Taiwanese History: Double Tenth Day

October 10 is known as Double Tenth Day in Taiwan. This is also called Republic of China National day. It commemorates the Wuchang Uprising that resulted in the formation of the Republic of China and the eventual government on the island of Taiwan.


Taiwan is not an independent nation. It is still a province of China; this is the reason that there are economic Offices rather than embassies in Taiwan. A government establishing an embassy in Taiwan would be recognizing Taiwan as an independent nation. This would result in great friction and even the threat of war with Mainland China. However the ruling government in Taiwan is the Republic of China and not the People’s Republic of China. The current president Ma Ying Jiu is a part of the KMT party. This party is looking for closer ties to China as opposed to the DPP, which is leaning toward Taiwan independence. The government is a parliamentary government.

In light of Double Tenth day, I want to provide a bit of history about the establishment of the Republic of China.



Qing Dynasty Art

The Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the ruling power of China from 1644 until 1912 when the Empress Dowager Longyu abdicated the thrown on behalf of the emperor. The Republic of China was established on January 1, 1912 with Sun Yat Sen as the first provisional president.

The dynasty was at its strongest point in the mid 18th century. Territory and population increased but after the mid-century military power weakened, there were defeats and massive rebellions and as a result by the mid-nineteenth century the dynasty had declined. The dynasty was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution resulting in the abdication of the emperor and the establishment of the Republic of China.

In 1900 the Qing dynasty created a modernized army called the “New Army.” They began to manufacture the weapons of modern warfare. One city Wuchang on the Yangtze river was the hub of the military industrial complex of China for that time. However, many of the officers were influenced by the revolutionary ideas of Sun Yat Sen and many joined revolutionary groups, such as the Literary Society.

The Wuchang Uprising

The Wuchang uprising marked the end of the Qing Dynasty It took place on October 10, 1911. The uprising started accidentally, Russian revolutionaries were building bombs in the city of Wuchang in the Hubei province. One of the bombs accidentally exploded resulting in a police investigation. The investigation uncovered a number of Literary Society members within the “New Army.” These men, recognizing that arrest and execution was imminent, staged a coup. The local officials panicked and fled, the Army took control of the local government within the day. The revolutionaries telegraphed other provinces telling them of the coup and urging them declare their independence from the emperor. Within six weeks fifteen provinces had seceded from the empire.

The provisional Government of the Republic of China was established under President Sun Yat Sen on January 1, 1912 and the emperor abdicated on February 12, 1912.

Sun Yat Sen

Sun Yat Sen

 Sun Yat Sen was in the United States during the Wuchang uprising, but returned immediately and helped to shape the emerging government becoming its first president. Although he is considered one of the greatest leaders of modern China he spent many years in exile. He fell from power quickly after the creation of the republic and led a number of revolutionary governments in an effort to wrest power from warlords who controlled much of the nation. He died in 1925 and failed to see his party, The Chinese National People’s Party, Koumintang (KMT) consolidate power over the entire nation. Sun’s chief legacy is the devlopment of his political philosophy known as the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy, and the people's livelihood


Chiang Kai Shek

Chiang Kai Shek

Chiang Kai Shek after serving in the Imperial Japanese Army returned to China in 1911 after learning of the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising, intending to fight as an artillery officer. He served in the revolutionary forces, leading a regiment in Shanghai. The Xinhai Revolution ultimately succeeded and Chiang Kai Shek became a founding member of the KMT.

On June 5, 1926, Chiang became Commander-in-Chief of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA), and on July 27 he launched a military campaign known as the Northern Expedition, to defeat the warlords controlling northern China and unify the country under the KMT.

The Nationalist Government of the Republic of China fought with Communists beginning in about 1927 as Chaing Kai Shek’s soldiers purged thousands of communists out of shanghai. His forces clashed with Mao Ze Dong’s people’s Liberation Army and in 1949, after many losses, fought a final battle in Chengdu, on December 10, 1949, in which Chiang Kai Shek was evacuated to the island of Taiwan

The government of the Republic of China was established on Taiwan with its capitol in Taipei. Chiang Kai Shek served as president reelected a number of times until his death in 1975.

Double Tenth Day

Double tenth day commemorates the Wuchang Uprising which took place on October 10, 1911. It is celebrated in Taiwan by a Military Parade and Fireworks.

Photo Credits:  http://www.wikipedia.com/

Other posts you may be interested in:

Taiwanese History:  The Chiang Kai Shek Mausoleum
Taiwanese History:  Double Tenth Day
Taiwan Travelogue:  The Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine

An American Presence: What I Don't Miss in Taiwan

One of the things people ask us a lot is what we miss living in Taiwan. Each of us has things we can’t get here that we miss. The kids miss their "Hot Cheetos” among other things. I miss Corn Tortillas and my favorite Mexican restaurants. Brenda misses being able to easily buy English books and some other things, but, all in all, it isn't like we live a deprived existence here.

Taiwan is pretty much a first world nation. There is a great deal of choice available in most products. Stores are well stocked and it is much the same as the US in that regard. The difference is that the products as you may have guessed are geared toward the tastes and culture of Taiwan.  There are many things you can get here that you couldn't get in the United States. Taiwanese people who travel and live in the US feel much the same way.  My Chinese friends in America shopped for food primarily in Chinatown.

There is a large American business presence in Taiwan. We have many American brands, products and stores to choose from. McDonalds is hugely popular in Taiwan. They serve many of the same foods that you get in America. Big Macs, those famous McDonald's French Fries and shakes, but in addition to those they also serve rice and fried chicken. Ford Motor Company has a plant in Taiwan; they make the Ford Mondeo, a car sold both on the island and in Europe. Costco has a number of stores on the island, they do things much the same way as in America. In other words, you buy massive quantities of whatever you buy.

7/11 is everywhere. Near my home there are three 7/11s within a 5 or 6 block radius. But it isn’t the 7/11 you're used to in the states. At 7/11 in Taiwan you can pay to park, pay your taxes, arrange for DHL international overnight delivery, and get phone service for your cellular phone. 7/11 is the place to go around here. They also sell those delicious and famous 7/11 Hot Dogs. But they're not delicious. I don't know why, but they just don’t feel like hot dogs. They do however sell a delicious Taiwanese soup, which is one of my favorite things to eat. I can't believe I just said I like 7/11 food…. Amazing.

We went to Costco this week; this is the only store I've seen here that sells Christmas Trees. You can buy Beef at Costco in all the cuts that you get in the US. Most butchers can't sell you a rib eye steak (if they even know what it is.) That's not how Taiwanese people cut and serve meats. If you want a real barbeque…I'm talking a man-sized outdoor grill, just about the only place you'll find one of those bad boys is in good old Costco.

Just yesterday I was downtown and saw, for the first time a store that sells CROCS, and guess what, people here think they're just as ugly as you do back home. The only real advantage to Crocs is that they're easy to slip on and off. (People take their shoes of before entering the house.)

Circle K was a very big convenience Store in Taiwan, but now they're called OK Mart. The first time I came here they had signs and logos that looked like the American Circle K Store, but the people called them OK mart. Now that logo has changed, apparently, control of the Taiwanese division of Circle K was wrestled away from the Circle K corporation by the president of OK Mart. I'm not sure of the details but it was in court here for a number of years and the courts finally awarded ownership to OK Mart with the provision that they change their logos.

Charlie Wang

So it's not that we miss that much. Mostly, what we miss is food that is exclusive to our region of the US, and it would be nice to be able to find books written in English without having to order them and have them shipped. We find ourselves beginning to enjoy some things that are exclusively Taiwanese. For example, I have had soda here maybe twice, But I drink a lot of cold Green Tea. You can buy that in the states but it always has either sugar or Aspartame in it. In Taiwan, unsweetened tea is sold in just about every store. My favorite brand is called Cha Li Wang (literal translation: Tea inside kings we would call it the Tea of Kings). I always refer to it as Charlie Wang

 

Local Color: The Temples of Taoyuan City

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

www.maps.com/taiwan

 We live in a “small” city in Taiwan of about 380,000 people. Taoyuan City is located about 30 kilometers from Taipei the capitol of Taiwan in Northern Taiwan.  The city is home to industry and small businesses alike.  In my neighborhood, there are three hairdressers, a number of restaurants, a small store, two vegetable markets, two scooter dealers, a bike shop and butcher.  These small businesses are run by the neighbors out of their homes.  One of the other features of Taoyuan City are the temples.  There are many of them in the city, today I want to talk about the temples.


Detail at a downtown temple



There are many temples throughout the city.  People come to them to worship neighborhood gods.  These are the traditional buildings you think of when you think of Chinese Architecture.  At the library in Riverside, California they have erected a gazebo that is based on this type of architecture.  The temples are brightly colored and usually feature an incinerator for burning "hell money" as a part of the ancestor worship.  There is also a huge urn for burning incense.



Incense urn (foreground) at incinerator



The little temple at right is about a half block from my house.  Other temples such as the one pictured below are very large.  The Temple below is outside of the city on a mountain road, it is surrounded by beautiful scenery and solitude.  It's called the "Temple of the Martyr," and features this sculpure of the Twelve Dragons 

The Twelve Dragons

Much of the life that people live here is built around the traditional Taiwanese religion, represented by these temples.  There are many festivals and parades that take place because of religious beliefs and temple tradition.  Recently, the people celebrated the Ghost Festival.  I recently posted an article on The Ghost Festival (Taiwanese Traditions:  Ghost day) or you can see a short glimpse of the Ghost Festival temple parade at www.taiwanglimpse.blogspot.com (Ghost Festival Parade).  Pictured below are some vehicles that participate in the parades.

 

Other Posts that you might be Interested in:

Taiwanese Traditions:  Ghost Month

Taiwanese Traditions:  Xin Nian Kuai Le

Storm Chasers: Driving into the Belly of the Beast

Typhoon Fanapi, Sunday Afternoon

We’d heard the news and didn’t quite know what to expect. Wind speeds estimated at 144 km/hr (90 mph) gusts up to 180 km/hr (112 mph). We were expecting big rain and high winds. The rain started Saturday night. We’d have blasts of rain then it would stop or rain lightly. The wind would occasionally gust, bet never really seemed to reach any kind of high speeds.

The mountainous spine of Taiwan seemed to take the brunt of the storm. A friend who lives in the mountains said trees were blowing over and the rain was falling. Because of the conditions his family stayed home. But Taoyuan City was a different story. We continued to do what we always do. People were having barbeques to celebrate the upcoming Moon Festival. They were riding scooters, in fact, life seemed pretty much the same as always, without much concern for the typhoon

The path of the Typhoon



It’s kind of interesting, I think, because when you hear about a hurricane about to hit Florida or somewhere in the U.S. people get evacuated, the freeways are jammed. It’s a big mess, but none of that happened here. Six thousand were evacuated from potential mudslide areas in Hualien but that was it. Maybe three thousand cars, that’s not even rush hour. Life in Taiwan, in the face of the typhoon, just continued to happen.

Where we live we didn’t experience anything except some rain, so Emily and I decided to be…Storm Chasers…

We had visions of taking the old Mondeo and driving right into the belly of the beast. We planned to face down danger and drive right down the throat of the storm. As they heard about it, people began throwing around words like: Intrepid: Courageous: Fearless: Stupid (Where’d that come from?). We armed ourselves with video and still photography equipment and headed for the mountains…In Search of Typhoon Fanapi.

Typhoon Fanapi has passed

We drove with the windows down, we wanted to feel the relentless power of the wind, we wanted to hear the full-throated roar of power. We drove all the way to ShihMen Reservoir, looking for roads that would take us from the sheltering embrace of the city and expose us to the savage battering of gale force winds. But, in the end we were disappointed. Fanapi, as far as we were concerned, was a flop. In fact, at one point we stopped to photograph a footbridge and the place was teeming with sightseers, tourists. Tourists…in a typhoon, who would have ever thought? We never found the wind, never saw the devastation; we had driven into the belly of the mouse.

Fanapi facts: As of September 20, Fanapi was being blamed for 75 minor injuries. There were three vehicle accident related deaths, but no deaths directly attributed to the typhoon as it crossed Taiwan. Damage was estimated at $3.87 Million USD.

source: typhoon images and maps http://www.cwb.gov.tw/

Other Posts you might be interested in:

Typhoon Conson:  Here It Comes
Typhoon Conson:  How Did We Cope

Traveling With M13: The Sequel: Return to Toad Valley

A few months ago I featured a visit to a swimming area in the mountains above Taoyuan City, that I was given directions to, by M13 (Mordeth13). M13 is a vlogger that lives in Taiwan with a unique approach to vlogging. He does it on the back of a motorcycle and videos through his helmet. He recently started a touring company, here that he is calling," Two Wheeled Adventure Tours."  (http://hobbicide.com/M13Taiwan/). The man knows Taiwan and a lot of beautiful places in Taiwan, so if you’re in the market for a motorcycle or motorscooter tour, visit his website and book one. Okay so that was a shameless plug. I recently had an opportunity to meet him and found him a likable, and very funny guy, although sometimes his sense of humor is a little shocking.

Anyway, I didn’t write this just to plug his company. When I posted the trip to the swimming place, (May 2010; “Traveling with M13”) people commented that the place was beautiful and their surprise at the lack of people. The reason for that was that it was during the spring time and on a weekday, so people were at school and work.

We and two other families decided to revisit this place, called Toad Valley, and spend a Saturday during the summer. Things were a bit different, in

terms of the number of people at the place.

We left about 8:30 on Saturday morning and drove along surface streets to reach Toad Valley. It’s about a 45 minute drive from our house. We wound through the mountains and scenery arriving around 9:30. Already, there were a number of people at the river. We found a nice area under the canopy, and set up our barbeque. The kids immediately got down to business and got in the water and most of the adults sat around a talked.

As you can see, the place was somewhat more crowded than our first visit.  People were curious about us some asked where we were from:  Some sneaked a look at what we were grilling on the old BBQ:  Some of the younger guys were stealing looks at my daughters.  (That's just a bit too curious for my taste, so I gave them the old stink-eye.)

Then we fired up the barbeque and barbequed a number of things. As you might have guessed a Taiwanese barbeque is a little different from what Americans do back home. Menu items included: Whole squid, Chinese sweet Pork Sausage, Cheeseburgers, (that was our contribution), potato salad (also our contribution) and Shitake mushrooms.

I was talking with my friend Ken and he asked if Americans barbequed only on special days, as they do in Taiwan. Of course the answer to that, is that in Southern California during the summer, every day is a special day.

About 3:00 o’clock the clouds rolled in. By 3:15 we heard the first blast of thunder, by 3:30 we were packed and out of there as the storm pelted us with huge raindrops that seemed to be pretty close together. I couldn’t run between them, anyway. If you know me you know there’s two reasons why that isn’t possible. I’ll leave you to ponder what those reasons are…

One of the reasons we were popular

The other reason

Other posts you may be interested in:

Traveling With M13:  Finding Toad Valley

Traveling With M13:  Custom Scooters of Taiwan

Taiwanese Traditions: Ghost Month 2: Ghost Day

This parade wandered past our house, recently. Emily and I jumped on the scooter to follow the parade and get some footage. The parade was part of the Ghost Month festival. As I said in the last post the Ghost month takes place during the month of July (lunar Calendar.)

July 15th (lunar) is called Ghost day or the Ghost Festival. This is the day when hell and heaven are opened and the dead come back to the earth. It is a day of worship of the ancestors. The Ghost day parade was interesting because it had aspects to it that I hadn’t seen before.

There were a number of trucks that had racks of lanterns on them. The lanterns are used to direct the Ghosts so that they can find their ay back to their families. There were also a lot of paper houses those houses were sold to people to be burned as an offering their their ancestors. It will provide a home for them in the other world.

Throughout the parade route the vehicles would stop the lantern racks raised and fireworks were lit. The fire works were sometimes launched from moving trucks as the vehicles traveled the parade route. Fireworks are a form of worship and are often included in festival activities.

I don’t know what the story is of the singer at the end of the video. She is always featured in these “Temple Parades,” (including funerals). Sometimes she sings current popular Taiwanese pop songs and sometimes this kind of traditional Chinese song. The horns are an interesting traditional instrument. They sound like bagpipes but are small, recorder like horns. I think the sound is interesting.

Thanks to our companion video blog, Glimpses of Taiwan (www.taiwanglimpse.blogspot.com), for video footage. Glimpses of Taiwan features short (15 seconds to 1 minute) videos of day to day life in Taiwan. An abbreviated version of this video will be available there soon.




Other posts you may be interested in:

Taiwanese Traditions:  Ghost Month
Taiwanese Traditions: Walking the god

Taiwanese Traditions: Ghost Month

The Legend        

Ghost Month offering

Legend has it that the Ghost Festival comes from the "Legend of Mulian.” When Mulian was ten years old, he was appointed to be a monk by Kshitigarbha. A few years later, his mother died and was sent to the Hell because of the things she did in life such as beating monks and wasting food. When Mulian knew that his mother was suffering from the punishment of “hanging upside down” in the sixth level of the Hell, (Taiwanese religion says that there are 18 levels of Hell) he brought food to his mother. Mulian tried to feed his mother but the food turned into flame whenever it was close to her month. Mulian went to Sakyamuni for help. Sakyamuni told Mulian about her mother’s sins and told him that if he wanted to help his mother, he must prepare vegetable foods for all the spirits on the first day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. Mulian did it and saved his mother from being a "hungry ghost."

A teenager burns money   

The seventh month of the lunar calendar is now called Ghost Month. During Ghost Month the gates of Hell are opened and the spirits are allowed a month of freedom in the living world. July 1st on the lunar calendar (In 2010, that was August 10th) is the start of Ghost month.

This is a time of honoring the ancestors. One way of honoring the ancestors ids to place food on a table outside your home. The food is there for the ancestors to eat so that they will visit. One thing I think is interesting to note is that the ancestors are not invited into the house. Businessmen also make offerings in front of their businesses for good luck. Many people in Taiwan fear the ghosts and are afraid that they will be cursed if they do not provide offerings for the ancestors during this time. The main days for offerings are the 1st, the 15th and the 30th of July (Lunar Calendar).

Ghost month is really a part of ancestor worship. In Taiwan it is believed that when you die you go to Hell. Hell is the place where you wait to be reincarnated. But the people also believe that while you are there you have the same needs as on earth. For example paper “money” is purchased at local stores or at the temple that is burned in an incinerator. It is believed that the smoke carries the essence of the money to the ancestors. You often see people out in front of their homes burning money, paper clothing and other things for their ancestors.

A woman with her food offering

They are taught beginning at a very young age to care for their ancestors, so you  see children helping their parents to burn these things. In addition to the burning of goods, fruit, food, even alcoholic beverages are offered to the ancestors, people burn incense and pray. The idea is to provide them with the things they enjoyed on earth.

It is very important to remember all of the ancestors so in many homes you will find a lineage posted somewhere in the house. A friend of mine has a lineage that goes back for 24 generations.

Other posts you may be interested in:

Taiwanese Traditions:  Ghost Month 2:  Ghost day
Random Asianess: Walking the god
Local Color:  The Temples of Taoyuan City