Taiwan Panorama 2017 Jun

1066 42 6
Vol. 42 No. 6 June 2017

CHINESEENGLISH BILINGUAL MONTHLY ISSN 1991-525X
6
Taiwan Panorama

Behind the Silver Screen

NT$150
US$5
HK$40
600

A Moment Frozen in Time

I n days past, the fortunes of Hsinchus Neiwan Theater
rose with the flourishing of the mining industry. And
when the industry declined, it was converted into a

restaurant steeped in the theaters former glory, where
old movies play to patrons dreaming of times gone by.
(photo and text by Chuang Kung-ju/tr. by Robert Green)

10661
6511

Publisher: David Tawei LEE

Director: Paul Kuoboug CHANG

Editor: LIU Yingfeng

Deputy Editor: LUNG Pei-ning

Writers: Cathy TENG, CHEN Chun-fang

Director of Layout: HU Ju-yu

Art Editors: HSIAO Ying-tsen, Henry WANG

Photographic Coordinator: CHUANG Kung-ju

Photographic Director: Jimmy LIN

Photojournalist: LIN Min-hsuan

English Editors: Audrey CHEN, Robert TAYLOR,
Phil NEWELL 40

Japanese Editors: YAMAGUCHI Yukina,
Shila SHIH

* * *

Senior Administrative Editor: DUAN Shu-hwa

Deputy Manager: CHEN Jyun-wei

Chief of General Affairs: CHEN Shu-ing

General Affairs: S.H. LEE

Circulation: HO Shih-lung

100512
Address: No. 2, Tianjin Street, Taipei 10051,
Taiwan, ROC
100998-398
E-mail: service@taiwan-panorama.com
P.O. Box 8-398, Taipei Fuxing Bridge, Taipei City

10099, Taiwan, ROC
+886-2-2397-0633
Fax: +886-2-2397-0655
http://www.taiwan-panorama.com/ * * *

l
The Movies Hidden Heroes EDITORS NOTE
T he film is over and the audience goes

home, still enjoying the afterglow of
their pleasurable adventure and the lin-
serve old traditions from the golden age
of the movies as community entertainment.
Three other stories in this issue, written at
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Republic of China: NT$150 per copy,
NT$1500/year, NT$2600/2 years
Asia & Pacic Regions: US$40/year,
US$72/2 years by airmail
North America: US$32/year,
gering charisma of the on-screen stars. But different times and in different places, turn US$55/2 years by regular mail
Elsewhere: US$45/year,
there are people the audience never sees out to have a common thread: light. Chou US$80/2 years by airmail
Foley artists, film editors, projectionists, Lien, an internationally renowned lighting Sinorama Magazine
951 Taiwan
and many morewho play a critical role in engineer, has decided to devote his talents Panorama
GPN: 2008000038 ISSN1991-525X
making the magic that is the movies. to creating world-class lighting designs for

Taiwan Panorama has over the years had local historic sites like Beigangs Chaotian
186
cover features on film many times. But Temple and the old walled town of Heng
229
these have mainly focused on famous direc- chun. Meanwhile, the Coretronic Culture +886-2-2915-0123
tors and actors: those in the limelight. For and Arts Foundation is hoping to restore +886-2-2397-0633
0128106-5
this issue, our editors opted to go behind pride and luster to remote and neglected 1501500
2600
the scenes. In one article, we lend an ear to localities through adding and subtracting
Taiwan Panorama (USPS 000624) is published
Foley artist Hu Ding-yi, with 40 years of ex- lighting. And finally, artist Louis Yen, a seal monthly, US$32.00 per year, by Kwang Hwa
Publishing (USA), Inc., 3731 Wilshire Blvd 104,
perience making sound magic. And through engraver turned painter who now lives in Los Angeles, CA 90010 USA. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without written
the story of film editor Liao Ching-song, Canada and has achieved worldwide fame, permission is prohibited. Periodicals postage paid
at Los Angeles, California.
readers will understand that the greatest has devised his own method for bringing POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Kwang
Hwa Publishing (USA), Inc., 3731 Wilshire Blvd
films ever could have ended up as wasted out the light and shadow within brushwork. 104, Los Angeles, CA 90010 USA.
celluloid without the erudite touch of a All are shining lights of Taiwan.
Readers in the US & Canada should subscribe
master editor. In our continuing series Old Resi- through Kwang Hwa Publishing (USA), Inc.
Kwang Hwa Publishing
Entering the profession as young men, dences, this month we visit Changhua, the (USA), Inc.
3731 Wilshire Blvd 104, Los Angeles, CA 90010
but now grey-haired, they have person- hometown of Lai Ho, known as the father of USA
Tel: 1-888-829-3866 Fax: 1-213-389-0021
ally witnessed half the history of Taiwan modern Taiwanese literature and Taiwans

cinema. Through the changing economic Lu Xun. Although his actual residence is
President: K. T. YANG
fortunes of the industry, they have retained no longer extant, Lais lifelong pursuit of General Manager: Jenny WU
Assistants: WU Chia-ying, Thomas KOH
their enthusiasm and wonder for film, and social justice has left footprints all over the

stayed true to their professions for decades. town. Returning to the place where he lived

But they are far from the only ones to have sheds new light on the message that Lai
All rights reserved. Photos and articles may not be
a lifelong passion for the cinematic world. hastranscending time and spacefor a reprinted without our permission.
If you wish to reprint any of our articles or
In this issue we also report on Mori new generation of readers. photographs, please contact our senior
administrative editor.
yama and Yan Jhen-fa, two masters of the May is here, and with it the renewed Damaged or misbound copies returned to us will
be gladly replaced.
disappearing art of hand-painted movie blossoming of life. This issue of Taiwan Pan-
billboards and posters; and younger peo- orama also is bursting with life, and offers
ple like Gao Xiangqing, Jiang M
inghe, and you a new season of splendors. l
Chen Weiqiao, who have struggled to pre- (Liu Yingfeng/tr. by Phil Newell)

CONTENTS 1066 42 6 Vol. 42 No. 6 June 2017
Cover Story
6
Behind the Silver Screen
27

10

Noises On: Foley Artist Hu Ding-yi

20

Reel Erudition:
Film Editor Liao Ching-song

36
27

Projectionist Gao Xiangqing:
Conjuring the Magic of Open-Air Cinema

36

Still Portraits for Moving Pictures:
Taiwans Cinema Billboard Art Tradition

46
46 Editors Note

Shadows of the Past:
Reviving Old Movie Theaters

Postcards from Home
01 60
The Movies Hidden Heroes A Moment Frozen in Time Variety Pages

Cover: The feast of moving images on the cinema screen
depends on the joint efforts of many people behind the
scenes. (photo by Chuang Kung-ju, design by Hu Ju-yu)
Moving Pictures
68
Colors in Bloom

Lighting the World
78
78

Chou Lien, Child of Light

88
Illuminating the Land and Its Legacies
Coretronic Culture and Arts Foundation

Artists and Artisans
96

106
Louis Yen:
Persevering Painter of Light

Old Residences
106

Let the Flowers of Freedom Bloom!
Reading Lai Ho in Changhua

New Forces in Culture
116
116

The Powerful Sounds of Judys
Harmonica Ensemble

COVER STORY

B ehind the Silver Screen

1 2
Foley artist Film editor

courtesy of Activator Marketing Company
5432

8 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

3 4 5
Projectionists Film poster painters Old theaters
Behind the
Silver Screen
W ithout need for spells or

wands, movies magically
astonish and amaze audiences
through manipulation of light and
sound. Foley artists use sound to
create ambience, and film editors
use clever cuts and transitions
to startle the senses, working to-
gether to create an audiovisual
journey for the viewer.
In the old days, whenever a new
film arrived in a theater, masters
of the art of hand-painted movie
posters and billboards would give
the audience an advance taste of
the new adventure that awaited
them. A few men still keep this
grand tradition alive. At outdoor
film showings, once commonplace
in Taiwan, projectionistswield-
ing their projectors like Aladdins
lampsuse cloth screens to take
you back in time. And at restored
old theaters, each individual,
sitting in the dark, can enjoy

his or her own personal magical

experience. l
(Cathy Teng/tr. by Phil Newell)
photos by Jimmy Lin

9
COVER STORY

Noises On:
Foley Artist Hu Ding-yi

18951927
32

1975
402016

Flapping a piece of
cloth around to capture
the sound of qinggong
masters scampering
up walls and skipping
over rooftops, Hu
Ding-yi himself is like
a highly skilled martial
arts masterwho
nonetheless prefers to
keep a low profile. (photo
by Lin Min-hsuan)
T he worlds first motion picture was
s c r e e n e d i n Par i s i n 1895. T he
40 years of his life to film production. In
2016, A Foley Artist, Taiwans first docu-

F o l e y

Jazz Singer, the first movie with sound, mentary about film sound effects, debuted Hu Ding-yi loves his work
as a Foley artist. It brings
hit theater screens in 1927. Between those at the Golden Horse Film Festival. Direc- him joy and a sense of
two years lies films silent era. tor Wang Wan-jo chose to focus on Hu, accomplishment. (photo by
Lin Min-hsuan)
In 1975 Hu Ding-yi started working at a national treasure, exploring the three
the Central Motion Picture Corporation, components of film soundwords, music
where he worked on sound effects as a Fo- and sound effectsas a way of document-
ley artist for more than 100 films, devoting ing the history of film audio in Taiwan.
11

Foley
After apprenticing as
a member of Central
Motion Pictures third
class of technicians, Hu
has spent most of his
life working sound for
movies.
6

Foley artist

1975
2001

Foley

Hu is the very picture of concentration as to make sound recordings, how to screen
he follows the movements of a films charac- films, and how to create sound effects.

ters while making realistic, perfectly timed The masters pointed the way, but the Hus workbooks are full of
sounds. He holds dried longans in one students needed to hone their craft on their notes about the actions
in a film and the sound
hand, his fingers applying pressure to create own. Hu spent six years learning the ropes effects that are needed
to accompany them.
a crackling sound: its the sound of a neck before he took responsibility for handling
breaking in a martial arts film, and it can the sound on a film himself. He cant even
send a shiver down your spine. For a sword remember what film it was, but he remem-
leaving its scabbard, Hu stares intently for bers the master standing alongside and
the right moment and then rubs his hands giving him encouragement. Back then the

against a clay tool he has made. He flaps sound was all added in postproduction,
around a piece of cloth to match the sounds and the voice actors and sound techni-
When Hu was young,
of qingg ong mastersgravity-defying cians worked together on the same large he worked the sound for
Accidental Legend (1996),
kung-fu fightersscampering up walls and sound stage. In those years, he worked on a Wang Shaudi film.
over rooftops. countless films, including several that won (courtesy of Hu Ding-yi)
Relying on the simplest of devices, Hu

can create sound effects that are very true
to life. He is one of only a small number of
such workersknown as Foley artistsin
Taiwan.
A craft learned at Central
In 1975 Hu Ding-yi first came to the Cen-
tral Motion Picture Corporation as a member
of the third class of film technicians in train-
ing there. Immediately he was assigned to
the sound department, where he apprenticed
with experienced technicians, learning from
them how to put audio tracks onto film, how
13

Foley

1927
Jack Donovan Foley

Foley

FoleyFoley

Foley
40
Over his 40-year career Foley

in film sound, Hu has
learned or invented
countless tricks of the
trade. Foley

F o l e y

When Hu is working as
a Foley artist, you can
find him staring intently
at the films action, deftly
overcoming any obstacle
to produce the proper
sounds.
Golden Horse Awards for best sound, such artists job is not something that just anyone
as Strawman (1987), Banana Paradise (1989), can do well. Foley artists need to be very fa-
and Green Green Leaves of Home (1993). miliar with whats happening on screen and
When Central purchased Dolby recording have quick reactions, explains Hu. Whats
equipment in 2001, finally bringing the studio more, getting the timing just right is abso-
into the digital sound era, older technicians lutely key. Thats the hardest part.
found it difficult to overcome their unfamil- He uses a wide array of tools to create
iarity with the new technology. Consequently, sounds. He pinches Styrofoam, applying
Hu lost a lot of work as a sound technician pressure and then relaxing his grip, to create
and began to focus on jobs as a Foley artist. the sound of loads swinging on carrying
Jack Foley: Film sound magician poles. He uses a pudding cup on a board to
Back in the early days all sound in film reproduce the clip-clop of horses hooves.
was added in postproduction. Aiming to How did he discover these sound sources?
synchronize sounds to the exact pace of He relies on constantly observing and touch-
movements in a film, Jack Donovan Foley, ing things: Dont touch what you shouldnt,
starting in 1927, would recreate sounds in but put your hands all over what you can.
postproduction to accompany the film. That
approach is still used today, and those who
do that job are now known as Foley artists.

With the evolution of technology, it be-
F o l e y
came possible to film while simultaneously
recording sound. Yet catching voices is the Sound effects that
are hard to create
main emphasis of live sound recording, leav- digitally are added in
postproduction by Foley
ing sounds created by movements, such as artists.
footsteps, the flipping of newspaper pages,
the shutting of doors or the sound of eating
to be captured during postproduction by Fo-
ley artists. Although it may look easy, a Foley
15
F o l e y

Foley
Foley artist

Foley
F o l e y Foley

Foley artist

X

Foley


Its not just imitation: the work can also sion. An important part of a Foley artists
involve re-creation. Wang Wan-jo recalls an work is studying the quality of sounds.
anecdote about pigs ears. One day, she was He cited The Last Painting (2017), the Chen

sitting at her desk at Central and saw a plate- Hung-i film that kicked off this year s

ful of pigs ears with a note on which Hu Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival. When
had written: Left over from work, please the leading man pulled out the leading What implements can be
used to create the sounds
enjoy. They sparked Wangs imagination: I womans eyes, they relied on the Foley artist of a sword leaving its
scabbard, or of bones
thought he might have been using them to to produce convincing sounds that would being crushed? (photos
enable audiences to suspend their disbelief. by Lin Min-hsuan)
make the sounds of childrens fingers being
eaten for a film version of the Chinese fairy The Foley artist for The Last Painting was
tale Tiger Auntie. That made Hu laugh. It none other than Hu Ding-yi. After racking
was because the actors in the film ate pigs his brain about how to produce the needed
ears, so the Foley artist had to eat pigs ears soundsa symphony of squishy viscous
too. Pigs ears have cartilage in them, so the liquids, crushed bones, and torn muscles
sound of eating them is different from the he brought a fish head to the sound room to
sound of eating meat. It was a demonstra- produce something quite true to life.
tion of just how precise a listener he is. A Foley Artist debuts
At the special screening of A Foley Artist, The work of a Foley artist goes on behind
senior sound mixer Tsao Yuan-fong, who a curtain behind the curtain.
was once Hus apprentice, said: Foley tech- Master Hu would be a top Foley artist in
niques are all artifice, so creativity is the Hollywood too, Tsao explains. Its just that
most important skill to have in the profes- in Taiwan the profession isnt a recognized
17

The lives of Hu and
Wangone old and one
youngcrossed paths
with A Foley Artist. (photo
by Lin Min-hsuan) 20174

Foley


field, so he can spend his whole life doing A Foley Artist takes as its starting point
it and most people wont know who he is. Hus story, and it includes interviews with
Wang Wan-jo adds: Even after visiting his senior voice actors and sound technicians
studio, I was still mystified about how he in Taiwans film industry. It also explores
did his work. Consequently, she decided to the situation of audio production for films
shoot A Foley Artist. across the strait in Hong Kong, Shanghai
There is one scene in the documentary that and Beijing. The senior film critic Lan Tzu-
includes an overhead shot of Hus studio at wei describes A Foley Artist as partly a
Central. A red microphone is set up in the short history of Central Motion Picture and
middle of the room, and there are eight square partly a short history of cinema sound.
Foley pits set into the floor that are used to A Foley Artist helps to draw a blueprint
capture the sounds generated by different sur- for everyone of how sound is created for a
faces, such as earth, sand, pebbles and pools of film.
N G
OK

f o l e y

These signs, reading
NG, OK, testing,
recording, and in sync
with action, are used by
sound technicians and
Foley artists to communi-
cate during postproduc-
tion work.
water. A great variety of objects are scattered When A Foley Artist formally debuted
here and there, including hula hoops, folding in April, Hu was having to appear at four
chairs, helmets, fire extinguishers, and X-ray different promotional activities a day, and
film sheets. It is in this space that Hu has he was quite unused to standing in the
created countless sounds. There are several spotlight. Much like how Foley artists par-
dozen pairs of high-heel shoes in his collec- ticipate in the film process with little fan-
tion. In Tsai Ming-liangs Vive LAmour (1994), fare, their names appearing only in the long
which won the Golden Lion at the Venice credits at the end of a film, Hu has a low-
Film Festival, actress Yang Kuei-mei wore key personality. Not attracting the bright
heels into the mud in Taipeis Daan Park. lights like a director or actor, he has none-
Hu captured the sound of that emotionally theless played his role of generating sounds
fraught walk one step at a time in this studio. brilliantly for 40 years, making his mark on
Wang cites this example to demonstrate that the history of film in Taiwan. l
Hu is an actor with sound. A Foley artist cre- (Cathy Teng/photos courtesy of Activator
ates sounds for every scene in a film. Marketing Company/tr. by Jonathan Barnard)
19
COVER STORY

Reel Erudition:
Film Editor Liao Ching-song

Justin Chang

17


C asting away your personal judg-
ment, facing the images, watch
ing the film again and again, getting ab-
the same footage repeatedly for five or six
weeks, are so bored they are basically falling
asleep. Liao C
hing-songs tone as he speaks is

sorbed in the footage the director has shot, authoritative, and he is clearly the master of
Film editingat least
discovering and bringing out its life force, his realm: Cut out this part, its weak. Yes, at the level achieved
by Liao Ching-song
and liberating its soul. This is how Liao extend this part a little bit. Ultimately, when requires a lifetime of self-
Ching-song describes film editing. the students watch the post-edited product, cultivation and erudition.
Liao has reached the
their dazed brains get a wake-up shock: How point in his life where he
is fully relaxed and at
With the coming of spring, students at the did it get like this? This cant be the same film ease.
Taipei National University of the Arts are rac- that we got so tired of watching!
ing to finish their graduation projects. Liao Its a real mystery, but just by making a
Ching-song arrives each day at the school at few changes here and there, actors perfor-
9:30 a.m. and doesnt go home until after 5 p.m., mances take on new dynamism, and a film
spending the whole day watching film with is redefined. The line between good and bad,
students. It is only when he gets home and sits between mush and magic, is paper thin.
down, numb and exhausted, that he realizes he A long and winding road
has talked so much that he has lost his voice. Technique aside, Liao C
hing-song wants
Reel after reel, Liao gives his all to teach stu- film editors to listen to what the movie has
dents how to pace, trim, and reassemble mov- to say to you, and discover what the film
ies. The students themselves, having watched is supposed to look like. What he does not
21

shot list

Liao Ching-song used
simplicity to tame
complexity in his
brilliantly emotive editing
of Flowers of Shanghai
(1998). (courtesy of 3H
Productions Ltd.)

197323

1982

365


want them to do is to simply impose their own was all about learning from experience. He
notion of what it should look like. This requires took Liao to the set to observe director Ting
absolute rationality and 100% sensitivity. Shan-hsi filming the war movies Everlasting
Liao often tells students that an editor can Glory (1974) and 800 Heroes (1976). Ting, who
consider him- or herself to be a participant was in the habit of editing as the filming went
engaging with a film, and get completely ab- along, would from time to time throw out a
sorbed, yet at the same time can completely question to the newcomer Liao, Tell me, why
extract him- or herself. The editor can move should it be cut in this particular way? Not
freely back and forth between the two ex- surprisingly Liao was tongue-tied, but then

tremes of the spectrum of absolute emotion Ting would always explain things and demon-
and absolute reason, and choose the most suit- strate to Liao what he meant.
For the making of Flight
able point to come to rest. It was not long after entering CMPC that of the Red Balloon
(2007) in collaboration
So what is it that a film editor does? Liao first encountered director Hou Hsiao- with director Hou Hsiao-
Liao himself, who has been called the mid- hsien, who was filming a military documen- hsien, Liao acted as both
producer and editorial
wife of Taiwan New Wave Cinema, thinks tary for the studio. That was the first project director. (courtesy of
Liao Ching-song)
back over his half-century as an editor and on which the two men collaborated. Little did
takes a rather broad philosophical view of the they know what fate had in store for their fu-
job. He says his own editorial abilities are the ture. They have worked together from the days
result of knowledge slowly and painfully ac- when everything was spliced by hand into the
cumulated over years of self-cultivation. digital era, through all the ups and downs of
The veteran film critic Justin Chang has this Taiwan cinema, and now they are both consid-
to say: The editor is the thinker and the archi- ered epoch-changing figures of their respective
tect in the editing room. He creates and molds crafts. Liao edited every one of Hous feature
the mood and substance of a film, and can alter films, from 1982s The Green, Green Grass of
the audiences point of view. He can destroy a Home through 2015s The Assassin, with the sole
movie or make it a success. exception of 1985s A Time to Live and a Time to
But Liao has never once thought of destroy- Die. We matured together, and he has always
ing a movie. When you are editing you have been a teacher, a friend, and a challenger for
to take things as they are and face facts, but at me. We have similar temperaments, and when
the same time you cant just tamely go along faced with the same problem we often come
with things as they are. So you have to be ut- up with the same answer; sometimes we dont

terly determined to rescue even the worst-shot even have to have a meeting about it.
footage, and get the best you can out of it. Born at the right time
Liao pulled double duty
Liaos opening credits Liao feels that he was born at the right when working on Wan
If life could be edited, where would we find time, reaching maturity just when the Jen's Super Citizen Ko
(1995), not only editing
the first cut of Liaos editing career? cutting-edge young directors of Taiwans New the film but also helping to
write the script. (courtesy
Perhaps 1973 would be the place to start. Wave Cinema were emerging. of Liao Ching-song)
Then aged 23, Liao tested into a film editing It was 1982, and a new top dog, Ming Ji,
training course at the Central Motion Picture had just become head of CMPC. He brought
Corporation. Most of the people who signed the novelist and screenwriter H
siao Yeh and
up for the exam had graduated from theater the director Wu Nien-jen into the companys
or film tech departments; he was one of the planning department, where they were in-
few who was a blank slate. After completing strumental in launching the New Wave with
his training, he started working at the studio the production of In Our Time, a collaborative
as an assistant editor. The editor under whom work by four young filmmakers.
he was studying didnt believe in theory; he Liao edited virtually every one of the films
23

DOS

200760

made by the New Wave directors, and spent came to realize what is meant by the idea of
well over 200 days a year in the editing room. watching unedited film as if it were a living
Eyes glazed, totally silent, hadnt changed my thing, and he has always had great appreci-
clothes, a pitiable look on my face thats how ation for the pacing and rhythm of Edward
everybody saw me back then. Liao thinks back Yangs films. But it was A City of Sadness that
on himself in those days as being like a tree, was the real turning point in Liaos life as a
growing slowly but surely, branch by branch. film editor.
So many great directorsEdward Yang, If Hou Hsiao-hsien had not failed to fol-
Chang Yi, Ko I-chen, Tao Te-chen, Wan Jen, lowed the script when making that film, if he
Tseng Chuang-hsiang. So many great films hadnt wanted to depart from telling the story
Growing Up (1983), That Day, on the Beach (1983), clearly, and if Liaos editing experience and
The Sandwich Man (1983), The Boys from Feng erudition had not by then reached a sufficient
kuei (1983), A City of Sadness (1989). And depth, then Liao would never have been able
each and every director and film posed new to face the vast amount of unedited film, with
challenges, new provocations for Liao, shining no obvious points to make the cuts, without
a light on areas where he could improve and having a nervous breakdown. And as if that
learn, and even completely overturning his were not impressive enough, Liao still had
most fundamental narrative logic. the time and energy to develop the Liao-style
Being able to show an audience, through poeticism and emotional logic.
film, the face of life in Taiwan and the face It was as a result of this experience that
of emotion, historical viewpoints and value Liao realized that films will always put editors
perspectives, and even to strike a blow against to the test, testing not their technique (which

the system by breaking down taboos has to be a given), but whether your own Balancing the rational
and the emotional, Liao
these were themes never touched upon by self-cultivation and self-training are sufficient listens carefully to films,
the so-called three-room movies (movies and also just how thoroughly you can escape and edits out a finished
product that is the film
set mainly in living rooms, cafs and restau- from ideology. These are all things he learned as it was meant to be all
along.
rants, and generally involving middle-class outside the editing room, and he believes that
social themes) that Liao had edited previously. people just entering the field would do well
I have always been the kind of person who to accumulate an adequate amount of this
wants to cut through confusion and see things erudition of slowness, slowness of erudition
with complete clarity. Ive also been curious before they ever begin editing.
about everything, and feel really absorbed When A City of Sadness won the Golden
whenever it comes to problem-solving. Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Liao was of
When this nature crossed paths with New course on hand. Walking on the red carpet,
Wave directors, it caused Liaos thirst for he was not thinking of his personal glory, but
knowledge to explode. Every time he had a rather was hoping that Taiwan could one day
break from editing he would go into sponge produce commercially successful feature films
mode, reading huge numbers of books on and not just art-house cinema for small audi-
psychology, philosophy, religion, classical ences. Its hard to find a good story for a com-
Chinese poetry. He eventually realized that mercial film. In fact its harder to make a good
he had given short shrift to computer technol- commercial film than a good artistic film.
ogy, so he also bought and digested a pile of Liao understands this better than anyone.
books on that subject as well (this was back in In 2006 Liao was named a recipient of the
the era of the DOS operating system). National Award for Arts, and in a biography
The turning point of Liao that Chang Jinn-pei published in 2009,
When editing That Day, on the Beach, Liao she made the following observation about
25
Hou and Liao: As they have grown older, Hou
Hsiao-hsienhas put his life experience into his

films, while Liao Ching-song has put what he

has gained from his reading into his life. Hou
started out playful and lighthearted, while Liao
has ended up playful and lighthearted.
It is now 2017, and Liao is still playful and
2006 lighthearted. His joyful outlook comes from a
kind of emptiness that comes from working
hard to construct a building and then tearing it

down again. Relaxed and at peace, he spends

a lot of time mentoring students and working

with a new generation of directors. His path
Liao Ching-song is
known as the midwife
to Taiwans New Wave
Cinema of the 1980s
and 1990s. Today he
is dedicating himself to
guiding a new generation
of young directors and
film students.
of self-cultivation has by no means reached

an end, and so long as there is some fresh new
editing challenge that will enable this tree
to add a new branch, he will happily jump in
2017
with both feet.

An old Chinese saying describes three

stages of knowledge: See mountains, and
they are mountains. (A person takes every-
thing at face value.) See mountains, and they
are not mountains. (A person realizes that
things are not what they seem.) See moun-
tains, and they are mountains again. (A per-

son sees reality for what it is and is at peace

with that.) We can say that 67-year-old Liao

Ching-song has reached the pinnacle, and sees
farther and more clearly than ever before. l
67 (Su Hui-chao/photos by Chuang Kung-ju/
tr. by Phil Newell)

COVER STORY

Projectionist Gao Xiangqing:
Conjuring the Magic of
Open-Air Cinema
36

196413

40

1970

D o you remember the excitement you
felt as a kid when you helped
decades of experience as a projectionist.
For a time in the 1970s, Gao Jingshan was
set up seats in front of the local temple, the chief technician at Tainans Chunghua
brought along your own snacks, and Theater, where he acted as projectionist
leaned forward with anticipation waiting and maintained the theater s equipment.
for the movie to start? After pornographic films were shown at
As the audiovisual entertainment indus- the theater, however, Gao Jingshan was de-
try expanded, open-air cinema was grad- tained by the police and spent two weeks in
ually squeezed out by movie theaters and jail. The experience prompted him to seek
cable TV. Although the golden days of out- greater freedom as a projectionist by turn-
door movies are long gone, Gao Xiangqing ing to open-air cinema.
and his son Gao Puyuan have not forgot- Gao Xiangq ings first step to becoming
ten the warm feeling of gathering together a projectionist was to study how his father
during screenings in their hometown of rewound films after a showing. He watched
Tainan. To this day, they are preserving the intently as his father operated the rewinding
traditions of open-air cinema and hoping machine, using his fingers as a buffer to con-
to entice new generations to enjoy those trol the rewinding speed and also to check
magical memories from the 1970s. the condition of the film. If he encountered
damage or irregularities, he would stop and
The film projectors sprockets whirr as it inspect it more closely before continuing
projects a movie at 36 frames per second. The with the process. While he checked the film
projectionist must pay constant attention to with one hand, the other held a wooden
the projectors every movement and to the guide that ensured rewinding at a uniform
film feeding through it. The perfect screening width. When business was good, we had
is arrived at only through a delicate dance eight screenings a night, and to make sure
between projector and projectionist. that the film was ready, you can bet we had
An inheritance three generations on to rewind it quickly. If I did a bad job or
Projectionist Gao Xiangqing, born in 1964, worked too slowly, my dad would whack
began to help his father, Gao Jingshan, at the me with that wooden slat. To this day Gao
age of 13, and has since accumulated four has not forgotten his fathers strictness.

On Tainans Junxi Street,
people enjoy a rare
opportunity to catch an
open-air movie. (courtesy
of Bear Men Film Studio)
29

16
1980

10

4

4

1990

2015
This rewinding machine
acquired by Gao
Jingshan has been
lovingly cared for through
three generations.

8 1990

At 16, Gao completed his apprenticeship of the past. Outdoor screenings using tradi-
and became a projectionist in his own right. tional film nearly vanished altogether.
Temples both large and small are common Today open-air screenings can be found
in southern Taiwan, and they hold temple only during temple fairs in central and
fairs throughout the year. In the 1980s there southern Taiwan. Each traditional film
was a craze for lottery-style gambling. Some screening required two projectors, some 20
who made money would host films outside or 30 kilograms in weight, and tested the
temples to thank the gods for their luck, and skill and physical strength of the projec-
at some temples a couple of movies would tionist. During the decline of open-air pro-
be showing at the same time. All by himself, jection, old-fashioned film projectors were
Gao could manage two showings at once, increasingly replaced by digital projectors,
and sometimes even operated four projec- which take less skill to operate and are
tors without a hitch. lighter and cheaper.
Just as his father had relied on film projec- The film projector that currently sits in
tion to support the family, Gao also recruited the Bear Men Film Studio was purchased
his wife and children into the projection from abroad by the Gao family in 1980. The

business to help the family make a living. projection mechanism and lens alone cost
Today his son Gao Puyuan, born in 1990, has more than NT$200,000. Under the loving

returned to Tainan to take up the projection- care of Gao Xiangqing, this projector man-
ists craft. Puyuan also started to learn from ufactured by Japanese and West German Showing movies on an
old-fashioned projector
his father at an early age. By second grade, technicians is still in service today. relies on the techniques
a projectionist hones
he could already manage open-air films After the Gao family purchased projec- over time, such as
shown with a semiautomatic projector. tors originally intended for use in movie adjusting the gap
between the arc lights
After majoring in film and video studies houses, they asked a craftsman to make a carbon rods, oiling the
sprockets, and focusing
in college, Gao Puy uan moved to Taip ei, casting mold from the casing of the projec- the lens.
where he threw himself into various film tor and reproduce it in cast iron. The light
and television projects. Unwilling to let the source was changed to a carbon arc lamp in
projectionist skills cultivated in the family conjunction with a mercury reflector. The
be forgotten, Gao moved back to Tain an result was a projector suitable for open-air
with his wife, who also worked in film pro- film projection.
duction. Together they founded the Bear Masters of their art
Men Film Studio in the hopes of resuscitat- Because a movie shot on traditional film
ing the dying art of open-air cinema. requires on average 4.5 cans of film, screen-
Outdoor cinemas golden age ing them requires two projectors. When one
In the past, open-air cinema was a pop- reel spins out, the projectionist must imme-
ular entertainment at a time when people diately switch to another projector to show
had little money and few options for amuse- the next part of the film. Many people are
ment. On movie nights, temple courtyards under the impression that a projectionists
filled up by 4 p.m. with residents awaiting job is pretty easyjust load the film and
the show. Sellers of marinated fruits and press a button. But a projectionist must con-
roasted eggs hawked their wares, and the stantly monitor the image appearing on the
atmosphere was as lively as a night market. screen and keep an eye on the functioning of
In the 90s cable TV arrived in Taiwan, the projector. A carbon arc light projector, for
and open-air cinema began to decline. And example, uses two carbon rods, one positive
as digital filmmaking techniques replaced and one negative. Up to a kilowatt of elec-
film, open-air cinema became almost a thing tricity courses between them to produce the
31

4.5
2

After returning to Tainan,

Gao Puyuan (right)
set up a workshop,
sought out collaborative
opportunities, and 2
traveled near and far in
the hopes of giving new

life to the familys film
collection.

2,500

1980 A
B
C

F


lamps powerful light. As the movie is pro- tor can be especially precarious. Outdoor
jected, the rods burn down, and the projec- projectionists will therefore splice on five or
tionist must constantly monitor the distance ten minutes of snipes (lead-in film), with
between them. If they are allowed to get out content of their own choosing, at the begin-
of adjustment, the light can suddenly fade ning of a movie. Aside from the beginning
and the film projection will be interrupted. of the film, projectionists also add cue
The films for open-air projections orig- marks to the final frames of a reel of film.
inate with film distribution companies. They then monitor the screen, and when
A three-day rental can cost as much as they see the marks appear, it acts as a signal
NT$100,000. In general, costs are shared for them to switch projectors.
among projectionists who then circulate the Film reels restored
film between them. As open-air projections In recent years, film projectors have all
switched over from celluloid to digital, the but disappeared as people showing films at
price dropped from NT$30,00040,000 per temple fairs have switched to digital projec-

showing to NT$2,500. Celluloid films are tors for their outdoor screenings. When Gao
increasingly hard to find. Gao Xiangq ing Puyuan returned to Tainan, the first thing Setting up the screen,
lugging the projector,
opted to build a treasured collection that he he wanted to do was to hold a screening us- blocking out ambient
light an outdoor
purchased himself. ing traditional film projectors. But they are projectionist must have
Both heat and water are destructive to not easy to maintain since parts are in short consummate skills
in order to achieve a
film. The first five minutes of using a projec- supply. Moreover last year flooding caused flawless screening.
33

5
1

3

2

Despite the slow decline
of open-air cinema,
Gao Xiangqing (right)
and Gao Puyuan (left)
persevere in preserving
this aspect of communal
memory shared by the
people of Taiwan.


by a typhoon, and then a fire, damaged the tious plan to the Ministry of Culture to gain
warehouse used to store their films, ruining support for an open-air film festival that
over a hundred films. Despite the difficul- would tour Taiwan. As part of the plan, he
ties, Gao refused to give up. After a years would like to invite film industry profession-
preparations, a three-day open-air film festi- als from home and abroad and solicit films
val was held in January. for screening. In this age of digital produc-
As entertainment for common folk, open- tion, he would also like to fulfill his dream
air cinema often relies on light, escapist fare, of converting digital productions to film.
such as kung-fu and science-fiction films. Because of open-air cinemas gradual
For his film festival, Gao Puyuan selected decline, Gao Xiangqing for a time tried his
The Kung Fu Scholar (1993), The 18 Bronzemen hand at another profession. But for Gao
(1975), and Gamera: Guardian of the Universe Puyuan, seeing his fathers confident smile
(1995), among other films. Gao Xiangq ing while he works the projector is unforgetta-
had assumed that interest in watching mov- ble. Even when people poked fun at their
ies rolling on the reels of old projectors had plans, father and son have persevered in
already vanished. But Puyuan won him over reviving interest in movies shot on film and
to the idea of bringing open-air cinema back rekindling amid the whirring of the film
to the public. He never imagined that in the projector the human warmth of open-air
end they would draw throngs of people and cinema. l
project films to overflowing audiences. (Chen Chun-fang/photos by Jimmy Lin/
Gao Puyuan has since proposed an ambi- tr. by Robert Green)
35
COVER STORY

Still Portraits for Moving Pictures:
Taiwans Cinema Billboard
Art Tradition


37
2
X
The calligraphic style
used in this poster for
the well-known Japanese
anime film Your Name
(2016) was based on a
work by Moriyama.

3

2

5

5


W hen advertising began in February
for the Hollywood film Logan, the
hairstyle. For the image to really resemble the
subject, you have to capture the essence of the
portrait of the central character Professor person, the spirit. If you do, then the result is
X executed by Yan Jhen-fa, master artist for more true to life than any movie poster printed
the Chuan Mei Theater in Tainan, stood out out from a computer. Its as if Chu is really look-
as a brilliant example of Taiwans tradition ing at you or talking with you, says Mori.
of hand-painted movie billboards. Mean- The (art) school of hard knocks
while in northern Taiwan another maestro Moriyama, who grew up in a poor family,
of cinema billboards, known as Moriyama, says, If you have a skill, youll never go hun-
has continued to use his refined skills to gry. With this in mind, and hoping to help
bring the latest feature films vividly to life. support his family, he entered his profession at
These two national treasures have spent age 15, completed his apprenticeship at 17, and
their lives perpetuating Taiwans long promised himself that he would strike out as a
standing cultural tradition of hand-crafted master on his own even before doing his mil-
film billboards. itary service.
But learning to be an artist is no mean feat.
In a tranquil alleyway off Zhongshan East The masters to whom Mori was at first appren-
Road in Taoyuans Z
hongli District, billboard ticed mainly made him do menial tasks, and
artist Hsieh Sen-shan, better known by his Jap- the only way he could learn anything was by
anese name Moriyama (or Mori), stands quietly observing on the sly. When everyone
on a stool, using a ballpoint pen to draw a grid else went home, he stayed behind by himself,
on a poster for the movie Moana (2016). Then, practicing again and again the portraits that
holding his oil paints in one hand and using the master had painted that day, using leftover
the grid as a guide, he paints the giant fishhook paints that had not yet dried out to learn how
that the character Maui holds in his hand. to mix colors. Although he was often scolded
Grandpa Painter for working into the wee hours of the night, he
One of Moriyamas neighbors, a curly-haired didnt give up.
little girl, sits quietly off to one side observing There were also nights when he rode his
him work. She calls him Grandpa Painter. She bike all the way from Taoyuan to Taipeis Xi

comes to the workshop often to watch Grandpa mending cinema district just to examine the

Painter daub his five colors of oil paint on giant hand-painted movie billboards, going so far With just a few simple
strokes, Moriyama can
pieces of canvas sailcloth. Once when this little as to closely study the brushwork by flash- instantly evoke a blue
girl saw him sketching a billboard for La La Land light. He recalls that he had to pass through sky and floating clouds.
(2016), she blurted out, Thats so romantic!

Moriyama, who is in the habit of signing
each of his works, says that his most popular
billboards are the ones he has done for movies
starring the actor and variety-show host Chu Ko-
liang. He says he gets orders in advance for each
and every one. He unrolls his only remaining
example, a poster for David Loman 2 (2016) that
he keeps around for educational purposes and
for exhibitions. Chus features stand out prom-
inently, as do his highly expressive wrinkles,
which have deepened with age. And of course
the image captures Chus signature bowl cut
39
a bamboo forest on his way home, and the
1517 spooky sound of the wind through the bamboo
terrified him so much that he cried as he rode.
Although he thought about giving up, Mori
yamawho never had any formal academic

trainingstuck to his hardscrabble self-train-
ing, and survived every challenge to finally
become a master billboard painter himself.
The septuagenarian scaffold worker
Now aged 72, Moriyama still paints bill-
boards for the Zhongyuan Grand Theater in
Zhongli, and in fact these retro relics of an-
other era have become a signature attraction
at the theater.
It is still the responsibility of the artist
even one in his 70sto change out the old
billboards and install the new. Mor iy ama
clambers up in the space between the t heaters

facade and the metal framework that supports

the billboards, and, with a practiced hand,
tears down the old work and installs the new, Even though he is in
his 70s, Moriyama still
which his family members lower to him on a clambers up the theater
scaffolding to remove old
rope. Observers cant help but break into a cold billboards and replace
sweat, but Mori assures us that its actually them with new ones
nowadays with a little help
very safe. Self-deprecatingly describing him- from his wife and son.
self as a laborer, he admits that whereas in
the old days he could replace billboards single
handedly without even breathing hard, in re-
cent years he has found himself gasping for air
just climbing up. He periodically declares that
he wants to retire, but then he gets that old itch

again and out come the brushes and pigments.
Nearby Chung Yuan Christian University

has hosted an exhibition of Moriyamas art,
72 and besides purchasing two works for the
universitys permanent collection, has also
invited him to speak at the school to share his
life experiences with students. He always has
a full calendar each year at graduation time as
many students seek him out. Always smiling

and modest, he never fails to put aside his
own work to answer questions and assist stu-
9 dents to finish their assignments.
Capturing the core essence
Meanwhile, over at Tainans C
huan Mei
Theater, Yan Jhen-fa, though of an age with
41

Yan has yet to come
across a big-screen
character he couldnt
effectively portray, from
the lovely Marilyn Monroe
to the fearsome Durotan
(played by Tony Kebell)
in Warcraft (2016).

72

200


Moriyama, has a markedly different style, and
prefers to work with oil-painting canvases or
wooden boards for his movie posters, whereas
Moriworks mainly on canvas sailcloth. What
they have in common, however, is the hard
road they had to follow and the perseverance
they showed when learning their craft.
Yan faced opposition from his family
over his decision to pursue painting. But I
wanted to learn a skill, otherwise I would have
starved, he says.
Yan learned to paint the old-fashioned
way, practicing relentlessly day after day. As
an apprentice he didnt even dare open his
mouth, and whenever he ran into a dead end,
he would just have to rack his brain to come up
with a way to get around it. But finally the light
went on: Paintings are dead. People are alive.
You have to understand the core essence and
only then can you paint a portrait that really
captures the subject. As for what the definition
of core essence is, Yan chalks it up to instinct
and intuition that cant be described in words.
When teaching he has always emphasized work surface to the poster. He demands that
capturing the core essence, especially the she draw the grid more clearly, so that the
three-dimensionality of facial features and bone lines on the poster and the painted billboard

structure and even more particularly the per- will be identical. Only then will she be able
Yan Jhen-fa proudly
sonality as it shows in the persons eyes. to draw the correct outline and shape of the poses with his hand-
painted billboard for
A course in movie billboard painting face, and from there delineate the features. the film Doctor Strange
The Chuan Mei Theater, which has part- Yan walks around, standing next to each (2016).
nered with Master Yan for a long time, has in student in turn, and instructs them with real
recent years started up a billboard cultural attention to detail. His voice rings out as he
and creative camp, with Yan as chief instruc- says again and again, You have to capture
tor, where the curriculum starts from the very the form and structure; every stroke has to be
basics. clear; you have to use your brain to think, and
Chiaki Ito, a Japanese woman who gained observe carefully. Everyone has facial fea-
a measure of renown in Taiwan by doing a tures, but each person has their own defining
72-day walking tour of the island last year, characteristics, so you have to account for ev-
was captivated by the movie billboards as she ery brush stroke. You cant just paint blindly,
passed by the Chuan Mei Theater. She came because once the unique characteristics disap-
back to Taiwan this year, and asked Yan to pear you will not have a true likeness.
take her on as a pupil on weekends and teach Doctor Strange
her his craft. With the nature of an artist and rather ta
When Ito gets hung up on how to capture citurn, Yan has never stopped learning him-
a persons features on a billboard, Yan walks self, and every new cinema idol on every new
to her side and, ruler in hand, compares her poster is a chance to innovate and learn.
43

The Chuan Mei Theater
has started up a course
in hand painting of movie
posters and billboards,
taught personally and
in a hands-on style by
national treasure Yan
Jhen-fa.

3


Yan brings out from his workshop a piece handcrafted art, has in recent years been
he produced last year for the film Doctor afflicted with detached retinas, but still he

Strange. He says with satisfaction, This was wont give up on this creative work that he
a challenge of the highest level of difficulty. loves, and has no time to rest. As he has never
Chiaki Ito, a young
Its a distillation of everything Ive learned married, Yan sees painting as his lifetime part- Japanese woman
who caught the eye
in my life. The painting looks even cooler ner, and although it can be said that movie
of the Taiwanese
than the poster, and Yan considers it one billboards are based on posters, there is still public by doing a
circumambulation of
of his master works, representative of his plenty of room for creativity and innovation. Taiwan last year, has
come back to study
philosophy of capturing the core essence In his spare time, Yan studies oil painting, under Yan Jhen-fa.
and bringing out the mobility and three- and he has even done a self-portrait in the
dimensionality of the facial features. manner of Van Gogh. Its a great outlet for
The course started by Yan and the Chuan him. Seeing how well his works are being
Mei Theater now has several regular stu- received today, Yan feels thrilled, but in his
dents. But these acolytes are still far from usual self-effacing manner he gives all the
being ready to strike out on their own, and credit to his teacher, Chen Fengyong.
their performance still falls well short of Yans The advent of printing technology
strict demands. changed human civilization, and in recent
Wu Haoze has been studying with Yan for times computer-printed movie posters have
three years. When he first started out studying had a major impact on one of the most cher-
oil painting he couldnt do anything right, ished of Taiwanese theater traditions, so
and he is still working to master Yans style that the art of hand-painted film billboards
and painting techniques. He frequently acts is disappearing. Moriyama and Yan Jhen-fa,
as Yans assistant, doing odd jobs and me- one in the north and one in the south, are
nial tasks while he humbly awaits the day of two masters still focused on making movie
enlightenment when he grasps Yans idea of posters into creative works of art, leaving a
the core essence and can himself produce legacy of local Taiwanese culture that will be
the quality of work seen in the Doctor Strange remembered at home and abroad. l
poster. (Lung Pei-ning and Liu Yingfeng/photos by
Yan, who has spent a lifetime steeped in Chuang Kung-ju/tr. by Phil Newell)
45
COVER STORY

photo by Chuang Kung-ju

Shadows of the Past:

Reviving Old Movie Theaters
47
1970826

The Wanguo Theater is
especially popular with
school groups.

201620

50
Back in the day Dalin
Township even got visits
from movie stars, who
dazzled the residents as

they paraded through 196419892015
the streets. (courtesy of
Jiang Minghe)

1968


I n the 1970s, Taiwan had a total of 826
local movie theaters. In those days
was not so lucky. His parents, who had built
up the family fortunes from scratch, were
when entertainment was a lot harder to strict, and required their children to work in
come by than it is now, entering that inky the theater collecting tickets and keeping the
black space and throwing yourself into the books. They could only catch a glimpse of the
magical world of projected images was a movies being shown by stealing a peek on
way to temporarily escape the daily grind. the sly in their odd free moments.
Local theaters were storehouses of joy, Later, after Taiwans first three broadcast
sorrow, love, and happiness for ordinary TV stations started operating, and as enter-
small-town folk, and the foundation stones tainment options grew more diverse, local
of many of the collective memories of that theaters fell into decline. The Wanguo Theater
era. Although the arrival of television drew remained in suspended animation until 2012,
away a big chunk of the audience, the fas- when J iang M
inghe, who was born in Da
cination and charm of old movie theaters lin, got the notion of borrowing it as a venue
has never died, and in recent years some to exhibit and promote Dalins special local
people have been working ceaselessly to character. He sought out Fan Fengz heng,
promote an old theater renaissance. who just happened to be mulling exactly the
same idea, and Fan agreed to let Jiang use the
In rural and sparsely populated Fuli Town- movie house free of charge.
ship in Hualien County lies the Ruiw ud an Putting a new shine on a Chiayi fixture
Theater, which opened in 1964 and ceased Jiang, a military man by profession, de-
operations in 1989. In 2015 it was the venue cided to become a career soldier after seeing
for the premiere of the film Wawa No Cidal, di- the movie Yes, Sir! at the Wanguo. Many years
rected by Cheng Yu-chieh and set against the later, he was back at this place that had been
backdrop of the East Rift Valley in Hualien a turning point in his life, painstakingly ren-
and Taitung, which drew a crowd of over 600. ovating and repairing it, so that it could once
In 2016, in Chiayi Countys Dalin Town- again become a highlight of the town of Dalin.
With its authentic box office
ship, the Wanguo Theater, which had been When Jiang took over, the only things sal- and old movie posters,
dark for 20 years, held a showing of Yang Li- vageable that remained were the four Chinese the Wanguo Theater
recreates the atmosphere
chous film The Moment, carrying 200 viewers characters for Wanguo Theater hanging on of old local theaters.
back in time to a moment in the collective
memory of Taiwan cinema.
Entertainment for small-town folk
The Wanguo, which opened in 1968, was
owned and operated by the Fan family, who
had made their money in real estate. The
ground-floor seats sloped upward from lower
to higher levels, a feature boasted by only
the most cutting-edge movie halls of the day.
There was also a U-shaped balcony.
Grandma Yang, now in her 90s, lives right
next door to the Wanguo Theater. She recalls
that seeing movies was her main pastime
when she was younger, and the Wanguo was
as familiar as her own kitchen! Oddly enough,
Fan Fengzheng, whose clan owned the theater,
49
OK
U 2012

Reopened old theaters

are filled with nostalgia;
now they wait to be filled
once again with the
sounds of laughter and
enjoyment.

the outside wall. The task of renovation was
daunting, and the funding he received from the
Ministry of Culture was only enough for clear-
ing out the interior, which, J iang recalls, left the
theater looking like a decrepit warehouse with
nothing but four bare walls. But he didnt give
up hope, and started by showing films once
a month on a screen set up just outside the
theater, as a way of bringing more people into
contact with this part of Dalins history.
Things really changed when Jiang learned
that Formosa TV was looking for a venue to
film a new drama series. He immediately con-
tacted the producers and invited the production
team down to Dalin. The set designers recon-
structed the old interior, and left the set intact first thing that strikes the eye is rank after
after filming for the TV series was wrapped rank of seats made of cypress wood, with the
up, thereby converting the building from a row and seat numbers engraved on the back.
warehouse back into a genuine theater. It was After closing its doors in 1989, this venue
at that point that the space for showing films remained dormant for more than 20 years,
moved from outdoors to indoors. only reopening in 2014 thanks to the efforts
Besides showing movies, the venue has also of Chen Weiqiao, the fourth generation of the
been borrowed by a nearby school to hold var- family that operated the theater. Only since

ious ceremonies and off-campus educational then have people had the chance to once 8
activities. To add to the throwback mood, Jiang again bear witness to its former grandeur. 78
reached into his own pocket to buy a gramo- The Ruiwudan Theater has always been

phone to display in the theater, and some old a family enterprise, belonging to the Chen Jiang Minghe has
collected quite a few
78-rpm records for people to have a listen. clan of Fuli. Back in the day it could hold items of memorabilia
Fan Fengz heng has hosted a group of an audience of 1800, with four shows a day, connected with old
cinemas, including reels
exchange students from the UK, as well as nearly always sold out. Projectionist Chen of eight-millimeter film
and 78-rpm records,
friends from Italy. He is delighted that this Xiangrong, a third-generation member of evoking nostalgia from
out-of-the-way little community can attract the Chen lineage, remembers like yesterday the old and curiosity from
the young.
foreign visitors, and says what a great thing it the ruckus and bustle of the audience spill-
is that the theater has been kept around. ing out after each showing.
Four generations in Eastern Taiwan
While you could say that the Wang uo
Theater has recovered some of the luster of
yesteryear, the Ruiw ud an Theater is even
more a reminder of how quiet local theaters
became once their glory days had passed.
The Ruiwudan is located on Yongan Street
in Fuli. It is actually on the second floor, so
you have to walk up a staircase to get to the
box office, which is separated from the seat-
ing area by a black curtain. When you enter
the seating area and start to look around, the
51

78

The Ruiwudan Theater
is hidden away on
Yongan Street in rural
Fuli Township. If you
arent looking out for it
specifically, you might not
even notice it.

1989

To say that the Wanguo Theater boasts that
old-timey flavor is not just figurative: Just
check out the snacks and sodas on sale at
the concession stand in the corner.

Besides screening movies, the Ruiwudan spent most of his time hanging around the
was also the first choice for major events, place. Even when just learning to walk,
Its worth taking your time
ceremonies, and rituals. For example, it was he could be found stumbling along in his to savor the ambience of
old theaters.
where the draft lottery was held for young stroller in the shade of the black curtain at
men starting their compulsory military the box office, with his grandfather holding
service. Chen Xiangrong recalls that when fast to a rope to limit the range of the stroller
a young man drew a posting in Kinmen so that young Weiqiao wouldnt fall down
or Matsuwhich, through a Chinese play the stairs. Weiqiao once even earned himself
on words, was known as a Golden Horse a beating after ripping the projection screen
Award (a Taiwanese Oscar)the audi- while playing basketball on the stage.
ence would burst into applause and shouts But Chen Weiqiao only lived in Fuli until
of congratulation. he was seven, after which his father took him
For Chen Weiq iao, the theater had a to Kaohsiung. He went to school, found a
very personal meaning. It was like his own job, and got married all in the western part of
amusement park, and as a small child he Taiwan, while his contacts with his old home
53

2014

7
1,800

1970
198912

Chen Weiqiao hopes
to bring back some
sense of the golden
age of the Ruiwudan,
and thereby fulfill his
late grandfathers wish 7
to carry on the family
tradition.

in Hualien were limited to visits home at the
Lunar New Year and Tomb Sweeping Day.

Reopening doors into the past
After flourishing for many years, the Rui

wudan Theater also met the fate of its kind,
declining in popularity in proportion to the The old cypress seats of
the Ruiwudan Theater
rise of television in the 1970s, until it finally are still there today. The
row and seat numbers
ceased operations altogether at the Lunar are carved right into the
New Year in 1989. Chen happened to be remembers realizing that the place he had wood, as are the marks
of the passage of time.
back home for a holiday visit, and he recalls: taken for granted as home during his
That was an extraordinary day. My grand- childhood was actually a precious piece of
father called me to go down to the theater the communitys cultural heritage: the local
and together we closed the doors for the theater. If he did not get to work, the com-
last time. Still a child, Chen could not quite munity would lose it, and his childhood
grasp why his elders were so sad. But as playground would disappear.
Chen recounts this memory now, his hand The first film shown for the reopening
unconsciously gestures toward the staircase of the Ruiwudan Theater was the 1961 Tai-
and his eyes redden. wanese-language classic The Fantasy of Deer
In 2014, Chen returned to his hometown Warrior. Since then, Chen has returned from
to reopen those very same theater doors. He Kaohsiung once a month to show a flick at
55

The film ends, the

audience awakes from
another beautiful dream,
and the signs point the
way to go home.
Before the theater

opens, the staircase gets
a good cleaning. The
Chen family have stayed
true to the legacy of their
grandfather, welcoming
visitors to the theater he
left behind.

2011 the venue. In September of 2015, much to
his astonishment, the place was packed for
the premiere of Wawa No Cidal. Chen was
delighted by the return of such a crowd to
the old t heater and felt that he had done his
duty not to let down his grandfather. Ironi-

cally, however, his joy was succeeded only a
second later by worry over whether the old
structure would hold up under the weight
of all those people! Fortunately it proved to
be sturdy still.
Chen, who today is still fighting his
fight alone without any outside help, feels

20142
satisfied by even the small audiences who
come for the monthly showings. He is not
interested in casual touristshe once turned
20141025 away a large group of passing bicyclists who
just wanted to pop in for selfies and to check
in on Facebookbut is happy to invest time
in people who are genuinely interested.
Each time before starting the film, he per-

20159
sonally goes on stage to thank the audience
for coming, and even invites people to step

out into the lobby where he will tell them
stories of the old days at the Ruiwudan. In
his view, the only way to really experience
the mood of an old theater is to take things
slow and linger over each moment.
Local theaters are an endangered species
in these times. But there are still a few people
who, with admirable if foolhardy determi-

nation, are preserving these shadows of the
past for todays society, so that we too can
have the chance to see and experience these
elegant spaces, and relive, however briefly,
the ambience of an era gone by. Stories that
have long been collecting dust can be retold,
allowing us to see theaters as something

more than conventional red carpets and
high-tech Dolby sound systemsas places

where there were warm and embracing rows
of wooden seats and where the air was filled
with the sounds of laughter shared by an en-
tire little community all together. l
(Cathy Teng/photos by Jimmy Lin/
tr. by Phil Newell)

57

Ellisa Yao
40

Ive been reading Taiwan Panorama for years,
from my barefoot youth all the way through my time
abroad, because it captures the moment and makes it
Thank you, Taiwan Panorama, beautifully eternal. (Ellisa Yao, Norway)
for the light you have shone upon
this land for so many years.
(Jullian Chu, New Taipei City)
Taiwan Panorama has its own space in my
memories because then I get to hold on to not only
my own memories of good times, but Taiwan
Panoramas brilliance as well.
As someone who has lived abroad for (Xu Zhilian, Taipei)
40 years, I have a particular fondness
for Taiwan Panorama because it offers
content like National Geographic,
writing like Time, and a
layout like Fortune. I love Taiwan Panorama because it lets me read about
(Kent Wang, USA) Taiwanese trends, customs, and history in other languages.
(Daniel Liao, Taoyuan)
Thank you for accompanying us on Taiwan Panoramas 40-year

journalistic odyssey. The heartfelt letters we have received
have encouraged us to be bold in launching the magazine
onto the next leg of its journey, and we look forward to
traveling with you for years to come....
To subscribe, please use the form in the back of the magazine.

1905?-1907?

19 0 5
9 5

19 0 5 - 0 9 - 0 5
5 2 2 0 41

19 9 841 - 4 2
300 178 20124 4 - 45


0 55 2 20 419 0 5 10
2 5
19 07
1 9 0 5 -
10 - 2 5 3 2 2 4 6 19 0 7
19 07- 01-15 5 2 6 0 9
19 0 5 19 0 6 19 07- 01-
19 9 83 22 0 0 4 1552609
1 5 6 19 0 5
19 03 124
1 9 0 5 1 9 0 7 1903 -12- 04
5 1678
19 03 -12- 19 0 8 - 0 5 -26 4 3 019
0551679 1 9 1 5
19 0 3 1 9 1 5
19 0 6
19 2 0
19 0 5 2 2
1112 2 0 0 52 76
19 0 5 - 0 2- 0 5 6
202719 0595
1903?-1915 1 9 5 6
1903
19 15 19 0 5 - 0 9 - 1 9 5 63 1 - 3 2 1 9 1 5
61
2-1 2-2
1 9 15
19 0 6
1 9 0 7 1910 - 0 8 -21 6 3 6 97
19 0 6 - 01- 2 4
19 07 5 23171910 8
2-1 1907
GIS 2016

19 10 9
1910 - 0 9 - 0 6 4
3 710 19 10 8

2-2 1907


2 013
380 314

1 9 3 7
1927
63


19 4 5
1 9 4 9

a
280 225 b a

65


67
MOVING PICTURES
Colors in Bloom
Through the ages, people have taken deep

pleasure in the blooming of flowers. Taiwans

mild climate allows for various plants to blossom

throughout the year. Splendid beauty springs forth

from a backdrop of green, adorning otherwise ordi-

nary landscapes and providing a marvelous occa-

sion for an eager public to seek out the beauty of
flowers in bloom. As one season gives way to the
next, new flowers emergea testament to each
l

seasons unique beauty.
(text by Chuang Kung-ju/tr. by Robert Green)

69
Cherry blossoms, Sun Moon Lake, Nantou County (photo by Jimmy Lin)

Cherry blossoms, Wufeng, Hsinchu County
(photo by Jimmy Lin)
71

Hydrangeas, Yangmingshan National Park, Taipei City
(photo by Chuang Kung-ju)

Irises, Taipei City

73
Chrysanthemum morifolium, Tongluo, Miaoli County (photo by Jimmy Lin)

Chrysanthemums, Taipei City (photo by Chuang Kung-ju)

Calla lilies, Zhuzihu, Yangmingshan National Park, Taipei City
75

Yellow daylilies,
Mt. Chike, Yuli,
Hualien County
77
LIGHTING THE WORLD

Chou Lien,
Child of Light


F rom the distant Statue of Liberty in the United
States and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, all the way to sites in Taiwan such as the
old city wall in Hengchun, Tainans century-old Feng
shen Temple, Beigangs Chaotian Temple, or the Chimei

Museum, the magical creations of world-renowned
lighting designer Chou Lien are found the world over.
On arriving at Chou Liens home, visitors might think

it is decorated in a rather ordinary fashion. But within the
commonplace lurk the extraordinary principles of his work.
When he turns up the lights, small spotlights above the
kitchen island begin to shine softly, then circular hanging

lamps above the kitchen table start to glow. When the hour
is late, Chou dims the lights and savors the nights solitude
enveloped in the gentle glow. When he flicks on the lights
beneath the table, the interplay of light and dark lends the
surface an even more three-dimensional appearance.
The plaudits of admiring visitors bring a hint of pride to
Chou Liens confident, elegant smile, and he continues his
playful tour of the houses lighting with all the more vigor.
The importance of perception
When he describes light, 74-year-old Chou Lien doesnt
need a torrent of words or technical terminology; he
Through Chou Liens brilliant designs, Tainans Chimei Museum
is as imposing by night as by day. simply emphasizes the term perception. For him, the
79

74

1978
BPI
BPI

BPI

4BPI

1970
Chou Lien often experiments playfully with the lights in his own
home, exploring light and shadow.

presence of light is not about wattage, lumens, and color
temperature, or any of the professional argot of the field.
Although it is at our fingertips, light is intangible. Chou Lien is
This unique outlook is perhaps tied to Chou Liens convinced that if people can learn to sense its essence, they will
lifelong inclination toward art and design. Compared understand its value.
to his older brother and sister, who attended the pres-

tigious National Taiwan University, Chou Lien was a
lackluster student from his earliest days at school. In ju- courses to lead anywhere, they became a rich source of in-
nior and senior high school, his textbooks were covered spiration after he became a lighting designer.
with doodles and drawings. When his mother fretted In 1978, Chou again went to the US to study. During
over her younger sons schoolwork, his father consoled the summer break, he accepted a classmates invitation to
her in their native Ningbo dialect. Dont worry, he work part time as a designer at Brandston Partnership Inc.,
said. He just hasnt found his lifes path yet. a leading architectural lighting design firm. After a single
Chou Lien grew up in the liberating environment day as a part-timer, Chou impressed BPI executives, and
of an unconventional family and was unconstrained soon he was making a better salary than regular employees.
by traditional norms of others. A half-century ago, he Before long he was invited to join the firm full time, and he
enrolled in the National Taiwan Academy of Arts (now became the sole designer of presentation schematics for all
National Taiwan University of Arts) where he studied of BPIs project m
anagers. Chous exceptional performance
sculpture. In the 1970s he traveled to the US, where he allowed him to leapfrog from BPIs most junior employee
earned an advanced degree in sculpture. He also mi- to design director in four short years. He was later made a
nored in film studies and later took advanced courses in partner in the firm and eventually became its president.
environmental design at the Pratt Institute, New York. Lighting with people in mind
His interests led him down this interdisciplinary path, For the past 30-plus years, Chou Liens role at BPI has
and while he might not have expected these eclectic largely played out on an international stage. But in recent
81

Illuminating Beigangs Chaotian Temple allows the history of the
three-century-old temple to shine again. (courtesy of Chou Lien)

Chou Liens dazzling international reputation was earned in part

by being able to flip open his notebook and come up with expert
designs no matter what comes his way.
years he has accepted commissions to rework the light-

ing at Tainans Fengshen Temple and the old city wall in
Hengchun, Pingtung County, which allowed him to spend
more time in Taiwan and become better known locally.
Many people believe Chous lighting style is character-
ized chiefly by the reduction of light. But Chou is quick
to disagree. In his view, lighting design is not bound by
inviolable, immutable principles. The low light of his de-
signs for Fengshen Temple and the Hengchun city wall
might be entirely discarded in future projects.
If we look at the lighting design Chou created this year
for Chaotian Temple in Beigang, Yunlin County, we find
When lighting the century-old Hengchun city wall, Chou Lien
that it is indeed the case. Isnt it bright? he says. Its adopted a people-centered approach that would also blend with
the natural surroundings. (courtesy of CCAF)
bright enough, surely!
Chou and his design team installed 300 4000K LED
lamps around the temple. The exquisite carvings of the
temples roof used to be obscured when night fell, but fol- with light is seared into his memory and his mothers ap-
lowing the redesign the roofs craftsmanship is clearly vis- pearance in those moments lives in his heart. Light was no
ible from the street or from higher elevations even at night. longer just light, he says; It also contained memories of the
The 300-year-old temple has come more fully to life. past. This is what he means by the perception of light.
Light is manipulated in Chou Liens hands with easy He also used this concept as the starting point for his ap-
skill. But with each commission, he still starts with the proach to lighting both the exterior and interior of the Chi
premise of setting out with people in mind and responding mei Museum in Tainan. For this project, Chou concentrated
to the environment. Chou explains that many people think on highlighting the best of the architectural structure. But
lighting design is the same as lighting. But for people to just what is meant by the best? It was not enough to just
sense the qualities of light, it must possess humanistic qual- highlight the beauty of the building, he says. I wanted to
ities. One night during his childhood, he lit a candle during incorporate cultural and social aspects into the design.
a typhoon, and as he moved it about his mothers shadow He therefore attempted to use communal pride as
grew larger or smaller. To this day that chance encounter a guiding principle in the lighting design, so that local
83

300

BPI

3004000KLED


people would swell with pride when they caught sight TaiwanPingtung, Tainan and Yunlin to Taipei, where
of the Chimei Museum as they approached along Pro- he designed illuminations for the North Gate and for
vincial Highway 86 at night. the streets to the west of Taipei Railway Station. He has
When Chou Lien took on the Hengc hun city wall even been asked to use his skills for the 2018 Taichung
project, he encountered a whole series of questions that World Flora Exposition. He is said to have influenced all
he had to sort out before he could start the design: Did of Taiwans younger lighting designers in one way or
the old wall still function as a wall? If the wall was in- another. After stepping down as BPI president, Chou, far
tended to defend the town but the gates were meant from retiring, has been returning to Taiwan even more
to both repel and welcome, what significance did they often to teach and lectureunselfishly sharing a lifetime
have in the daily lives of people today? Moreover, the of lighting design experience with students in Taiwan.
architecture had its own unique characteristics. Sometimes when he says light, however, it seems
Chou therefore opted for a reserved, minimalist ap- as if he is speaking of the path. In his youth, the now-
proach to the lighting. At the West Gate, he first installed grizzled Chou Lian liked reading above all Laozis Tao Te
lights in the passage beneath the gate to contrast with the Ching, Sunzis strategic masterpiece The Art of War, and
public square outside, creating a visual sense of interior The Book of Five Rings by the Japanese author Miyamoto
brightness against the darker exterior, to give people a Musashi, which describes the way of the sword. In youth
sense of returning home as they pass through. Later at he took to heart these works and their implications for
night, Chous design allows the gate to rest in darkness, the actions and concepts of life. As he grew older, they
with a few lights illuminating only the Chinese charac- became an integral part of his own life and allow him to
ters reading West Gate. intuit the fundamental properties of light. l
Chou Lien has been invited to create lighting designs (Liu Yingfeng/photos by Chuang Kung-ju/
in cities and counties stretching from southern to northern tr. by Robert Green)
85
86

Standing amid the brilliant lighting design of the Chimei Museum,
it becomes clear that Chou Lien incorporates a philosophy of life
in his quest to understand light.

2018

BPI

180

l

87
LIGHTING THE WORLD
Illuminating the Land and Its Legacies

Coretronic Culture and Arts Foundation


N ight falls, and the lights come on. Shafts of
light pierce the spaces between trees, which
cast dappled shadows. At every moment, the light
all around you is constantly in flux. Yet are you
aware of it? Can you see it?

LED The Coretronic Culture and Arts Foundation was
established by Coretronic, a manufacturer of LEDs,
projectors and related equipment. By using light
as a medium, the foundation brightens locales and
awakens peoples passion and concern for the land.

With the passage of time, says Yao Cheng-chung,
president of the Coretronic Culture and Arts Founda-
tion, people who are busy chasing the latest trends,

their eyes always on the horizon, become prone to ne-
glect their own histories and to forget to turn and look
at what can be found all around them.
Consequently, the luminaries who comprise the
CCAFs board of directors, including Cloud Gate
Dance Theater founder Lin Hwai-min, author Chiang
Hsun, and lighting designer Lin Da-wei, decided that

the foundation should find an identity in using light as
a medium and awakening a new understanding of the

land of Taiwan and its history.
Yet turning impassive lighting technology into art
and culture is no easy feat. To seek the light about its
identity, the foundation in its first year held a lighting
detective workshop, inviting the public in both cities
and rural areas to come together to feel the light.
Not only is a focus on light a rarity in Taiwan, even
the executive team at the foundation entirely lacked any

experience in that regard. Early on Fanny Hsu, CCAFs
executive director, even worried about whether such an

Coretronic Culture and Arts Foundation has been promoting its Lets Sense Light
City Project campaign, sowing seeds of light in locales such as Tainan and Pingtung.
89

2012

LED

The Fengshen Temple was first constructed in 1739. The

restrained design of its new lighting fosters a tranquil atmosphere.

abstract theme would attract the publics interest. Fortu- Light City Project in locales such as Tainan, Pingtung
nately, reports from more than 100 people at the design and Chiayi. These local projects highlight important lo-
charrettes the foundation held greatly relieved the teams cations in these cities in moving ways.
doubts, and participants unexpectedly included a wide The idea for the campaign came from Chiang Hsun
range of professions, such as public servants, dentists, after a trip he took to Shangh ai to deliver a lecture.
insurance agents, and so forth. At the request of Lin Da- From the airport, his car gradually approached the city,
wei, the participants brought NT$100 notes to conve- and the LED billboards on either side of the elevated
nience stores to buy things, which were then combined highway were overbearingly bright. C
hiang was over-
with flashlights to spur self-introductions to lighting. come with an uneasy feeling: Technology ought to be
Apart from putting on regularly scheduled lighting about improving peoples lives. How has it turned into
detective workshops every year, the foundation also light pollution?
has invited the lighting designer Chou Lien to hold a Chiang reflected about the impact of technology
seminar about light in our daily lives and CCAF direc- on the environment and came up with the Lets Sense
tor C
hiang Hsun to hold one on light in Tang-Dynasty Light City Project. The first site selected was the Feng
poetry. Furthermore, crossdisciplinary collaboration was shen (Wind God) Temple in Tainan.
realized for a performance involving drums and lighting With so many temples throughout Taiwan, why pick
entitled The Sound of Light. this one? Yao explains that the Fengshen Temple has
Temple of wind and light had an unusual history compared to other Qing-Dy-
Aiming to leave a deep impression on the public, in nasty temples in Taiwan.
2012 the foundation started promoting its Lets Sense Consequently, the foundation invited Chou Lien,
an internationally famous lighting designer who was
formerly president of the American lighting firm BPI, to
take the helm of the project. Two years later, in Septem-
ber of 2013, the new lighting was ready.
After the reconfiguration, the jarring street lights had
been removed, and new lights had been positioned low
on walls. The temples stone bell tower was also lit up
to highlight its open structure, and the red lanterns at
the entrance were exchanged for hanging square lights.
At night, the temple is now bathed in a warm yellow
glow, and the tranquil aura of the old temple imparts a
sense of its deitys blessings.
As far as the foundations executive team is con-
cerned, the completely new visual design for the temple
was just a first step: The ultimate goal is to use directed
lighting to get people to reexamine the traditional
culture near them that they have gradually forgotten

CCAF president Yao Cheng-chung hopes to use light as a
medium to awaken in people an appreciation for their local areas.
91

Thanks to a few well-placed lights, Taipeis Treasure Hill takes on
an altogether different look at night.

CCAF puts on lighting detective workshops to help people gain
an appreciation for lighting, which is an essential part of our lives.

2
20139


about. Once properly highlighted again, that historical Naughty Swing

legacy is certain to inspire great pride.
The Naughty Swing dance troupe strut their stuff on the West
After renovations, the temples new look attracted Gate Plaza. After its makeover, Hengchuns old city gate drew
praise from all quarters.
the publics notice and helped to bring back some of
the places splendor, with a market coming to the front
courtyard. The young daughters of the temples care-
taker, who used to be only concerned with Japanese
and Korean pop stars, now have begun to bring their Nevertheless, Fanny Hsu reveals that at the beginning
classmates to their own family shrine. They are gain- of the temple project, CCAF, which had only recently
ing an understanding about the glory and treasures of been established and was inexperienced with marketing,
extended families, with three generations living under intended to name the project the Light Environment
one roof. Demonstration Project. That proposal immediately got
And that is precisely CCAFs objective. Eventually, shot down by foundation board member Lin Hwai-min:
says Yao, even if its just a start, you want people to no- People who werent in the know would have thought it
tice and treasure what is being forgotten around them, was the name of some sort of government project, says
so that locales can regain some of their original vitality. Hsu. Eventually, Lin came up with the new name for
The Fengshen Temple renovation was the first of the these projects after being inspired by the Japanese archi-
foundations city lighting projects, and many counties tect Tadao Andos Church of the Light.
and municipalities took notice. That in turn gave the Reawakening a sense of the lands beauty
team increased confidence. After the Fengs hen Temples centuries of history
93

(above) Students at Hengchun Elementary School use light in a
performance telling the story of their hometown.
(facing page) A gentle light is cast against the old city wall,
illuminating its century-long history.

130

32013
3

l

had been properly highlighted again, the foundation During the early stage of the project, some people
turned to planting seeds of light in Hengchun, at the suggested, Why dont they just put a work of public
southern tip of Taiwan. art at the front of the plaza? Others asked: What
In comparison to the temple, the project in the old about some kind of dazzling light show? Eventually,
town of Hengchun has proven to be much more chal- though, they just settled on adding lighting here and
lenging. The old city wall built nearly 140 years ago subtracting it there to give the historic structure a new
no longer serves a protective function. But it still sits look. The restrained approach caused some to poke
by busy thoroughfares and is a place where mothers fun at CCAF for being short on cash.
and grandmothers gather for nighttime dancing. It is It has been more than three years since the project
more than just a historic wall says Yao, because all began in 2013. The old city wall had become mottled
this activity provides meaning of its own. and shabby with age, but now residents proudly show
Consequently, the Light Up Hengc hun project is it off to out-of-towners.
even more significant than the earlier project, and it At the moment of awakening, peoples sense of
has a broader scope. The number of people attending the land, as well as their confidence and pride, re-
planning sessions has grown dramatically, says Yao. turn, says Yao. l
Its gone from a single small table to requiring a (Liu Yingfeng/photos courtesy of CCAF/
large conference room to hold everyone. tr. by Jonathan Barnard)
95
ARTISTS AND ARTISANS
Louis Yen:
Persevering Painter
of Light

19
30

1959


Although his muscles have atrophied, requiring hanging straps to support
his arms, Louis Yen is determined to paint. His passion for life burns brightly.
(photo by Lin Min-hsuan)
L ouis Yen contracted polio as a young child. It

caused neurological damage, severe osteoporosis
and ongoing muscle atrophy. But with only a three-
Show of the Federation of Canadian Artists, and in 2016
he was made a senior signature member of the FCA, a
high honor for Canadian contemporary painters.
month course in painting taken 30-some years ago at
age 19, Yen has gone on to probe the fields of light and Yen was born in 1959 to a family of locksmiths in
color in great depth and to invent his own painting Taoy uan, and he caught polio at just a year old. The
techniques. For three years running, his works were disease has led to the gradual withering of his muscles
accepted in the Annual International Representational over the course of his life.
97

Yens seal engravings are works of art, revealing in their

tiny spaces boundless creativity and charm.
(photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

19


Top-dollar engraver In a seal just a few centimeters square, Yen would
Yen was never able to walk normally. Yet he also choose among a wide range of subjectsfrom dragons
never gave up on himself, working hard at his studies and phoenixes, to cranes, to pines and bamboo. These
as if to prove that he could do what able-bodied people were matched with seal script. The resulting ink im-
did despite his physical challenges. pressions were almost like paintings.
He earned good grades in school, but to help with The labor-intensive nature of seal engraving limits
the family finances, after graduating from junior high production, so anyone wanting to hire Yen after he
school he chose not to pursue his education any further. gained renown would have to wait several months be-

Suffering several bone fractures, Yen overcame great pain and hardship
to build Sutan of Crystal Dew, his mansion home that is an expression of
love for his wife.
Instead, he would drag his weak legs onto an old bicy- fore he had time to get to the job. His rates reached as
cle, leaving Taoyuan to set up a lock and key stand in high as NT$10,000 per character. But even with those
places such as Yingge and Sanxia. Cutting keys by hand lofty fees, there was unflagging demand for his services.
provided a foundation in sculptural techniques. A home built by hand with love
Yen would ask his customers about their key-using The experience of studying painting when he was
habits, aiming to provide a better-performing key based 19 both broadened the range of subject matter that Yen
on their unique wear conditions. His outstanding skills drew on for his seal engravings and introduced him
earned him the title father of 10,000 locks. to his lifelong partner, Susan Yen. With his physical
During the day, Yen studied the skills of a locksmith, disability, he relied on his wife to take care of his daily
and at night he practiced cutting seals, diligently learn- needs as he focused his energy on pursuing the art of
ing how to carve Chinese characters in the cursive, seal carving. Yet as orders piled up, the demands of
semi-cursive, official and seal calligraphic styles. his work grew overwhelming. The strain on his weak
He also studied oil painting under the artist Liu Qing muscles caused his condition to worsen. Realizing that
songan education that would help to elevate his seal wealth without health was meaningless, he decided to
carving into the realm of art. retire and move to Canada.
99
Blue Majesty
To express his gratitude to his wife, Yen found an Under his skilled hand, Sutan of Crystal Dew, as he
empty lot near Vancouver and decided to build a castle- named the house (Sutan is his wifes Chinese name),
like mansion there and give it to her. From the siting of became a large-scale work of art. The inspectors who
the house, to the digging and building of the founda- came to check on the work were full of praise for the
tions, to the pouring of the concrete, Yen handled it all. quality of the craftsmanship, remarking that it far sur-
He had no architectural background, but he researched passed the work of local contractors.
Canadian building codes, perusing books and videos to In 2007, after five years of work, the mansion was
overcome obstacles. finally completed.
From 2002, when ground was broken and construc- Persevering
tion began, Yen battled his atrophied muscles and When young, Louis Yen briefly studied painting to
osteoporosis and suffered several broken bones. Yet he strengthen his seal engraving skills. Some 30 years later,
continued with construction, insisting on laying every in 2008, he happened to visit an exhibition of oil paint-
brick and every tile himself. ings, which reignited his interest in the art form. Lack-
ing any real formal training, Yen says that he needed to
start with the basics. Beginning with optics and visual
theory, he went on to study the structure of the eye,
color, shading and so forth.

Sunset Harmony. Yens vivid landscape paintings evoke a Yens first work, Sunset over Sutan Bay, earned praise
strong sense of spatial depth. Viewers almost feel as if they
could jump right inside them. and was given top billing at the Garibaldi Art Clubs
101
Mr. Frog
56

With their magnificent lighting effects and exacting details, Yens
vibrant still lifes mesmerize their viewers.

2002

19

20075

2008

Jungle Juice
Years of Bounty Forever Young
Fall Show by vote of the more than 90 exhibiting art- complimentary warm and cold colors, and using greys
ists. It was featured on the poster for the exhibition. to capture fine gradations of natural light. No matter
Looking at the beautiful sunset in the painting, we what conditions they are displayed under, his works
can practically feel the warmth of the light. But where appear to glow, as if they have been specially illumi-
is the Sutan Bay that is depicted in the painting? With nated by a lighting expert.
a mischievous twinkle in his eye, Yen reveals that Su Yens still lifes look extremely true to life, as if one
tan Bay is nothing but a figment of his imagination. could touch the objects in them. Take, for instance, his
Its a place in his minds eye where he and his wife painting Jungle Juice, which earned second place at the
stroll while holding hands. Federation of Canadian Artists Still Life Show 2013.
At one exhibition, Yens painting was placed in a The grapes in the painting have a lustrous sheen and
dark corner, so that the painting, which itself had a the slice of orange cantaloupe appears full of sweet
dark background, appeared quite drab. It was then juice. One cant help but want to have a bite.
that he learned that artists were in the habit of us- Such superb paintings earned Yen an invitation to
ing gallery lighting to bolster their chances at these the Annual International Representational Show (AIRS)
competitions. But Yen didnt want excessive display of the FCA three years in a row. After earning a name
lighting to distort the hues of the original work. Con- for himself in Canadian art circles, in 2016 he was
sequently, he invented a painting technique to com- named a senior signature member of the federation,
pensate for lighting differentials, skillfully balancing the first person of Taiwanese descent so honored.
103
30

Louis Yen and his wife Susan are each others greatest
pillar of support. In their home Sutan of Crystal Dew (facing
page), which looks like the subject of a beautiful painting
itself, they live their days guided by the light of hope.
(photo above by Lin Min-hsuan)

2013

3


2016 Building Sutan of Crystal Dew while rising at 3 a.m.
to paint overworked his muscles and accelerated their
wasting. Now he often finds that he can only paint with

his arms placed in hanging supports. But Yen, as if in a
race against time, hopes to spend the time he has left in
life in painting the beauty he holds in his mind.

In Yens dictionary of life experience, there is no such
word as impossible. He has determinedly pursued his
dreams, following a light that is uniquely his own. l
(Chen Chun-fang/photos courtesy of Louis Yen/
l tr. by Jonathan Barnard)
105
OLD RESIDENCES

Let the Flowers of Freedom Bloom!
Reading Lai Ho in Changhua

1917100

4

1894

A line from one of Lai Hos poems expresses his lifelong creed:
to be a warrior who fights for justice.

The recreated examination room at the Lai Ho Memorial.
T he hometowns and houses of the great authors

of world literatureVictor Hugo, Johann Wolf
gang von Goethe, William Shakespeare, and Lu
affirming Lai Hos leading role in modern Taiwanese
literature (also known as the new literature).
Changhuas Mazu has a mustache
Xunare places to cherish their memory. Its been a century since Lai Ho returned to Chang
The same is true of the man who is known as the hua to establish the Lai Ho Clinic in 1917. The clinic is
Father of Modern Taiwanese Literature and also as no more, but Lai Hos archives are stored on the fourth
Taiwans Lu Xun: Lai Ho. Lai grew up in Chang floor of the building that now occupies the lot.
hua, and the places you can read about in his stories, As soon as you enter the Lai Ho Memorial you see the
from Mt. Bagua to the Confucian Temple, from the words A Warrior Fights for Justice on the wall, telling
Illustrious Guest House to the Changh ua Police the visitor what Lai Ho stood for. The memorial contains
Headquarters, are waiting for you there, landmarks an introduction to Lai Hos life, his chronology, manu-
in a unique literary geography. scripts, medical instruments, photographs, and books.
Lai Ho (Lo H in Taiwanese) was born in 1894 in

Changhua. He graduated from the Taiwan Medical
School (now the National Taiwan University College of
Medicine). He witnessed how unfairly Taiwanese pro-
fessionals were treated: they were paid half as much as
their Japanese counterparts, did not have access to staff
accommodation, and received a smaller rent subsidy. Af-
ter starting to work as a doctor, he depicted the exploita-
tion and oppression of life under colonial rule in words.
Yeh Shih-tao, the great historian of Taiwanese litera-
ture and a distinguished writer in his own right, states
that Lai Hos writing articulates a spirit of protest, resis-

tance, and accusation, and captures the local color that
A postcard that Lai Hos father Lai Tiansong sent to his son at the
has resulted from Taiwans specific historical destiny, clinic in Changhua.
109

Lai Ho, with his trademark mustache and
Taiwanese-style clothes, treated the poor at the
Lai Ho Clinic. (courtesy of the Lai Ho Foundation)
1926

528
123
301920

Anatole France, who won the Nobel Prize for literature
Books and manuscripts at the Lai Ho Memorial.
for LAffaire Crainquebille (1901). Other writers had an
influence on other stories, such as Nikolai Gogol on A
Dissatisfying New Years Festival. Further influences
There is also a recreation of Lai Hos examination room. were Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Goethe, and Schiller,
On the table by a bronze bust of the good doctor are pens all of whom had a place on his bookshelf.
and paper and a mottled rack on which stands an old Let flowers of freedom bloom on Lai Ho Day!
black-and-white photograph of the clinic back in the day. Lai Hos birthday, May 28, is celebrated in Changhua
Several photos show how stylish Lai Ho was, with his
mustache and Taiwanese-style tunic. But he was every
bit a doctor. Admirably, he often treated poor patients for
free. On Chinese New Years Eve, when everyone else
was burning spirit money, Lai Ho would burn a stack of
unpaid medical bills. His dedication to healing is the rea-
son why local people call him the Mazu of Changhua.
[W]omen are playthings for them to fool around with
and trample on. What child, no matter how innocent and
cute, will they not stoop to abuse, the brutes! Thats
the situation were living in. But what good would tak-
ing it easy do: We have to fight for the children! This
quotation from Lai Hos Dirge for the Southern Land
evinces the authors intent to stand up on behalf of the
disadvantaged, who were treated so inhumanely by the
colonial regime.
Full of national pride, his poetry and prose gives
voice to the disadvantaged. In the afterword to a collec-
tion containing his famous short story A Steelyard, Lai
Li Xianzhangs Taiwan Folk Literature Anthology, with a preface
Ho attributes his literary idealism to the inspiration of by Lai Ho.
111

120
Lai Ho went to Chung Shan Elementary, founded 120 years ago.
12
120 City as Lai Ho Day. Each year on this date the Lai Ho
25 Memorial holds a concert, this year for the eighth time.
2017 is the 123rd anniversary of Lais birth (1894) and
the 30th anniversary of the lifting of martial law (1987).
Several activities have been planned around the theme

of The Flowers of Freedom, a traditional Chinese shi
poem that Lai wrote in 1920. The most popular activity
is a literary odyssey, for which the staff at the Lai Ho
100 Memorial have planned a pilgrimage route. By fol-
lowing this route, literary pilgrims can experience (or at
least imagine) the city of Changhua as Lai Ho knew it.
After introducing each site, the guides will give every

one a chance to interact with the locals, who will share
even more stories about Lai Ho.

The odyssey: A walking and reading tour
Beside the Lai Ho Clinic was the Neighbor Assistance
Hall, also called Beggars Hall. It was the earliest so-
cial housing project in Taiwan. Established for the poor
during the Japanese era, it was a place where Lai Ho col-
lected folk stories and songs as material for his writing.
Five minutes walk from the Lai Ho Memorial lies
Chung Shan Elementary School. In 1928, after taking his
son there for the first time, Lai Ho published A Tedious

Memory, an essay criticizing colonial education, based on
his own experiences at the school 25 years before.
Mt. Bag ua is a major Changh ua landmark. Today
The Confucian Temple in Changhua was once a public school,
where Lai Ho got a Japanese education. theres a literature trail for you to take up the slope. On
113

1941

2015

the way you can take in the seventh of Lai Hos Ten
Poems About Reading Lian Hengs A History of Taiwan,
and at the end there is the Lai Ho Poetry Wall, con-

structed out of a hundred vertical steel plates, like the
pages in a traditional book. The poetry is excerpted from
Lai Hos Progress.

l At the foot of the mountain are several buildings
where a park used to be. Today, you can only imagine the
park by reading essays like Catching the Breeze and
Sitting in the Park in the Evening. Thence the guides
of this reading and walking tour will take you to the
Changhua Confucian Temple, which in Lai Hos day was
the First Public School, where Lai was a student. When
you arrive at Yuanching Temple, which the locals call the
Lord of Heaven Altar, youll hear all about Lai Hos en-
gagement in social movements and his pivotal role in the
Taiwan Cultural Association.
The police station at the next intersection was formerly
the Japanese colonial police headquarters, where Lai Ho
was detained twice. These experiences colored his later
literary work, which reflects ordinary peoples way of life
and their spirit of resistance.
Todays Chenling Road was Little West Street, a very
lively place in Lai Hos day, especially the Illustrious
Guest House, a hotel and restaurant where Lai and his
medical-school classmates held a reunion in 1941. Now a
historic site, the building is being restored.
With its impressive archives of Lai Hos writings, the
Lai Ho Memorial is a pilgrimage site for local and inter-
national scholars, who can return to sites in colonial his-
tory by reading his writings. Lais works have also been
translated. The University of California, Santa Barbara
has translated his poetry and prose into English for the
Taiwan Literature English Translation Series. And in 2015
the Institute for Chinese Studies at Heidelberg University
invited the Lai Ho Foundation to participate in a lecture
series. It was a chance for Lai Ho studies to take a place
on the stage of world literature.
This literary odyssey is an in-depth guided tour on
which youll shuttle down the streets and lanes of Old
Changh ua and read Lai Hos works out loud as you
walk your way into history, developing a sense of the
locale and of the Lai Ho spirit: let the flowers of freedom
1941
bloom forever! l
Thrown in prison a second time in 1941, Lai Ho wrote Jail Diary. (Lung Pei-ning/photos by Jimmy Lin/
tr. by Darryl Sterk)
115
NEW FORCES IN CULTURE

The Powerful Sounds
of Judys Harmonica
Ensemble


YouTube5
S earch for Judys Harmonica Ensemble on You-
Tube and youll find five young people in even
ing wear standing on stage, clasping in their hands
harmonicas of various sizes. The first note rings
out, sending a shockwave through the audience. The

piece, entitled Labyrinth, certainly has the audi-
ence seemingly feeling lost, wondering how instru-
ments so small could produce a sound on par with
2002 the majesty of an orchestra.
325
Judys Harmonica Ensemble was formed in the
spring of 2002. The five members, average age 32, all
come out of the Cozy Harmonica Club of the Affiliated

Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal Univer-
sity, and together they form Taiwans oldest harmonica
quintet. The quintet is made up of three chromatic
harmonicas, one bass harmonica, and one chord har-
monica. The chromatics are responsible for the main
melody, the bass handles the bassline and rhythm, and
the chord harmonica plays, well, the chords.
Beautiful misunderstandings
In their 15 years together, they have put on over
300 concerts, been buskers, toured Taiwan, and even
15
stepped onto the world stage. They have been invited
to tour Japan and South Korea, playing everything
from classical to folk and jazz, as well as a few well-
known movie themes. Judys Harmonica Ensemble has
earned titles like World Champion at the World Har-
monica Festival and Triple Champion at the Asia Pa-

cific Harmonica Festival, becoming a world-renowned
professional harmonica ensemble.
The members may all have been part of a harmonica

club at high school, but their ties to the instrument it-
self could be considered beautiful misunderstandings.
Yang Chih-hui, who plays the bass harmonica, origi-
nally wanted to join the traditional Chinese music club,
while Lin Ying-chih joined because most of the people
in the guitar club were snobs. Lu I-chen, who plays
chromatic harmonica, was invited by another student
and joined reluctantly, never expecting she would soon
fall head over heels for the instrument.

Another chromatic harmonicist, Li Jang, joined be-
cause his father told him the harmonica was easy and
didnt require learning to read music, which was defi-
nitely a misunderstanding.
Meanwhile ensemble leader Chuang Chu-ti joined
117

2001
The Adler Trio

Harmonica groups use different kinds of harmonicas depending
on the size of the group. Chromatic harmonicas (above, and
upper left in photo below) are characterized by the button that
enables players to raise or lower the key, and are usually used
for the main melody; bass harmonicas (below, bottom left) take
care of the bassline and rhythm; and chord harmonicas (below,
right) are the biggest in the lineup. (photos by Lin Min-hsuan)
1812205

Li Jang, Chuang Chu-ti, Yang Chih-hui, Lu I-chen, and Lin Ying-chih (left to right) play a song in the relaxed atmosphere of
their band office. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)
the club as soon as he got into the school, having been into the world in Germany in 1812. Even more recently,
bowled over by his cousins harmonica skills. After see- it has expanded out into various kinds of harmonica, in-
ing the world-famous harmonicists the Adler Trio per- cluding chromatic, chord, and bass. Chuang says that the
form in Taiwan, Chuang was astonished by their music harmonica is light and easily portable, which are both
and wanted to emulate them. He formed Judys Har- strengths and weaknesses. Harmonicas might be easy
monica Ensemble with Yang Chih-hui the following year. to play, but theyre quite quiet and theres no resonance,
Even as an art major at college, Chuang continued to which makes it hard to make them sound really nice.
be mad about the harmonica, playing in competitions He also jokes that its an instrument very susceptible
abroad and teaching the instrument on the side. Once to the climate. The chromatic harmonica, for example,
he started making enough to get by, he decided to put isnt particularly easy to drain water out of, so that
his studies on hold. I was already 100% sure I didnt when it gets cold, the condensation tends to accumulate,
want to get into the arts, he remarks. Fortunately for blocking airflow and all but silencing the instrument.
Chuang, in the groups early days they won the ensem- Before performing, he uses all kinds of measures to
ble division and placed second in the trio division at the warm the harmonica up, from heaters and hair dryers to
Asia Pacific Harmonica Festival, which soon earned him simply holding it tight and using body heat.
his familys support and understanding for his decision. However, the difficulty of the harmonica is what
Not so simple makes it so appealing to manythe structural limitations
The harmonica is a young instrument, first coming of the instrument essentially make the player part of it.
119
2001

Years after seeing the Adler Trio put on a
dazzling performance in 2001, Chuang Chu-ti
and Yang Chih-hui were finally able to take the
stage with their idols.

2016
50

14


Li Jang, who has a special soft spot for the harmonica,
Li Jang (left) and Yang Chih-hui (right), letting the music take
excitedly comments, Your mouth is the resonance control.
chamber, so every player around the world produces
a different sound, a sound that faithfully reflects the
players own personality. And while there isnt really
much in the way of music written specifically for har-
monica, Lu I-chen, who has a foundation in piano, has
spent a great deal of time exploring composition. On top
of that, being so quiet, the harmonica needs the help of
a sound system to amplify it, but most sound engineers
arent very familiar with the instrument. Chuang has
done intense study into the sound systems and technolo-
gies best suited to getting the most powerful sound from
little harmonicas. The group take their own equipment
In the hallowed arena of the National Concert Hall, ensemble

leader Chuang Chu-ti shows off his skills with the chord harmonica.
to performances, as well as having their own recording

studio in a small workshop on Jilin Road, Taipei.
Li Jang, meanwhile, went from knowing nothing
about musical staves to becoming the groups com-
poser, writing their pieces Oasis, Labyrinth, and
The Map Painter. The decision to form a quintet came
because adding one more person changed everything.
Starting with four higher-pitched instruments, we
added a rhythm instrument, and that let us produce
more rigorously complete music. It opened up some
new possibilities, and made both performing and writ-
ing more challenging and more fun!
Fruits of their labor
The hard work of Judys Harmonica Ensemble as
both performers and promoters of harmonica music has
begun to bear fruit across Taiwan. Lu notes that har-
monica clubs have become increasingly common in ele-
mentary and junior high schools in central and southern
Taiwan, with quintets the most mainstream form. 2016
was a landmark year for the ensemble, marking their
debut performance at Taiwans premier music perfor-
mance space, the National Concert Hall. Their concert
was built around The Map Painter, with pieces as
diverse as exciting Roma music, passionate Argentinian
tango, vibrant Romanian music, and the debut perfor-
mance of a suite specifically created for the concert. By
the end, the ensemble had brought the house down.
121
15
Judys Harmonica Ensemble has been together for 15 years, ultimately becoming Taiwans leading
professional harmonica group. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)
The harmonica has come to be an irreplaceable part

of the lives of the ensembles members. His voice full of
emotion, Chuang says, I like the harmonica to the point
I couldnt be apart from it. Im so lucky to have found

something I love so much while I was still in high school.
Lin Ying-chih, meanwhile, likens the harmonicas charm

to the hero of manga Case Closed, Conan Edogawa: Conan
looks like a child, but has smarts beyond most people.
Similarly, the harmonica might seem structurally simpler
than other instruments, but its a profound instrument.
Pianos have so many keys and require so much fingering
practice, but the most basic harmonica has just ten holes
and, at most, a button to switch between two keys. That
said, what really changes is your mouth shape, tongue po-

sition, and other things the audience just cant see.
What might be the greatest talent of Judys Harmonica
Ensemble is their ability to take such a simple instrument
and create such complex music. l
(Jojo Hsu/photos courtesy of Judys Harmonica
Ensemble/tr. by Geof Aberhart)
l

Taiwan Panorama The Order Form for
N.A. Area Only
Bringing Taiwan to the World
()
I want to subscribe to Taiwan Panorama:
New subscriber
Renewal/subscriber No.
1 yearUS$32
2 yearsUS$55
______________
Subscription to begin with__________(month)__________(year)
Name
Address
Tel.
As a gift for a friend
Gift card to read

Name
Address
Tel.
Charge my credit card

CARD TYPE:
Card No.
_________-_________-_________-_________-

(Please include the final three numbers found on the back of your card, near the signature bar)
Tel No.____________________________
Expiry date_____(month) ______(year)
Subscription date________________________
Total (including postage)
________________________________________________
Cardholders signature
_______________________________________________

I wish to purchase the book publications as checked overleaf.
Book Series (including postage)

Title Edition Price Quantity Ordered
Paperback US$11
Chinese Sayings Told in Pictures

Paperback US$11
Taiwans Extraordinary Plants and Animals
Paperback US$11
When West Meets East: International Sinology and Sinologists
Paperback US$11
Stories of Chinese Herbal Medicine
Paperback US$10
A New Age for Wildlife Conservation in Taiwan
Paperback US$13
Embrace Taiwan 100 Images of Contemporary Taiwan
2
Paperback US$13
Taiwan Revealed 100 Images of Contemporary Taiwan (2)
Paperback US$13
Hold that Note!Stories from Taiwans Stage
Paperback US$13
Call of the WildTaiwans Natural World
Paperback US$16
Shindigs and Solemnity in Taiwan
Paperback US$16
Days of Being Wild: Youth Culture in Taiwan
Paperback US$12
A Taste of Taiwan

Total
Prices include postage and handling

Kwang Hwa Publishing (USA), Inc.)
Payment enclosed (make checks payable to Kwang Hwa Publishing (USA), Inc.)
Please enclose this form with your remittance in an envelope and mail to Kwang Hwa
Publishing (USA), Inc.
3731 Wilshire Blvd 104, Los Angeles, CA 90010 USA. TEL: 1-888-829-3866 FAX: 1-213-389-0021
Please allow 2 weeks for your book or first issue to arrive.

Taiwan Panorama 2017 Jun

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Taiwan Panorama 2017 Jun

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1066 42 6

Vol. 42 No. 6 June 2017

Behind the Silver Screen

A Moment Frozen in Time

The Movies Hidden Heroes EDITORS NOTE

T he film is over and the audience goes

Postcards from Home

Lighting the World

Artists and Artisans

New Forces in Culture

8 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

W ithout need for spells or

his or her own personal magical

12 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

Relying on the simplest of devices, Hu

Over his 40-year career Foley

14 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

16 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

18 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

20 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

22 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

of self-cultivation has by no means reached

tains, and they are mountains again. (A per-

26 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

28 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

30 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

After returning to Tainan,

32 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

34 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

36 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

38 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

(2016), she blurted out, Thats so romantic!

Although he thought about giving up, Mori

yamawho never had any formal academic

other era have become a signature attraction

just climbing up. He periodically declares that

he wants to retire, but then he gets that old itch

a full calendar each year at graduation time as

many students seek him out. Always smiling

Theater, Yan Jhen-fa, though of an age with

42 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

44 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

46 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

Shadows of the Past:

48 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

50 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

52 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

54 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

The film ends, the

Before the theater

56 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06

delighted by the return of such a crowd to

the old t heater and felt that he had done his

duty not to let down his grandfather. Ironi-

fight alone without any outside help, feels

Each time before starting the film, he per-

for coming, and even invites people to step

in these times. But there are still a few people

who, with admirable if foolhardy determi-

allowing us to see theaters as something

high-tech Dolby sound systemsas places

Thank you for accompanying us on Taiwan Panoramas 40-year

To subscribe, please use the form in the back of the magazine.

60 Taiwan Panorama 2017/06