Culture of Taiwan

The culture of Taiwan is a blend of traditional Chinese with significant East Asian influences including Japanese and Western influences including American, Spanish and Dutch. Over time, Taiwan gradually developed its own distinct culture (mostly from a variation of Hoklo culture). Fine arts, folk traditions, and popular culture embody traditional and modern, Asian, and Western motifs. One of Taiwan's greatest attractions is the National Palace Museum, which houses over 650,000 pieces of Chinese bronze, jade, calligraphy, painting, and porcelain. This collection was moved from mainland China in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Party (KMT) fled to Taiwan. The collection, estimated to be a tenth of China's cultural treasures, is so extensive that only 1% is on display at any one time.

Convenience store culture

Boasting 8,058 convenience stores in an area of 35,980 km² and a population of 22.9 million, Taiwan has the Asia Pacific’s and perhaps the world’s highest density of convenience stores per person: one store per 2,800 people or .000357 stores per person . In Taipei, it is not unusual to see two 7-Elevens across the street or several of them within a few hundred meters of each other.

Because they are found everywhere, convenience stores in Taiwan provide services on behalf of financial institutions or government agencies such as collection of the city parking fee, utility bills, traffic violation fines, and credit card payments. Eighty percent of urban household shoppers in Taiwan visit a convenience store each week. The idea of being able to purchase food items, drink, fast food, magazines, videos, computer games, and so on 24 hours a day and at any corner of a street makes life easier for Taiwan’s extremely busy and rushed population.

Convenience stores include:

• Circle K (Called OK in Taiwan)
• FamilyMart
• Hi-Life
• NikoMart
• 7-11

Two 7-Eleven stores opposite each other on a crossroad. Taiwan has the highest density of 7-Eleven stores per person in the world.

Cram school culture

Main article: Education in the Republic of China (Taiwan)

Taiwan, like Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, and South Korea, is well-known for its buxiban (補習班), often translated as cram school, and literally meaning "make-up class" or "catch-up class" or to learn more advanced classes. Nearly all students attend some sort of buxiban, whether for mathematics, computer skills, English, other foreign languages, or exam preparation (college, graduate school, TOEFL, GRE, etc). This is perpetuated by a meritocratic culture that measures merit through testing, with entrance into college, graduate school, and government service decided entirely on testing. This has also led to a remarkable respect for degrees, including Ph.D.s and overseas Western degrees (US and Great Britain).

English teaching is a big business in Taiwan, with Taiwan, as part of its project to reinvigorate the Taiwan miracle, aiming to become a trilingual country--fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English. Many teachers come from English-speaking countries, such as the US, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, and enjoy salaries of about $30,000-$50,000 per year at a low cost-of-living, with opportunities to manage or open one's own school and make several times that amount a year.

See also: Teaching English in Taiwan

Pili puppet show culture (TV series)

File:PiLiSuHuanJen.jpg

Puppetry is part of the heritage in the Taiwanese language.

Pili (Traditional Chinese: 霹靂) is a puppet show made by Pili International Multimedia. The TV series started in 1985, and it still continues today. It is one of the most popular TV shows in Taiwan. Pili puppet show is performed by many kinds of puppets, some of them are cool, some are intelligent, and some are funny. Unlike traditional puppet show, Pili puppet show uses state-of-the-art animation to help present it's fighting art. The delicate design of the appearance and charcteristic of each puppet has made Pili puppet show a well-known entertainment in Taiwan.

In 2000, the Pili movie The Legend of the Sacred Stone was released. It was also released on DVD in the United States, but it was very difficult to find.

In February 2006, a company called Animation Collective showed an edited version of Pili on Cartoon Network. This version of the show was called Wulin Warriors. Because of the changes done to the series, many fans from Taiwan were angry. Most Americans didn't like the show not only because of the editing, but because in the west, puppet shows are associated with TV shows for young children. Wulin Warriors was cancelled after only two episodes.

Religion

Yin and Yang symbol of Taoism.

Main article: Religion in Taiwan

A majority of the Taiwan's population can be considered religious believers, most of whom identify themselves as Buddhists or Taoists. At the same time there is a strong belief in Chinese folk religion throughout the island including ancestral worship. These are not mutually exclusive, and many people practice a combination of the three. Confucianism also is an honoured school of thought and ethical code. Christian churches have been active on Taiwan for many years, a majority of which are Protestant and with Presbyterians playing a particularly significant role.

Food

Pearl milk tea

Main article: Cuisine of Taiwan

Taiwanese culture has also influenced the west: Bubble tea is a popular tea drink available in both Europe and the United States.

Language

Main article: Languages of Taiwan

Most people in Taiwan speak both Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese (a variant Minnan dialect of southern Fujian province, China). Mandarin is taught in schools, however most spoken media is split between Mandarin and Taiwanese. Speaking Taiwanese under the localization movement has become a way for the pro-independence Taiwanese to distinguish themselves from the Mainlander. The Hakka, who make about 10 percent of the population, have a distinct Hakka dialect. The aboriginal minority groups still speak their native languages, but most of them can also speak Mandarin and Taiwanese.

Some Japanese words have remained in common day use such as:

• 一極棒 (yijibang) from 一番 (ichiban) which means "the best".
• 歐巴桑 (oubasang) from おばさん or おばあさん (obasan / obaasan) which means "auntie" or "granny". The usage of this term can be offensive to women as it implies their youth has faded or refers to the term obatalian (an annoying bossy middle-aged woman).
• 歐吉桑 (oujisang from おじさん or おじいさん (ojisan / ojiisan) which means "uncle" or "gramps".
• 卡拉OK (kala OK) from カラオケ (karaoke) which is an amalgamation of "kara (empty) and orchestra". The usage of this term is in decline in favor of "KTV".

Media

Main article: Media in Taiwan

Ang Lee is a famous Taiwanese movie director that is very popular in the west.

Sports

Popular sports in Taiwan include:

• Badminton
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cheerleading
• Golf
• Martial arts
• Pool
• Swimming
• Table tennis
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Recreation

Entrance hall of a K-TV in Taipei.

Karaoke is incredibly popular in Taiwan, where it is termed KTV (Karaoke Television). This is an example of something the Taiwanese have drawn, on scale, from contemporary Japanese culture. Pachinko is another example. During typhoons, many young Taiwanese will spend the day away singing karaoke or playing mahjong.

Since 1999 hot springs, known as wēnquán in Chinese and onsen in Japanese, has been making a comeback thanks to efforts by the government. Over 100 hot springs have been discovered since the Japanese introduced their rich onsen culture to Taiwan, with the largest concentration to the northernmost part of Taiwan island.

Anime and manga, is very popular in Taiwan. About 92 percent of teenagers read mangas on a daily basis. Manga are called Manhua in Taiwan. It is common to see a Manga rental shop or an Manga store every couple of street in larger cities.

Popular Culture

Cell phones are very popular in Taiwan. It is not uncommon for people to have two cell phones. Taiwan has one of the worlds highest rate of cell phones per people. It is referred to as the Shou ji which translate roughly to handset. Because of their high use, phones in Taiwan have many functions and are becoming cheaper.

Internet Cafes Wan ka are very popular amongst teenagers. Internet Cafes are easily found throughout the island. Usually food can be purchased in the cafe. Many gamers eat while using the internet. Many parents and teachers are concerned with the amount of time youth spend in the internet cafes.

Hip-hop culture from the United States also flourishes in Taiwan. NBA superstars especially Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups, Andre Iguodala, Jason Williams, etc. make periodic visits to Taiwan. G-Unit and Eminem are also very popular. In this process, Taiwan produced several world-renowned hip-hop artists, including Dog G, MC HotDog, Machi, and L.A. Boyz. Many young Taiwanese can be seen in throwback jersey, bling-bling, and baggy jeans which shows the effect of hip hop fashion in Taiwan.

See also

• Cuisine of Taiwan
• Music of Taiwan
• Cinema of Taiwan
• Photography of Taiwan
• Taiwanese opera
• List of Taiwanese authors