor Shen Nung of China discovered the use of tea some 4,700 years ago, according to legend, tea has been associated with ancient China, a land of grandeur and mystery in the eyes of modern day Chinese as wel1 as a Marco Polo legacy in the West.

Tea drinking and serving tea to guests were first mentioned in a book written some 2,050 years ago in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 219 A.D.). It is known, however, that tea drinking became very closely related to every­day Chinese life in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 A.D.), after the issuance of the treatise by Lu Yu - "The Art of Tea Drinking." He gave a clear picture of tea processing and graded the quality of various types of tea leaves. Most of al1, he suggested how to appreciate a cup of good tea: pro­per preparation, participation in and appreciation of a serene atmosphere.

The tea ceremony nowadays is, properly, a tourist attraction in Japan. While enjoying the Japanese tea in an exquisite little cup, few tourists may recal1 the origins of the ceremony. Tea drinking spread from China to Japan and other countries in the Orient during the Tang Dynasty. The Japanese further enhanced the art of tea drinking by creatively adapting the ceremony; it became a Japanese cult in the 15th century.

In the meantime, tea drinking customs in China gradually varied in form in different parts of the country due to dynastic transitions, expansions and upheavals.

As time went by, people of various provinces developed unique tea treat­ments. For many, tea became only a favorite beverage. For some, tea be­came something more.

Many Hakkas, for example, consi­dered serving tea important in an arranged meeting between a girl and her prospective mate. The relatives of the man observed the poise and bearing of the girl as she served the tea. Thus, every Hakka girl was supposed to be familiar with the way to prepare and serve a cup of tea.

Today, the tea ceremony is more of a pastime for many, who enjoy collecting tea utensils, preparing tea and tasting the various flavors.

A group of such "hobbyists" in­tends to revive the glory of China as the inventor of tea, and has organized the Chung Hwa Tea Drinking Society in Taipei for that purpose.

A unique contest in tea-serving was held last December. Men as well as women participated. Each partici­pant was required to prepare a cup of tea using the same water, tea leaves and utensils. The judges evaluated the performance by tasting each lot of tea, watching the tea handling skills and grading the color of each brew.

Experts believe that a cup of fine tea should be prepared in pottery, using water from a spring or a deep well.

A well-used ceramic tea pot is said to be especially good, because the pot has absorbed the flavor each time it has been used.

A story about an old tea pot says that a rich landlord once visited the humble shelter of a poor woman. He saw an old pot well stained by tea. Recognizing the value of the old pot, he gave the old lady a generous sum for it. He told the old woman he would pick up the pot the next day. The old woman, overwhelmed by the sum of money, felt obliged to clean the pot.

Of course the rich man accepted the shining but now worthless little pot with some chagrin, his culinary treasure ruined.

Truly, the poise of a young girl is observable as she serves tea. The manner of drinking tea reveals much about the character and personality of anyone. Knowledge of these aspects is one of the objectives of the Society, which also feels that the Republic of China, as an important exporter of tea, should introduce the art of tea drinking to people all over the world.

In the past few years, several tea houses featuring the Chinese tradi­tional touch have been set up in Taipei. Tea tasting can be a delight in a tea house decorated with Chinese paintings and scrolls of calligraphy, as beautiful hostesses in traditional Chinese cos­tumes play traditional musical instru­ments.

Tea dealers in Taipei will often serve their customers with the best varieties of tea and instruct them in proper preparation.