Today Paul, Noah, Ben, and I (Ashin) set out for the neighboring town of Hsinpu 新埔 while Sylvia stayed at home. Originally we had planned for a hike in the an old goods-transportation trail called Shaotanwuo 燒炭窩 (Hakka name for a dip in the mountain), but as soon as we arrived at our first stop--Hsinpu's Yimingmiao 義民廟 (Righteous Citizens' Shrine), we were stalled by a gathering of ancestral worship featuring rows of tour buses from Taipei, the mayor of Hsinchu, legislators, and a lot of other associated food and fun.
Yimingmiao commemorates the local (Hakka) residents who helped the Manchu government to appease frequent local rebellions in the late 18th and 19th century, and has since become the locus of Hakka ancestral worship. As always, I enjoyed the casualness of such an elaborate performance--right besides the ancestral tablet towards which hundreds of people were paying obeisance (first with incense, then with fresh flowers, then with wine, then with long Hakka eulogies, firecrackers, after which we left), Paul and Noah stood observing the festivities, Ben crawled around on the floor, and I took pictures with the rest of the photographers totally blocking the tablets from view. And not a single person seemed bothered.
This simple fact of comfort means a lot to me. I guess it is only when you are not afraid of being stolen, or deprived of something that you would allow anything to happen in your space. This is a stark contrast from my picture-taking experiences in in post-cultural revolution mainland China, where in almost every old religious space stands a photo-guard and a pushy incense vendor threatening the welfare of passersby who wouldn't conform to their (newly) set standards (and rates) of worship. Often it's a two-in-one combo. Their desperate attempts to "make" a religious space is as forced as it is forceful, and whatever cultural relics they were protecting from cameras didn't seem to carry the kind open intimacy I have found on my Taiwanese gods and goddesses. I suppose these gods and ancestors have always been pretty well-loved and respected, and have no reason to fear!
To continue with the day's narrative, we then attended several roadside festivals of the butterflies. It was such a beautiful day that all the butterflies came out, and Paul, Noah and Ben just about went crazy with catching them, studying them, and releasing them one after another! We also saw several beautifully preserved/restored old Sanheyuan 三合院, which were well lived in. I can never get enough of old houses myself.
Oh and there is the preview picture of the boys with their sketch pads. We've been sketching during our hikes. More artworks to follow.
1 comment:
Very nice photos. Perhaps you could come up with a photography project and then post it on the blog?
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