Hakka people in Taipei
By Ken LinTranslated by Yvonne ChenTaiwanese whose ancestors migrated from China¡¦s southern Guangdong Province have traditionally been regarded as Hakka, while those from the Swatow (Shantou) and Amoy (Xiamen) regions are known as Fulau. Many Hakka trace their ancestry to the mountainous areas of Fujian, Jiangxi, and Guangdong.
Taiwan¡¦s Hakka population is roughly four million. The Hakka dialect is experiencing something of a revival due to the government¡¦s ¡§Restore Our Mother Tongue¡¨ program. My own discovery of this ethnic minority dates back to junior high school, when my best friend spoke to his parents in an incomprehensible language. However, the main character in this story is my new roommate, James.
James looks Chinese, speaks to me in English, but is French and grew up in Tahiti. ¡§But, I¡¦m Hakka,¡¨ he says in broken Mandarin, pointing out that a Hakka ancestor immigrated to Tahiti at the end of the nineteenth century. James¡¦ family motto is ¡§respect tradition, work hard, and endure hardship.¡¨ It turns out that most of Tahiti¡¦s ethnic Chinese are Hakka.
James exhibits many Hakka traits. He works hard, and the unity and solidarity of his family is impressive. Family members dispersed around the world stay in touch, and are brought closer by a family website featuring updates and discussions.
With the encouragement of James and his family, he and I--a pure Hakka from a Pacific island, and a Fulau Taiwanese--embarked on a trip to discover Hakka Taipei. James will post the results of our quest on his family's website.
1.Taipei Hakka Culture House
11, Lane 157, XinYi (HsinYi) Rd., Sec. 3, DaAn
(02) 2702-6141, 2702-6142
Hours: Tues-Fri 9am-9pm; Sat & Sun 9am-5pm; closed Mondays
The Taipei Hakka Culture House is a modern building with a trendy exterior and a traditional Hakka interior. The interior contains delicately carved window railings. The ground floor reception hall is furnished with traditional items for tea drinking, discussion, or teaching, while the library contains books and reference materials on Hakka culture. The receptionist says a growing number of Hakka are seeking information on Hakka culture and language.
The 2nd and 3rd floor exhibition areas display Hakka artifacts reflecting religious beliefs, traditional foods, ethnic identity, population distribution, architecture, and industrial culture. Traditional Hakka buildings are no longer found in Taipei, but through models and pictures we can get a sense of Hakka lifestyles long ago. Hakka people settle in groups and retain farming traditions even after moving to the cities. A good example is the Liu Linkang family. Fifty years ago, they moved to Taipei¡¦s TongHua Street from Hsinchu County's Hsinpu. Four generations live together in a five-story building with a vegetable garden on the roof terrace. TongHua Street has slowly become a Hakka enclave.
Ancestors and temples are serious matters to Hakka people, who differ from other ethnic groups in that they pay tribute to the Sacred Dragon below their altar, and will guide ethereal spirits according to fengshui. These ceremonies are still practiced in Hakka villages and temples outside Taipei.
The 4th-floor culture classroom is a venue for Hakka language and folk-song classes. The basement is used for dance and theater rehearsals, while visitors can relax in the wood-and-stone covered roof terrace.
2.Taipei Hakka Art and Culture Center
3F, 19, Lane 157, XinSheng S. Rd., Sec. 1, DaAn
(02) 2709-3234, 2709-4443
Hours: Tues-Fri 9am-9pm; Sat, Sun 9am-5pm; closed Mondays
The Hakka Art and Culture Center is a relaxing exhibition hall for Hakka study. The spacious, bamboo-furnished social room is a good place to socialize and exchange information. A great place for in-depth studies of Hakka culture, the library--Taiwan's first Hakka-theme collection--houses over 4,000 books, including culture, recipes, and original papers. Two display rooms show Hakka artwork and artifacts; seminars and speeches are held from time to time.
3.Taipei Northern Hakka Culture Hall
161, MingDe Rd., Peitou (near Mingte MRT station)
(02) 28250034
Hours: Tues-Fri 9am-9pm; Sat, Sun 9am-5pm; closed Mondays
Folk songs are central to Hakka culture. While working in the hills, Hakka women used to sing to raise their spirits, or to communicate or compete with each other. Also unique to Hakka culture is the ¡§Three-legged Tea Picking Play," a comedy based around folk songs and ballads.
The Taipei Northern Hakka Culture Hall is an exhibition hall centered on Hakka plays and music. The entrance cleverly engages theatrical and temple spatial elements to give a sense of the old outdoor play days. The corridor displays the history of Hakka plays. The display area periodically schedules small exhibitions of Hakka performance groups. Miniature Theater puts on Hakka plays and provides classes on Hakka folk songs, the ¡§Three-legged Tea Picking Play," and children's puppet plays. The goal of these activities is to instill the importance of Hakka culture in the next generation. Information on Taipei's 31 Hakka folk-song clubs can be found here.
One group of activists has begun writing Hakka pop songs. The members include Yen Ziwen, Chen Yungtao, Hsieh Yuwei, and the popular Hakka rock band Jiao-Kong-Da-Dui.
4.Yiming Day
To remember those who died in the Lin Shuangwen uprising in 1786, Hakkas in northern Taiwan constructed temples and present annual offerings. The government has declared the 20th day of the seventh lunar calendar to be Hakka Yiming Day.
The most memorable activity on Yiming Day is the hundred-year-old Male Pig Contest. The overfed, colorfully adorned 600-kg male pig is a sight to be seen. This Hakka celebration has grown larger every year, and besides the male pig offering, there is also a march to welcome the gods and bring good luck, and rice-offering activities. This year¡¦s Yiming activities will begin from Taipei City Council, pass Taipei City Hall, and go through to Warner Village.
5.Hakka cooking
Hakka foods are known to be greasy, fragrant and salty. Because Hakka people used to do a lot of laboring, they preferred salty dishes that could replenish the salt lost by sweating.
Well known Hakka dishes are Plain Boiled Chicken eaten with kumquat dipping sauce, Salt Roasted Chicken, sweet and sour tasting Julienne Ginger With Intestine, Hakka Stir-fry (preserved meat and squid), Salted Egg With Bitter Melon, various pickled vegetables, and Meinong Chow Fun.
Hakka desserts are noteworthy. The pounding of glutinous rice into a sticky paste is always seen at Hakka festivals. The paste is cut up into chucks, and eaten with peanut powder or powdered sugar. It goes best with Hakka tea.
Other delectable dishes include Barbeque Sauce Squid Broth, Dashi Beancurd, Hot Licorice Soup, Papaya Milk, Shihai Soybean Milk, and Fengyuan Cake from Shue-Hwa-Chia in Fengyuan.
Also important to Hakka people is Lai-Cha--green tea, sesame, peanuts, Chinese herbs, rice, beans and other ingredients are ground up in a mortar and mixed in hot water. Special Hakka rice is added. Lai-Cha can be sweet or salty, vegetarian or non-vegetarian; other foods can be added as well. In Hakka villages, it is considered impolite not to offer Lai-Cha to guests.
6.Taipei¡¦s Hakka neighborhoods
There are many Hakka in Taipei even though there are no Hakka villages. Hakka strongholds are WanQing Street, NanChang Street, Roosevelt Road, TongAn Street, and XiaMen Street in the ChungCheng district; TaiShun Street, TongHua Street, WoLong Street, JiaShing Street, WuShing Street and HuLin Street in DaAn; HerJian Street, WuChang Street, ChangChun Road, and TaCheng Street in ChungShan district; and ShiPai Road in Peitou. The land god temple on TongHua Street is a Hakka shrine. Hakka elders can be found singing folk songs everyday in Youth Park. The Hakka Boxing Association, located at 3F, 251, BaDe Rd., Sec. 2, is also an important part of Hakka culture.
Frequent migrations and discrimination have instilled great fortitude and determination in Hakka people. Like other minority cultures, Hakka culture deserves our respect and appreciation. In addition to the cultural centers described in this article, various websites provide information about Hakka culture:
1. Hakka Grandma website: http://www.hakkaup.org.tw
2. Hakka website: http://ihakka.net
3. Official website of the central government¡¦s Council for Hakka Affairs: http://www.hakka.gov.tw
http://www.taiwanfun.com/north/taipei/articles/0303/0303CoverStory.htm
回复 #1 tpshb168 的帖子
If this is a translation you should post the original Chinese version too. Your link at the end of post may not be accessible over here. Rgds, Nam Low 我晕啊，要不就不发啊，要不就把他先翻译过来先啊~《~郁闷啊~~~~我恨英语啊~~~:L 嗯:@:@:@:@ 标题我看懂了！:handshake: 客家人在台北----------台北客家人
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