By Hilda Ku
Walking along the streets in Tien-mu, we can see many tall and fair-skinned people passing by. Stepping into Starbucks, we also find a lot of blond people sitting there sipping coffee. Are they foreigners? Tuning in to MTV, we notice that the DJ’s are just like us yet they speak English very well as if it were their mother tongue. Are they foreigners, too? What on earth is a foreigner? Who are you calling a foreigner? According to Webster’s Online Dictionary, the word “foreigner” first appeared in the 15th century to mean: (1) a person belonging to or owing allegiance to a foreign country, and (2) one not native to a place or community: a stranger. Other dictionaries define a foreigner as a person who is born in a foreign country, a person not native to or naturalized in a particular country, a person from outside one’s community. In short, an alien, an outsider. But what do people really think about the word? Is there any stereotype or prejudice about it? In order to get an idea how Taida students think, I decided to do a little survey, stopping people randomly on the main campus, to ask them a few questions about foreigners. I spoke to a total of 117 people. 25 of them were from the College of Liberal Arts, 22 from Management, 16 from both the College of Science and the College of Law, 14 from Engineering, 13 from Agriculture, 5 from Medicine, and 5 from Electrical Engineering. The ratio between men and women was nearly equal. The first question was: “What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word foreigner?” As I expected, the three things people mentioned most often were blond hair, being tall, and speaking English. The second question: “List five foreigners.” The top three answers were Tom Cruise, Bill Clinton, and Michael Jordon. Again, they all are Westerners, and Americans in particular. Some people replied on racial grounds, saying “American,” “Japanese,” or “English.” Even though Japanese are also Asians and they came in second place, most people still unconsciously seem to have the prejudice that foreigners are westerners. And Asian people are always the last to be mentioned as foreigners. Since there is more than one element that composes the concept of a foreigner – nationality, complexion, language, etc. – the last question was: “What do you think are the vital elements of your idea of a foreigner?” More than 80% of my respondents thought culture was the most important factor, 77% thought about nationality, and 68% mentioned language. Based on this research, we can see that the word foreigner forms a stereotype in most people. When people think of foreigners, they think of blond, tall, English-speaking Westerners, especially Americans and the English – who have a higher standard of living and come from countries with advanced technology and a higher international status than Taiwan. The word foreigner has some prejudices behind it as well. When we call someone a foreigner, to some extent, it implies that he/she is somehow superior to us. For example, they are supposedly more attractive– they are taller, handsome or beautiful, and can speak English well, which not all of us can. On the other hand, people think least about other Asians when it comes to foreigners. Is it because Asian countries are considered inferior to the western superpowers? Maybe. Yet, it is also possible that since Asians look more similar to us, fewer people will stop to remember that Asians can be foreigners too. In conclusion, people may have some stereotypes about foreigners, but as time passes the world is becoming more and more a global village. Maybe one day people won’t care so much about the differences that separate us. After all, we are family! #Volume 6 Issue 3
0 Comments
By Shih Hwa Du
If the usual time to measure one’s success in life is when you’re old and gray, full of sleep and dozing off by the fire (or the air conditioner if you happen to be in Taiwan), then SHE needn’t wait. She can measure her success now. At the youthful age of 26, she has already graced the catwalk on numerous occasions, appeared in countless advertising campaigns, hosted television and radio shows, and only just recently made her debut in acting. She’s one of the tallest women in Asian entertainment circles and just the sight of her will make you cringe with jealousy. I am waiting, patiently at IS Coffee on Ba-Deh Rd. on a Wednesday afternoon. I couldn’t help it, but I had the impression I was being stood up. It had been well over an hour and all I heard was that “she is on her way” repeated five times through my cell phone from her PR assistant. I was annoyed; this must one of those affectatious things famous people do, I thought to myself. But it didn’t really surprise me because she has to manage a 14-hour work schedule each day. I was just resting on this thought when all of the sudden, as if witnessing a coffee commercial in slow motion, she glided in, a ravishing Prada-clad 175cm creature, shiny and whimsical, clacking her lavender snakeskin boots like a ravenous, scissor-legged locust waiting for her close-up shot. She apologized, trying to buy my sympathy with those big almond shaped eyes… “ Sorry to keep you waiting, they were running behind schedule at the station. ” She catches a few stares from the neighboring tables, I try my best to look professional. She settles back onto her seat, strokes her long auburn locks and looks me up and down. All of the sudden, I feel totally self-conscious and styleless in my Giordano shirt. I notice she wears a huge diamond ring on her ring finger. I ask her about it but she quickly gives an evasive answer, “ his name is not important!! ” Over the next hour, I managed to force it out of her. His name is Eric Lee, he’s in Business Administration and he’s shorter than she is! It turns out they’ve been together for over 7 years (“ I am not stupid ok? He’s not my first boyfriend ”). However, she remarks, “ I have him close in my heart. ” Sadly, her boyfriend doesn’t particularly appreciate the fact that she is famous, “ he’s just your average guy, so what do you expect when he has to be with somebody who gets more attention than he does? ” You’d think she’d be pursued by every eligible bachelor right? Well, the very opposite is true. It’s hard for her to met sincere people, especially men. A lot of them are “ pig-heads ” she exclaims loudly. There have been a lot of changes in her life during the past 3 years since her entry into the spotlight. One of her greatest loses is her inability to bargain these days. “ I love to bargain, but now that I am recognized in public, I have to think twice before I act or else it will be in the papers the very next day. ” Criticisms were also hard to take during the early years of her career. Now, she’s a true adherent to fate. “ I don’t take my job so seriously these days. There are so many other things in life that are much more important than fame and fortune. It just so happens that this is what I do now. It’s my job, it could all change over the next few years. For example, I might become a mother and that’s even a harder job, don’t you think? ” Well, it doesn’t surprise me that motherhood is somewhat glorified in her mind because she’s your typical Cancer. Her family is so important to her. She mentions them on several occasions during the course of the hour: “ I have a brother who’s about your age, ” “ my father is my hero, ” “ I couldn’t stand spending my summers in England, I would miss my family too much, ” “ I refuse to work on weekends, I devote them entirely to my family, my friends, my boyfriend. ” Her typical day starts when she wakes up around 11 a.m. Shortly after, she manages her only exercise routine, which is to stretch for a few minutes. “ It keeps me in better form. ” She then has her breakfast, which is a blend of yogurt and green tea powder. “ It’s great because it cleans out your bowels. ” The activities and programs vary from day to day but they usually begin after 1 p.m. Between 7 and 8 she has a live radio show, then she has to go to the TV station for taping between 11 and midnight. By the time she gets into bed, it’s usually 4 o'clock in the morning. It’s hard for her to maintain a regular and healthy lifestyle. The pressures can be excruciating when she’s rushing between 5 to 6 shows and events in one afternoon. Thus she resorts to bubble bath-“ I’m really into essential oils at the moment. If I add a few drops to the water, it really helps put me to sleep. ” Another one of her secrets to staying in shape is to eat less-“ everything slows down after you’re 25 so you have to watch what you eat. ” As for beauty regimes, she has “ never really had to care for beauty products. ” Lucky her! She also relaxes through reading. “ Reading is good because it can express your thoughts more clearly and succinctly, ” she adds. During the last few weeks, she has absorbed herself in all three volumes of Harry Potter. She also loves to read magazines, her favorite is Marie Claire; “ there are so many feminist issues which I think women should be aware of to keep up to the pace of society.” After completing high school in Taiwan, she went on to major in Media Studies and Broadcasting in England. “ Education there is much more liberal. There’s far more emphasis on teamwork and research. ” Those four years were very precious for her, she describes them as “ challenging, not only in terms of the language barrier but it forced me to rely on myself. ” It was rewarding in many ways because it gave her a “ greater view on life. ” Now, “ I have a wider vision, I don’t tie myself down in trivialities. ” Needless to say, she’s “ fed up with people who host TV shows that discuss such stupid and insensitive topics such as bra-cup size. Don’t they have anything better to do? But you can’t blame them, their vision is so narrow ” she says sympathetically. Having said this, it doesn’t mean that she’s conservative or close-minded. “ I’m a cool girl! ” she exclaims proudly, “ to tell you the truth, I’m a rebel at heart. ” We end suddenly, since her live TV show starts in just under an hour. I am left in a state of puzzlement, since I thought we had just gotten to the interesting part. I wanted to delve more into this “rebel” self she suddenly introduced. Oh well, maybe some other time… #Volume 6 Issue 3 By Eugenia Chao The artist slaves before his canvas, painting desperately. Time presses. His mistress lies before him in gauzed splendor, she, flower of his life, muse divine. Paint he must—the roses in those cheeks will wither, the skin lose its limpid lucidity, the smile deteriorate into a fallen grin. His eyes flick back and forth between model and canvas as he works in feverish haste. As he paints he thinks of her. He loves and worships every part of her with his entire being, with his brush, on blushing canvas, and with pastels, on cringing paper. He loves the way she tilts her head when she laughs; he loves her soft yielding body at night; he loves her hair in soft curls spilling guilelessly around her face in the morning. He spoils her with the best wines and she teases him as he is a total abstainer when he works. She always drinks when he paints her. He is conscious of the disappearing liquor in her chalice, only he obliterates this on his canvas. He pauses to scrutinize his work. Ah, magical figments of an artist’s mind. His nebulous nymph of hazy eyes and languid limbs lies by a grassy riverbank, reposing amidst glorious flowers—aquilegias, bluebells, purslanes, snowdrops, violets, wood-sorrels—in slumberous inertia. In truth, his model reclines on a velvet settee of vermilion, a thing stained and worn from countless golden afternoons in which its master and mistress had loved so violently. The resplendent vernal flowers, turf, and rill are his fabrications. Artists are fraudulent fools, imposters of truth with insidious skills and infinitesimal morals. They succeed in capturing only fragments of what is beautiful and true, then proceed to torture these into contorted caricatures. Art itself is a mixture of beauty and truth and lies—the artist had realized this when he was only an apprentice, observing his predecessors and what they produced. The euphoric setting of his painting is a lie, a parody of his reality. He closes his eyes and is engulfed by the scene of that formidable night. It was a quiet evening. He was sketching when she sauntered in. “I’m leaving you”, she announced, innocently, without a qualm, so characteristically thoughtless of her. She was leaving him for another man. He pleaded her, on trembling knees, to stay, but in vain. She had found herself some young gentleman of obscure origin whose name she refused to reveal. They were eloping, the dimwits. “Find yourself another whore,” she said, “someone willing to pander herself to be immortalized on your bloody canvas.” O cursed inconstancy of women’s passions. He could say nothing. In weary resignation, he asked her to sit for him one last time. She consented. For the last time, he painted her. Inebriated, as usual, she lay on the settee, a libidinous nymph, meretricious ex-mistress of an illustrious artist. She grew drowsy and he slipped the empty glass from her claws. He stroked her face and with a sigh, returned to his canvas—paint he must, for time presses—his model’s life was already slipping away. Diabolic concoction of local apothecary, deceptive wine, imbecile woman inclined to drink anything offered to her—result: his faithless flower lay withering, doomed by her own unbridled passions, untimely thirst, and his fatal love. With these thoughts he finishes the painting. A true masterpiece, by far his best. A work like this can change an artist’s life, bringing him unprecedented fame, fortune, and infinite numbers of fair, foolish women who come lolling into his lap. But what earthly difference could it make? By now he is delirious. He laughs. He laughs hysterically, laughing himself out of breath and choking—he finds his plight preposterous. Here he is, in his studio, former love nest of the artist and his muse, his life’s masterpiece before him, paint tauntingly wet, and his model, defunct, decaying. The scent of her decomposing flesh wafts his way, malignantly reviling him with silent venom. #Volume 6 Issue 3
By Eugenia Chao
You see “Hsing I Chuan” on the list of PE classes and decide to give it a try. You show up for the first class, expecting a female instructor in her mid-forties, tanned, tough-looking, with cropped hair and stout build. An aged man, presumably a janitor, comes moping in. He has whitish hair with tawny streaks, gray eyes that gleam, shriveled skin and a shrunken build. He addresses you: “Hi, class.” (Um–hi, sir.) Then it’s off jogging with you while he strokes his chin (ah, the good life), and when you come panting back, he says, “Good, you’re all warmed up,” and proceeds to cool you down with a lengthy lecture on some relevant subject you soon forget. Your fellow students are more curious about his background than about what he teaches. Prior to retiring to his cozy office downstairs, the humming instructor is intercepted: “Excuse me, sir, but do you have a few minutes to spare?” “Eh?” “May we ask you some questions?” “EH? You have a problem?” Oh no, he’s hard of hearing. At this point, students must resort to pen and paper. A short while later, sitting down with a sheet of their impromptu questions, he relates his story. Mr. Liu Qiu Ling (劉秋麟) was born and bred in He Bei (河北) province in Mainland China. He did not learn Hsing I Chuan from a mysterious master, but in his PE class in junior high school. He was president of the martial arts student club, and aside from mastering Hsing I Chuan, he learned Tai-Chi Chuan and a variety of martial arts that involve maneuvering wooden sticks and swords. He teaches them to this day. Decades ago, he came to Taiwan. He became a coach and instructor at NTU. For several years, he got up every morning at three (enthusiastically) to write a column on martial arts in the United Daily News (聯合報). These were eventually compiled into two volumes, one on Hsing I Chuan, the other on Tai-Chi Chuan. With a humble smile, he produces a tattered book containing pictures of him in various animal poses—apparently demonstrating Hsing I Chuan. Reverting to the subject of Hsing I Chuan, Mr. Liu explains that the animal postures are simple forms of exercise that are immensely rewarding. Hsing I Chuan enlivens one’s muscles through expansion and contraction, strengthens the tendons, and eases the circulation of both blood and ch’i (intrinsic energy). Practicing refines combative skills and meditating on the movements can help one to fathom their essence, allowing one, in a sense, to merge with each respective animal. These contribute to a healthy physique and spirit. This exemplifies how we, the Chinese, have always learned and benefited from nature and its inhabitants. With this conclusion, he stops and smiles. The students may look at his wrinkles, at his skin freckled with age, clinging to bones and sinew, at his fading, thinning hair, and forget that he was once young and full of dreams, just like them. Year after year, he devoted himself to teaching students like these, aspiring young things always eager to learn. Generation after generation of students milked him of all that he so generously offered. The best years of his life were dedicated to the perpetuation of martial arts—through practicing, perfecting, and teaching pupils. To this day, he teaches with the same zeal and unwavering passion. Here is a great soul, which in humility is oblivious of its own greatness. He makes his way down the stairs and the shadow his slight body casts on the wall looms palpably large, stretching so long that the students, a flight above him, can reach out and touch it—the master and what he teaches are not out of reach, but accessible, and offered with all his heart. #Volume 6 Issue 3 by Simon Wu
Fanning sea breezes, swaying beefwood trees, even the sun seems to smile from the sky above. Wandering herds of cattle, a thin fog from the south fills the air with illusions. Another beginning to a remarkable summer day. Okinawa? The Maldives? Bali islands? No, this wonderful landscape can also be experienced in Kinmen, an island in the Taiwan Strait but with a history and culture very different from Taiwan. The best-known thing about Kinmen is its military history, when hundreds of thousands of artillery shells fell onto the island. In fact, Kinmen has now become the front for something very different, the “three mini-links” between Taiwan and China. The launch of this new program has certainly changed Kinmen’s role in cross-strait relations. This is evident from Kincheng, the largest town on the island, where fishermen, like street vendors, peddle goods brought directly from Mainland China. There is also a lot of petty black market trading, where residents trade directly with fishermen across the strait. If you feel adventurous, I would suggest you stroll along the Chinchih Beach at 8:00 or 9:00 p.m., in the Lieyu [烈嶼] district (also referred to as “Little Kinmen”), where you can see the shadows of people moving to and fro bartering for items seldom seen in Taiwan. Why don’t you try Pu-Er tea [普洱茶], which has a miraculous effect for losing weight, or a different kind of orange with a strong sweet taste, or some traditional Chinese toys? This “illegal” trade has continued for many years, even though it’s technically forbidden. But you can also find great bargains here. But there are many places where the military history of Kinmen is very clear. Not just familiar spots like WooWang Zai Chu [毋忘在莒], a slogan which means “don’t forget the days in Chu” in Taiwushan [太武山], the Kuningtou War Museum[古寧頭戰史館], or The August 23 Artillery War Memorial [823砲戰紀念碑], but also special places like huge concrete bunkers – dark and wet tunnels – that are virtually bombproof. I particularly recommend the Zhai Shan Tunnel [翟山坑道] in Kinmen National Park, one of the biggest tunnels in the world. It seems that you are in a tremendous cave, and you don’t know how to get out until you see a faint light coming from the other side. Here you can see a large gate for troops to control the flow of the sea, in order to maneuver amphibious landing craft. Another place you should visit is the Mashan Observatory [馬山觀測站], where you can look across the water to China just 2 km away. There are some coin-operated high-powered telescopes here, and on a clear day you can see eyeball-to-eyeball with Communist Chinese water buffalo! “Most of Kinmen’s recognized tourist sights have a decidedly militaristic bent,” says the Lonely Planet guidebook for Taiwan, “but all things considered the island is a very rewarding place to visit.” Kinmen will fill you with the feeling of its intense military past. But now there are other reasons to go too. Try the different varieties of gong tang candy (貢糖). This is premium stuff, so if you’ve got a sweet tooth check out the local specialty shops and stock up. If you’re a heavy drinker you should take home some Kaoliang, Taiwan’s strongest liquor, which you’ll find in a wide variety of fancy bottles. You could also choose a meat cleaver as a souvenir – but one that is made out of the shells from artillery bombardments. Had enough of souvenirs? Don’t forget to pick up a small sculpture of the wind lion god, Feng-shih-ye [風獅爺], which villagers in Kinmen light incense in front of and place at the entrances and exits of their villages to help ward off evil spirits. So far the god has protected Kinmen’s residents very successfully. The island belongs to this wind lion God, and today, happily, it is nothing more than a peaceful battle zone. #Volume 6 Issue 3 By Po-Sheng Wu
Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo! I got my head checked by a jumbo jet… Despite being totally exhausted, no one is willing to leave the disco until this grunge-inspired “Song 2,” with its “woo-hoo!” chorus, energizes them again. Not only has it become a kind of national anthem in disco pubs, but also for crowds at sporting events. It is one of the greatest hits from a band originally called Seymour, but who changed their name to Blur after they got their first record deal. One of the best bands in Britain, Blur can be traced back to around 1980; they produced their first single, “She’s so high,” in 1990, and their first album, “Leisure,” in 1991. Damon Albarn (vocals), Alex James (bass), Graham Coxon (guitar), and Dave Rowntree (drum) are the members of Blur. Although they were noticed after “Leisure” was released, it wasn’t until 1993 that they started to generate some really substantial brit-pop in “Modern Life Is Rubbish.” [do you mean that “Modern Life is Rubbish” is one of their songs/albums or someone else’s?] Blur was now on the verge of a real breakthrough, taking another great step forward in 1994 with the release of “Boys & Girls,” which was included in their album, “Parklife.” It’s hard not to mention their fourth record, “The Great Escape,” when it comes to talking about Blur. Unusual instruments like the banjo, mellophone, and znoked [spelling?] keyboard go far beyond traditional pop. This was Blur’s heyday as a brit-pop band. But they still weren’t satisfied with their success. In January 1997, their new album, also called “Blur,” astonished their fans by completely breaking away from the brit-pop style. Much harder sound (in “Song 2”) and downbeats (“Death of a Party”) could be heard, clearly displaying their growing dissatisfaction with English pop music. So what has made Blur such a popular band? It must be their wide range of music styles and their amazing lyrics. Blur’s music has stretched from indie to punk, new wave, dance, and others. Their sound embodies a spirit of English grace, mixed with a lighthearted attitude and a little bit of the antisocial. Their lyrics are not at all common, but full of jokes and irony, laughing at England’s foibles and complacency and describing life in a modern metropolis. The lyrics also have a strong story structure, and listening to their music is like reading a story about events happening every day around you but which you have never paid attention to. Examples can be found in the songs like “Parklife,” which makes fun of the misfortunes and the strange mentality of middle-class people. “Charmless Man” tells the story of a highly-educated, arrogant drunk, who complains about his ridiculous life, and “Coffee & TV” tells of everyone’s feelings of frustration and wish to escape it. Blur have been writing brilliant songs for almost eleven years now. If you are fed up with one-trick boy groups on the music channels, or are disappointed by pop music in general, give Blur a try. I bet you will have a whole new view of pop music. #Volume 6 Issue 3 |
Authors
The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
|