TUBA Church (基國派老教堂)

Note: As of September 2019, the Tuba Church is closed and a gate has been constructed to block access to the church for both the local indigenous community and tourists alike.

The period of closure is currently unknown due to a land dispute with the land owner holding the local community hostage for the price of $10,000,00NT.

Until the church reopens to the public, I’ll leave this notice here. If you are planning on visiting the area, make sure to check local news to see if it’s reopened or now.

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How many tourist spots in Taiwan designated by the Ministry of Culture (文化部) as one of the ‘Top 100 Historical Spots’ in the country and are empty on a Sunday afternoon? How many of them are a western-style church? I'm not counting, but I think it is safe to say that this one might be the only one and despite what it lacks in size and panache, this little church in the mountains is pretty cool. 

The TUBA church (基國派老教堂) is a small church nestled in the mountains of Taoyuan county and was built by the Indigenous people living in the area as a place to worship. The church no longer holds services and a more modern and larger version has been built next to the original, yet the original church holds special meaning for the people living in the area and is a well-preserved historical building. 

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It was was constructed by the Atayal people (泰雅族) in 1963 as a place for the people of the remote TUBA tribe (基國派) to worship. The tribe built the church with their own hands using stones that were carried one-by-one from the nearby Sanmin Batcave (三民蝙蝠洞.) 

The church was used between 1963 and 1992, but ultimately became too small for the growing population of the tribe.  After moving to the newer church, the original wasn’t used or maintained and fell into a bit of disarray. The community however realized the cultural value of the old church and decided to restore it to its original state. Today the church stands in its original spot and is celebrated as a monument to the preservation and cultivation of Atayal culture and history and is now recognized by the government as a national historical monument. 

If you find yourself between Daxi and Fuxing someday, turn left off the main road when you see the sign for the Sanmin Batcave and check out this old church nestled in the mountains. Its not very large and you don’t need much time to see it, but it really is quite remote as far as things go in Taiwan and the mountainous landscape around the church is quite nice. 

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Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots) 

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Taiwanese Opera (歌仔戲)

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I don't go on rants on my blog very often, but here we go - 

When you think of things that are uniquely Taiwanese, what comes to mind? Night markets? Bubble tea? Stinky tofu? 

I ask this because when most of us think of things that are “Taiwanese”, the first thing that comes to mind is usually food. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing - Taiwan is without a doubt a world-famous food-crazed country, but what else could we present to people coming to Taiwan as something that you can only see here?  

I would argue that an excellent example of something that you will only find here is the native theatrical opera which has evolved over the years into an important part of the cultural identity of the country. 

There are some people however who insist that the Taiwanese opera is actually not "Taiwanese” at all and constantly refer to it as the "Chinese opera" to fit their own specific narratives. 

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So here’s an analogy for you: In Canada, the earliest Europeans who arrived a few centuries ago came from the United Kingdom or France. I wonder if any of these people would use this knowledge to accuse me of not being Canadian? Would they say that because my country has influences of British or French culture that we are in fact not Canadian at all? Would they say that maple syrup or our love affair with hockey aren't actually Canadian at all? I highly doubt it. 

When it comes to the Taiwanese opera, I don’t think I have to make silly analogies to really prove that the opera is uniquely “Taiwanese”, but due to the precarious situation of Taiwanese-sovereignty this causes some people to have the inability to grasp the concept that the people living here, much like the people living in Canada have formed their own unique identity and cultural institutions that differentiate them from the land where their ancestors hailed from.

With our collective human history, I wonder if we can we truly argue that, just because something has “influences” from another land that it cannot really be a unique and celebrated aspect of another culture? 

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Roadside Opera (路邊歌仔戲)

So, let me talk about the origins of the Taiwanese opera and try to shed a bit of light upon why it is 100% Taiwanese.

It would be silly not to start out by mentioning that China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and despite the reality of the situation (Taiwan being an independent, free and democratic country), the PRC’s claim also includes more than just sovereignty over the land, but also things like Bubble Tea and the Taiwanese opera as their very own. 

Taking that into consideration, you might hear people say that since 'Taiwan is actually a part of China', then of course Taiwanese opera is "Chinese." The actual reality of the situation however is completely different and if are living here you should know full well that this is not the case. Taiwan is not a part of China and the People's Republic of China has never held sovereignty over the island or its people. 

I suppose the next argument you will see from most of these naysayers is that the Taiwanese opera is influenced by the folk-tales of southern Fujian Province (福建省) in China, which is one of the areas where the early immigrants who came to Taiwan originated. 

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Please don't disrespect my culture

If your opinion is thus solely based on literature coming out of China, or because the settlers who came to Taiwan centuries ago were “Chinese”, then I would argue that it would be best for you to stop reading propaganda and make an effort to actually attend a performance of a Taiwanese opera troupe and then also one of Taiwan’s various Peking Opera troupes which regularly performs in Taipei so that you can see with your eyes the differences between the two. 

One of the most important differences is that the opera here is performed entirely in the Taiwanese language (台語) rather than in Mandarin. A difference in language is probably not enough to prove my argument though, especially since the people I'm ranting about likely speak neither Mandarin nor Taiwanese. 

It would be extremely difficult for them to fully understand the poetic complexities and word play of the Taiwanese opera as opposed to styles found in China - but the visual aspects and differences between the two should be more than enough for even the most uninitiated to notice.

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Historically, the first recorded instance of any form of opera being performed in Taiwan was in 1624 - From that time on several performance styles and forms of singing and acting were brought to Taiwan by immigrants from various regions of China. The people living here at the time took these various styles and combined them to form their own opera and opera troupes began forming around the country in order to offer some entertainment to the mainly agrarian population. 

The Taiwanese opera that we know today originated in what is now Yilan County (宜蘭縣) and while early performances used folk stories from Fujian province, the opera quickly evolved and started using folk-songs and stories that were set in Taiwan and dealt with the sometimes harsh nature of living in the country at the time. These stories have helped to not only preserve historical events on the island, but also act an important educational tool about the cultural heritage of the island.

While the development of the uniquely Taiwanese-style opera is interesting, the history of the opera has been one of survival and adaptation that has seen its popularity rise and decline due to social transformations in the country (Ex: Japanese colonialism, WW2, The Chinese Nationalist takeover and a modern entertainment industry to compete with.)

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At the height of its popularity, the opera was performed both on stages inside and outside, as well as on the radio, in movies and on television. One of the main reasons why the opera has been able to survive is due to its ability to adapt and modernize - Which I would argue is an area where the Peking Opera (and its rigid system of rules) has fallen behind when it comes to appealing to modern audiences. 

The resurgence of the opera over the last decade is also in part due to the success and hard work of the world famous Ming Hua Yuan Opera Troupe (明華園總團) which is well known for combining intricate performances with modern technology and has made the opera more appealing and accessible to younger Taiwanese as well as promoting Taiwanese culture and art to the global community. 

The photos I’m sharing today are not from Ming Hua Yuan, but a small travelling Opera troupe that performs on the roadside during temple festivals or whenever anyone contracts our their services. The cool thing about living in Taiwan, and one of the major differences between this country and China is that it is quite common to see these amazing performances on the road or at temples during festivals.

The opera troupe performing in these shots is the “Hong Ming Opera Troupe” (鴻明歌劇團) which performed a few different operas for a very small audience outside of Keelung’s Lao Da Gong Temple (老大公廟) which I was visiting in order to get shots of the Ghost Gate before Ghost Month finished up. 

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Roadside opera performances are quite common in Taiwan and while the actors are performing out of a makeshift stage (that they pack up each and every day) they put on excellent live performances with music performed by an in-house band and are always free of charge (or paid for by local temples.) 

The Taiwanese opera doesn't rely on high-flying acrobats or high-pitched singing voices like its Chinese counterparts - Performances are often quite laid back and rely on short Haiku-like sentences of five or six words, facial expressions, hand gestures and the imagination of the audience. 

If you take away all the modern technology and the radio and television performances, the modern opera continues to be grounded in its grassroots origins and is still faithful to the stories about the simplicity of early life on the island for the immigrants. This simplicity is what continues to make the opera endearing to Taiwanese people and is also indicative of both the history of the country and the cultural identity of the people living here. 

The precarious nature of the political situation of this country can be solved another day, but the question as to whether or not the Taiwanese opera is uniquely Taiwanese shouldn't be up for debate by anyone both inside or outside of the country. 

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I would hope that through this rant, that the people will look at the Taiwanese opera in a different light and respect the people in this country who formed their own style of traditional entertainment and have kept it alive through hard work and dedication. 

I will be shooting Ming Hua Yuan, Taiwan's most famous opera troupe next month, so expect some more shots of these great actors and actresses and some more promotion of this important part of Taiwan's culture. 

I'm embedding a Youtube video below that explains a bit of the origins of the Taiwanese opera in English and Chinese (with subtitles) and talks a little about the differences between Taiwan's native opera and that of the opera in that other country. 

As always, if you have any questions, comments or criticisms, please comment below or get in touch with me through the contact section on the menu below. 

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Time for the Ghosts to go Home

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Ghost Month wrapped up last weekend and now that it is over we can all breathe a sigh of relief as the ghosts have gone back to the underworld. For the less superstitious among us, we can also breathe sigh of relief, as people won't be burning things as often and you'll be able to enjoy some fresh air!

As I mentioned in my previous post about the Sacred Pigs, Ghost Month is probably the most confusing time of the year for foreigners in Taiwan. There is so much going on in terms of Taiwanese culture and ancient religious traditions that it seems like everywhere you go there is something cool is happening.

It is easy to be a silent observer when these things happen, but if you try really hard to actually understand the complexities of the tradition surrounding Ghost Month, you might cause yourself a bit of a headache. 

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Lanterns on the outside of the temple

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Lanterns on the outside of the temple

I recently celebrated my ten year anniversary of being in Taiwan, and I can honestly admit that even now, as a fluent speaker and having studied Taiwanese culture for years, I still have trouble understanding everything that is happening around me.

I'm not saying that it's impossible to understand, and I'm sure there are people who could better explain all the aspects of Ghost month, but I'm sure they probably have a doctorate in Taiwanese anthropology. 

A few day before Ghost Month ended, I headed to see the 'Doorway to Hell' in Keelung to get a last glimpse of the open door before the Ghosts would be ushered back to hell or wherever it is that they're supposed to go. 

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The Main Shrine and Ghost Gate at Lao Da Gong Temple (老大公廟)

The doorway to hell, or the Ghost Door (鬼門) is housed in a temple in Keelung city. The temple which is named Lao Da Gong Temple (老大公廟) is quite a large one, but also quite a bit out of the ordinary as far as temples go. When Ghost Month rolls around, the outside of the temple is decorated with well-over a thousand lanterns and make the temple look really cool. 

The inside of the temple is actually not as ornate as most typical Taoist temples are throughout the country and it actually seems to be somewhat plain-looking as far as that goes. My guess though is because the temple houses the doorway to hell and because so many people in Taiwan are superstitious that they don't often visit. The temple tends to be its busiest during ghost month where it attracts most visitors who come to make offerings to the spirits of those who passed away without the opportunity of being honored by their family, known better as the ‘angry ghosts’.

The Gates of Hell happen to just be a small hole in the wall to the left of the main shrine of the temple. It is just a narrow door with a lot of calligraphy inscribed both around the door and on the inside. On the day that the gate opens, hundreds, if not thousands of people will come to the temple and the news media will park their cameras in front to offer a live feed to the nation of the gates opening. 

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The Gate to Hell! 

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The Gate to Hell! 

I attended the ceremony a few years ago (check the shots on my flickr here) and I have to say that despite all the fanfare, it was actually a little boring considering nothing actually happened when the gate opened. Although, I'm sure really sure what I expected to happen. 

After shooting at the temple, I made my way back over to the downtown core of Keelung and walked up the mountain next to the harbour where you will find the popular Zhongzheng park (中正公園.)

On top of the mountain there is a temple/alter (主普壇) dedicated primarily to Ghost Month which means that the temple is more or less a museum for eleven months of the year. The temple has been used for almost 200 years during Ghost Month celebrations and attracts most visitors during late August and July. 

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Peeking in the Ghost Gate. 

Despite visiting a few days before the end of Ghost Month, the temple was still lit up and preparations had already started for the celebration that would take place on the weekend. If I had shown up on the actual last day of Ghost Month, the front of the temple would have long lines of tables set up with offerings for the ghosts and people would show up en masse to honour their ancestors.

This year, I decided that instead of getting in the thick of things with thousands of people, that I would visit a few days earlier to get the shots I wanted. I enjoyed the day in Keelung, which was strangely a sunny day (it rains around 300 days a year there) and enjoyed the lack of people crowding up my shots! I did miss the atmosphere of the celebration however. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend this year as I had other things to do. 

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Ghost Month Altar

With Ghost Month finished, Moon Festival (中秋節) will soon arrive and it will be time for more cultural activities, barbecues, moon cakes, eating pomelo and a week or so later Double Ten Day, the National birthday of the Republic of China (Taiwan) will be taking place. It's going to be busy over the next few weeks and I'll have quite a bit to shoot! 

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Ghost Month Altar

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Ghost Month Altar

If you're in Taiwan, I hope you're enjoying the Fall weather and since Moon Festival and Double Ten Day are coming, that you will enjoy your time off and enjoy some of the celebrations! 

If you have any questions, comments or criticisms, be sure to comment below. 

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Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots)