Culture

Young performers wait to take part in the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong, China, on 28 September 2023. (Lam Yik/Reuters)

It’s Mid-Autumn: Time for some mung bean pastry

Cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai writes of the humble mung bean pastry, a classic snack of the people that has been made in the traditional way for generations in Taiwan. Now, the well-loved pastry has been given new spins in modern times, from “Florence-style mung bean pastry” to a lacto-vegetarian version named after Chinese poet Li Bai.
The second supermoon of 2023, also known as the Sturgeon Moon, rises behind the cable car of the Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 1 August 2023. (Mauro Pimentel/AFP)

Taiwanese art historian: What’s the significance of the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Art historian Chiang Hsun recalls a time of basking in the glow of natural light that can be hardly seen or felt today. Modern artificial lights have driven out the darkness, but along with it life itself.
A Turkish national flag (left) and a banner bearing the portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish republic, hang from the exterior of a building in the Sisli district of Istanbul, Turkey, on 29 August 2022. (Nicole Tung/Bloomberg)

Why Turkey's national hero was honoured in Taiwan

Cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai muses on how heroes of the past are honoured after their time, recalling that in his youth in Taiwan, the founder of the Turkish republic was lauded as an honourable founding father, next to Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek. However, given the similarities in ideals and values, could it be that the high praise for Ataturk was in fact meant to boost the controversial image of Chiang?
A man rides a bike while sheltering from the rain in Beijing, China, on 31 July 2023. (Pedro Pardo/AFP)

Did Mongolians mistreat the Han Chinese during the Yuan dynasty?

It is commonly believed that the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty instituted a “four-class system” comprising the Mongols, the Semu, the Han people and the Southerners; they may even have categorised people into ten classes for which Confucian scholars were at the bottom rungs. Taken as truth for centuries, what is the “historical reality” of the matter? Cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai examines the issue.
One of two large inflatable yellow ducks named “Double Ducks” by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman is seen at Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, China on 12 June 2023. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP)

From East to West: Hong Kong art auction market's changing taste in the internet age

From establishing itself as a congregation of all and a cross pollination of buyers and art, the Hong Kong auction market has matured since 2000. It went from highlighting Asian art and artists to internationalising and conflating East and West, and then becoming a marketplace for a “curated” Asian palate with a huge appetite for Western contemporary works. The market has always ruled, and as the pace of life quickens and social media permeates daily life, so has the need for novelty and peer recognition increased.
Chinese singer Dao Lang's song Luocha Haishi (罗刹海市, Rakshasa Sea City) has recently gone viral. (Internet)

Why a 'nonsense song' is all the rage in China

Hua Language Centre director Chew Wee Kai gives his take on nonsense songs, from children’s rhymes to the latest viral hit in China — Luocha Haishi by Dao Lang. At first glance, these ditties seem to indulge one’s imaginations, but on closer inspection, they offer commentaries on the world.
People flock to the Che Kung Temple in Hong Kong, China, to pray and ask for blessings. (iStock)

Interpreting a divination lot from Hong Kong's Che Kung Temple

Did the wise men understand the profundity of the words “Instead of flattering ao (奥), it is better to flatter zao (灶)” when they used it as an oracle in the drawing of divination lots? Cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai delves into the historical background of the quote from the Analects and what we can learn from it.
Statues of Han Yu (right) and Zhao De (赵德), one of the eight sages of Chaozhou in the Tang and Song dynasties (唐宋潮州八贤), at Han Wen Gong Temple in Chaozhou. (WeChat/玉茗堂前)

The Chaozhou people can boast of Tang dynasty essayist Han Yu

While Chaozhou is acknowledged for great food and the hometown of various famous personalities, it is also the lesser-known place of exile of Tang dynasty essayist Han Yu (韩愈), who made the best of his time there, writing essays and spreading Confucian teachings.
Astrology has a longstanding history, different from the lucky number and colour of each horoscope that we see in the media. (iStock)

Taiwanese art historian: Reading the stars, reading people

Discovering that horoscopes could be a discipline in itself, Taiwanese art historian Chiang Hsun takes back his earlier dismissal of them as a cheap thrill. Studying the stars and how they gather and scatter with the life choices one makes is a teaching in itself.