Taiwan Lantern Festival
6/29/2013 | 26m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
Joseph deepens his understanding of Taiwan during the Taiwan Lantern Festival.
Joseph deepens his understanding of Taiwan during the Taiwan Lantern Festival, a Chinese holiday more than 2,000 years old. While the festival showcases the country’s modern, technological side, it also honors its historic customs and traditions. Joseph explores these cultural connections at the national display of lanterns in Hsinchu, by joining in the release of thousands of sky lanterns.
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Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope is presented by your local public television station.
Distributed nationally by American Public Television
Taiwan Lantern Festival
6/29/2013 | 26m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
Joseph deepens his understanding of Taiwan during the Taiwan Lantern Festival, a Chinese holiday more than 2,000 years old. While the festival showcases the country’s modern, technological side, it also honors its historic customs and traditions. Joseph explores these cultural connections at the national display of lanterns in Hsinchu, by joining in the release of thousands of sky lanterns.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship>> Welcome to Joseph Rosendo's "Travelscope"... >> [Laughter] >> where you'll join us as we accept the world's invitation to visit.
>> Today on "Travelscope", I return to Isla Formosa, the beautiful isle of Taiwan, to celebrate the annual Lantern Festival with electric lights, local foods, and heavenly lanterns.
>> Joseph Rosendo's "Travelscope" is made possible by... >> San Antonio, Texas, where you'll find art, culture, romance, authentic Tex-Mex, 50-plus golf courses, and hundreds of attractions.
San Antonio, deep in the heart.
And No-Jet-Lag, Jet Lag Prevention.
>> When most people think of Taiwan, they think of its modern high-tech capital Taipei, lorded over by its towering landmark, Taipei 101.
Yet after several visits to Isla Formosa, "The Beautiful Isle," I've learned that Taiwan is more than the city skyscrapers and monuments.
The island nation is culturally rich, naturally gifted, and hasn't forgotten its historic Chinese roots, which it celebrates in numerous festivals.
The annual Lantern Festival has been observed in China since the 3rd century B.C.E.
Each year, Taiwan tourism chooses a different town to host their electrified modern-day version of the holiday.
The Lantern Festival is traditionally held on the 15th day of the first lunar month and marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.
In Taiwan, the government's official Lantern Festival starts on that day and lasts for two weeks.
In 2013, the 24th annual Taiwan Lantern Festival takes place in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on the west coast, and it's an electric event.
[Fireworks crackling] 2013 is the 4,710th Chinese Year and The Year of the Snake.
Although the snake has many attributes because of its association with material wealth, during the Festival, it symbolizes Taiwan's ongoing growth and prosperity.
The Lantern Festival is one of the oldest Chinese traditions, and all traditions continue to evolve.
For instance, the tradition of carrying a hand lantern has evolved into the Taiwan Lantern Festival.
Here's another Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival tradition: the telling of riddles.
Here's one for you.
5 brothers, all born at the same time made of flesh and blood but of different heights.
What are they?
How about your hand?
Most visitors to Taiwan are unaware of Taiwan's aboriginal people.
There are 14 distinct aboriginal groups and, additionally, ethnic groups as well, such as the Hakka people who are the second-largest ethnic group in Taiwan after the Han Chinese.
Having had experiences with Taiwan's aboriginal people on Green Island and also on Orchid Island and other parts of Taiwan, I am very pleased to see that here at Taiwan's Lantern Festival, there has been a space set aside for people to learn about Taiwan's aboriginal culture, including the Hakka Village.
>> [Woman singing] >> Mr. Chen, is this representative of a Hakka home?
>> Yeah, maybe 100 years ago.
>> Now, the Hakka people, where do they come from originally?
>> Oh, come from mainland.
>> Mainland.
>> Guangdong.
>> Oh, Guangdong Province?
>> Yeah, yeah.
>> When did they come to Taiwan?
>> Maybe 300 years ago.
>> Mmm.
How do you say "thank you" in Hakka language?
>> [Speaking Hakka] >> [Repeating in Hakka] >> Xie xie.
>> Xie xie.
Although Hsinchu is noted as Taiwan's Silicon Valley, it has pockets of the past.
The 1829 East Gate is a piece of the original fortified wall... and the Floating Garden, the former moat.
The town is also famous for noodles, and one factory still makes them the old-fashioned way.
Even though the city of Hsinchu is the site of the 2013 Taiwan Lantern Festival, which is a celebration of culture and new technology, in Taiwan, wherever you are, just around the corner, you'll find the traditional.
And I'm in a traditional rice noodle factory in Hsinchu with Mr. Gwo, and I'm helping him make rice noodles today.
>> Yeah, OK. [Machine thumping] The next step after the flattening out is the rolling up, almost like a carpet.
Whoa.
I've got the honor to do it?
How long have they been making rice noodles in Hsinchu?
Well, this factory's been here for 100 years, and he's the third generation of rice noodle makers.
That's history... and tradition.
>> OK. >> OK?
All right!
Ohh...like spinning yarn!
>> Yeah.
[Machine thumping] Whoop!
Hey!
>> Hey!
>> Whoa!
[Coughs] After the steaming...
It's pretty hot.
>> Ah!
>> Mmm!
After they're steaming, you have to give it some air, or else they'll become overly... gluey tasting, you know?
>> Yeah, all right, OK. >> Whoa!
That's hot.
Mrs. Gwo has told me that after the steaming, the next process is the separation in preparation for the drying.
They go right onto this bamboo stretcher.
As a matter of fact, Hsinchu's name in Chinese means "new bamboo".
OK?
Let me help.
Let me help.
OK. A-ha.
>> [Speaking Hakka] >> This one?
This one?
>> Ah, here we go.
Are your rice noodles more expensive than manufactured kind?
>> Yes.
>> Oh, I bet.
They should be, because they're handcrafted.
But are they ...?
>> [Speaking Hakka] >> OK, I want to taste them.
>> OK. OK, OK. >> I've got my rice noodle hat on, helping out.
Ah...
Perfect.
Hsinchu is noted for rice noodles because of the perfect combination of moisture and wind, which is the way they traditionally used to dry the noodles here.
And this is one of the last, if not the last factory that does the traditional methods.
Mmm!
[Speaking Hakka] Xie xie.
>> Xie xie.
>> Xie xie.
>> Xie xie, xie xie.
>> While the divine heart of China was ripped out during the cultural revolution, Taiwan still retains its spiritual connection.
In Taiwan, the ancient beliefs, gods, and traditions of old China are alive and well.
[Bell tinkling] Hsinchu's Cheng Huang Temple is one of the most auspicious in Taiwan.
Built in 1748 during the Qing dynasty, it is the home of the city god, but during the Lantern Festival, it has a particular role to play.
Traditional Taiwanese spiritualism is a combination of Buddhism and Taoism with a real reverence for nature and the laws of the natural world.
As you can see, the temple is still a very active part of the Taiwanese life and has been like that for centuries.
In the past, during the Lantern Festival, people would bring handmade lanterns and hang them in the temple in the hopes of being blessed with a male child.
These days, the locals bring their handmade lanterns, which celebrate The Year of the Snake, and hang them here in the temple in the hopes of winning the blessings of the city god.
As the center of Taiwanese life, during the Lantern Festival, the temple hosts Chinese opera and puppet performances.
The glove puppet first came to Taiwan more than 200 years ago.
Now, in keeping with tradition, after the puppeteer comes out and asks for blessings for himself, his audience in the first show is dedicated to the gods.
While the puppet show may be a gift to the gods, it exudes a strange attraction on humans as well.
If I were a kid in Taiwan, I'd rather run away to join a puppet troupe than the circus.
Hi.
I'm old Master Q, and I'm Joseph's alter ego.
And I'm interning with the Sun Uzo Puppet Troupe.
And I'm so excited that Master Q has flipped his lid.
And here's the head puppeteer Oscar!
>> Hello.
Good morning.
How are you, everybody?
My name is Tan Funshu.
>> Oscar, this is great to be part of the troupe, but before I can do that, I need to meet some of the other members.
Puppeteering is kind of like Chinese opera, except with puppets.
And these are very important characters.
They're the warriors...from the Qing Dynasty, perhaps, who first came here to Taiwan.
In the temples, many of the puppet shows are religious-oriented.
They'll be fighting against the demons.
Ah!
How about this little lady?
Of course, like everything good, it started in the people, and then, in this case, drifted up, and the entertainment became very, very elegant in the royal court of China.
Look how elegant she is.
She can even open her umbrella.
And then finally... >> [Evil laughter] >> Whoa!
Whoo hoo hoo!
Now that we've been introduced to some of your members of the troupe, let's go to a performance.
>> OK. >> Go!
Go!
Go!
Go!
>> Go!
Go!
Go!
>> At a community temple, Oscar and company, including yours truly, put on a Lantern Festival puppet show for an enthusiastic audience of kids from a local Kindergarten.
>> Wow!
[Kids laughing] >> OK, let's put your hat on.
Whoop!
[Kids laughing] [Drum roll] [Oscar speaking Hakka] >> My name is Master Q!
The glove puppet first came to Taiwan in the 17th century with immigrants from China's Fujian Province.
Oscar's puppet troupe is determined to keep the tradition alive one child at a time.
[Oscar speaking Hakka] [Kids speaking Hakka] >> Puppet shows are a tie that connects generations of Taiwanese with their past.
Keeping on a traditional track, I take the train to a Lantern Festival celebration whose roots go back more than 100 years.
The Taiwan Railway System was begun in the 19th century during the Qing Dynasty and completed during the Japanese Colonial Period, 1895-1945.
Today, Taiwan has 4 major train lines, about 800 miles of track.
Now, as opposed to the high-speed train, which can travel up to 186 miles an hour, the Pingxi line trains are smaller gauge, slower moving scenic trains.
Pingxi and the other two remaining branch lines are iron pathways to natural and cultural adventures, like mine to the Heavenly Lantern Festival.
Taiwan's historic Portuguese name was Isla Formosa, "Beautiful Isle," and it's still true.
In the rural Pingxi District, the island's natural side is on display.
One of the nicest things about coming to the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival is the beautiful mountainous surroundings.
At the end of a short walk from Shifen is the Shifen Falls, a prime example of the natural beauty.
It's fondly called "Taiwan's Little Niagara".
It's 66 feet high, 131 feet wide, and although it doesn't quite match our North American version, it is Taiwan's largest waterfall and an impressive sight.
During the first half of the 20th century, the Pingxi District was noted for mining.
But in the 1970s, the mines shut down.
Thanks to the Sky Lantern Festival, the villages of Shifen and Pingxi now flourish from tourism.
Along Pingxi Old Street, I find a wealth of shops, restaurants, cafes, and Mr. Gwo's Pingxi Rice Balls.
Wherever I travel in Asia, and in fact most anywhere, when they have a festival, there's a certain food that goes with it.
I'm here with Mr. Wo, and we're preparing glutinous rice balls, which are called Tang Yuan.
>> This is the beginning.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> And it's simple.
Just unify everything.
Everything together.
>> Good, so let's bring it together.
Let's put everything together.
>> Yes.
>> So, how long do you do this?
>> To make this one like skin of a woman.
>> Oh ho!
>> A beautiful woman's skin, yes.
>> It's nice and soft.
>> It is.
>> OK.
So, you do it as long as it takes.
I see.
All right.
Once we get it flat, then what?
>> This is a stuffing.
We need water.
>> Oh.
>> OK. OK, you need water to make a bowl.
>> Put in some sesame seeds, maybe that much.
Maybe a little more.
>> Yeah.
>> Little more, like this.
A-ha!
And then, a little bit of water.
>> A little.
>> Little, little.
Too much.
>> OK. >> And then we fold it.
>> Yeah.
>> Ah, not bad.
And then roll it.
>> Yeah.
And then roll--yes!
>> Oh!
There's a technique to-- oh, thanks.
So, what does it symbolize?
It's the food of the Lantern Festival.
What does it symbolize?
>> It's moon is very round.
>> It's very round, very full.
But I also understand it has to do with family.
>> Yes.
>> So, there's unity-- >> Yes.
>> And the prosperity of the family.
>> Yes.
>> That's beautiful.
That's beautiful.
And I bet it tastes good, too.
We'll try it later.
>> Ha ha, yes!
Yes, it's very--ah, perfect.
>> Not bad.
We got to hide that bad part.
>> Yeah.
>> Ha ha!
Xie xie.
Xie xie.
Xie xie.
>> Xie xie.
>> Mmm!
>> Joseph, [indistinct].
>> Ah, xie xie.
>> Thank you.
>> Mmm.
[Speaking Hakka]?
>> [Speaking Hakka] >> Delicious.
>> Delicious.
Ha ha!
>> I should stick to English.
While the Lantern Festival has been a part of Chinese New Year celebrations for more than 2,000 years, the sky lanterns of Pingxi District date back to the mid-19th century, when pirates and bandits were a threat.
The lanterns were used to signal all clear to those who had escaped into the mountains to avoid the thieves.
Near Pingxi Township in the village of Shifen, master sky lantern makers can still be found.
Shifen is noted for their heavenly lanterns or sky lanterns which marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebration and the end of the Chinese Lantern Festival.
And if you want to have a wonderful celebration, whose hands should you put that celebration in except the best?
And we have here Master Wong and Master Hu.
And together, they have spent 100 years making sky lanterns or heavenly lanterns.
Now, you use 4 pieces of rice paper.
They've got them all perfectly laid out.
The 4 come together, and then within the opening of the sky lantern, they place a frame that is made of bamboo and wire to hold the center.
Here it is right here.
Very carefully, 'cause here's where you could rip this very, very thin rice paper.
Lanterns get their name because, obviously, they rise up into the sky.
And people like to call them heavenly lanterns because they put their blessings on it or put their wishes and they rise up to heaven.
And I understand that everyone who releases a sky lantern, it reaches heaven, and all those wishes do indeed come true.
A-ha!
So, here we have it.
>> Oh, ha ha!
>> Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
Look at that.
There we are.
How many sky lanterns have they created in the course of their 100 years of experience?
Thousands and thousands.
Wonder if they're still floating around out there.
Shifen Old Street is the only street in Taiwan where the train doesn't only go by, it travels on as well.
Everyone tries to keep the visitors alive and well, but during the Sky Lantern Festival, it's a real challenge.
Yikes!
What was your wish?
>> I wish I had boyfriend.
>> You wish you had a boyfriend.
She wished she had a boyfriend.
What do you think?
Good idea?
>> Ha ha!
>> I'm with Carissa, Tyler, Emily, and Sarah.
You guys are teaching here in Taiwan.
What did you wish for?
>> Jobs.
>> Jobs!
More jobs.
What else?
Come on.
>> Happiness.
>> Happiness.
>> Peace.
>> Peace.
All the good stuff.
>> Health for our families.
>> Thank you guys for speaking with me.
And I wish that all of your dreams come true, which of course they will if you do this, you know.
While lanterns are released year-round, during the Pingxi Lantern Festival, hundreds lift off simultaneously from Shifen Sky Lantern Square.
Here are my friends from Taiwan and Spain, and we're going to be releasing our sky lantern with all of our wishes.
I've wished for peace and love and happiness; Salud--health; Bas--peace; and hers is amor!
Love conquers all.
This is a worldwide event with hundreds and hundreds of people.
There'll be different kinds of waves of people releasing the sky lanterns, and it's just beautiful.
It's gonna be a beautiful event.
It's been beautiful already.
It's been wonderful to see all the people in town releasing their individual lanterns.
They don't have to come here to do that.
They're doing it all over.
It's really wonderful.
They've lit the wick, which is the paper money that they light for their ancestors here in Taiwan.
It's warm.
It's light.
The Lantern Festival celebrates Chinese New Year, but also what it celebrates is the end of Winter and the return of Spring and light and warmth of the sun, because we all warm ourselves around this lantern with all our wishes here.
I know all of our wishes and dreams will come true, because they all do.
Here we go!
Here we go!
Here we go!
Yay!
>> [Man speaking over loudspeaker] >> The longer I travel, the more I realize that nurturing their heritage is a key to a people's happiness.
From India to Ireland, from Ethiopia to Bhutan, it is our cultural connections that are the ties that bind us to each other, and preserving them is vital.
As the Hakka Taiwanese proverb warns, "You can sell your ancestors' rice field, but you cannot forget their language."
Till next time, this is Joseph Rosenda reminding you of the words of Mark Twain.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrowmindedness.
Happy Chinese New Year... and happy traveling.
>> Joseph Rosendo's "Travelscope" is made possible by... >> San Antonio, Texas, where you'll find art, culture, romance, authentic Tex-Mex, 50-plus golf courses, and hundreds of attractions.
San Antonio, deep in the heart.
And No-Jet-Lag, Jet Lag Prevention.
>> For a DVD of today's show or any of Joseph's "Travelscope" Adventures, call 888-876-3399 or order online at Travelscope.net.
You can also e-mail us at TV@Travelscope.net or write us at the address on your screen.
>> Now that we've celebrated Taiwan's Lantern Festival, learn more at Travelscope.net, where you can follow my worldwide adventures through my emagazine, blog, podcast, and on facebook.
Stay in touch--888-876-3399 or TV@Travelscope.net.
>> Nice to meet you.
>> Nice to meet you.
>> Well, xie xie.
>> OK.
Thank you.
>> Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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Distributed nationally by American Public Television