Taiwanese opera performer, poet and architect receive National Cultural Award

Taiwanese opera performer, poet and architect receive National Cultural Award

2025-07-10

The three recipients of the 44th National Cultural Award received their medals and certificates at a ceremony on Thursday. One of this year’s award winners is Taiwanese opera performer and national treasure Yang Li-hua, who gave an emotional acceptance speech about the art form. Let’s hear what she said.

Yang Li-hua
Taiwanese opera performer
I will age, but as long as audiences continue to support it, Taiwanese opera will never age.

Yang rose to fame playing a wide variety of male roles, and in the 1960s became a pioneer of performing Taiwanese opera on television. At the awards ceremony, she voiced hope that Taiwanese opera would continue to be broadcast on TV, noting that most shows nowadays are remakes from 30 years ago. Another award recipient was 80-year-old poet and environmental activist Wu Sheng. The author has produced a vast body of works through the years, and is cares deeply for farmer’s issues and the environment. He was also part of the pro-democracy Tangwai political movement during Taiwan’s martial law period. Also recognized was Fu Ming-kuang, a traditional Hakka architect and builder from Hsinchu. His contributions include the restoration of the Jingang Temple in Beipu, which took a decade. At 85-years old now, he still gets on the rooftops of worksites to pass on his skills to younger generations.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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#culture #cultureawards #opera #poetry #agriculture #楊麗花 #吳晟 #傅明光

吳晟.傅明光及楊麗花獲頒行政院文化獎章

2025-07-10

第44屆行政院文化獎，得獎主出爐，其中包括台灣歌仔戲國寶楊麗花，她致詞時，感性喊話，要為台灣歌仔戲繼續打拼。

[[歌仔戲國寶楊麗花]]
“楊麗花會老，不過歌仔戲，如果有很多觀眾繼續支持，它永遠就不會老的。”

楊麗花向來以小生扮相聞名，也是台灣1960年代電視歌仔戲的創始者。她在現場的行政院長卓榮泰及文化部長李遠表示，希望歌仔戲能繼續在電視台播出，現在播出的都是30年前的回鍋戲。其他獲獎的，還有80歲的鄉土詩人吳晟，不只長年創作，也關心農民、環境議題，更曾參與黨外民主運動。另一位獲獎人，是來自新竹的傳統建築匠師傅明光，北埔金剛寺，就是他獨自花了十年修復完成，今年85歲了，依舊親自爬上屋頂，將技藝傳給年輕一代。

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These days, most soda comes in bottles and cans. But one family-run soda stand in Chiayi still makes it the traditional way. Now managed by the third generation, they mix custom sodas on the spot. Many people from other cities and counties come to Chiayi just to try it, and many locals have enjoyed it since childhood.

Soda water rushes directly out of the tap, filling the cup. The server adds ice and a special syrup, completing this cup of sweet, traditional soda.

Customer
It’s made on-the-spot. It’s especially refreshing in the summer.

This traditional soda stand in Chiayi makes sparkling water fresh using carbon dioxide canisters, then adds plenty of ice, and tops it off with syrups of various flavors. Differing from canned and bottled soda, customers can pick the syrup flavor and enjoy a soda made especially for them. Not only do people come from outside Chiayi especially to try it, but many locals have enjoyed it since they were young.

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I bought it when I was young. I started having it when the uncle was here.

Chen An-yi
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My father and grandfather started this in Chiayi, I’m the third generation. There were over 60 stands like this before, and now there’s only one.

As the only remaining soda stand in Chiayi, its sign and stall recall Taiwan’s yesteryears. Chen’s family has been running the stand for over 60 years, passing the business down to the third generation.

Chen An-yi
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My father always said not to give up the customers, to let everyone have this memory, a good memory. I grew up with this stand, too.

Upholding traditional hand-made soda culture, the third generation runs this stand as their parents did before them. Their drinks offer a refreshing respite in the hot summer, but more than that, they are full of childhood memories.

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A former woodworker keeps the traditional cakes of his childhood alive

Handmade snacks are a rare find in today’s hectic world, but in Tuku Township, Yunlin, there’s a small shop specializing in a type of layered glutinous rice cakes called shuang gao run. The owner, Chen Chia-fu, switched from woodworking to food crafting over 25 years ago, and has been running the shop ever since. Working solely with his hands, he preserves the craftsmanship passed down from his father. Every day, he begins preparing ingredients at dawn, spending at least eight hours to complete a single batch of these traditional treats.

A whole bucket of white rice is poured into a metal container and ground into a smooth batter.

Next, the batter is poured into a steamer and sprinkled with brown sugar powder. The mixture is then left to steam and cool, one step at a time.

The result is worth the wait. As soon as the lid is lifted, the rich aroma of brown sugar fills the air. The cross-section of the sliced cake reveals its delicious filling.

Two layers of rice cake with a brown sugar filling in the middle—plain in appearance but surprisingly complex in taste. It’s firm but not sticky, with just the right sweetness.

Customer
“I’ve been eating this since I was little. We’re locals, and this shuang gao run has always been famous around here.”

Customer
“Our kids also grew up eating it. It’s really good. Every time we come back to Tuku, we make sure to buy some.”

This traditional dessert shop in Yunlin’s Tuku Township offers the classic brown sugar shuang gao run, as well as limited-edition variations on weekends. Owner Chen Jia-Fu, once a woodworker, couldn’t bear to see the traditional cakes disappear with time. So he returned home to take over and preserve his father’s craft.

Chen Jia-Fu
Owner
“When I came back to do this, life slowed down a bit. The nature of the work is similar to what I was doing before—it’s all hands-on. Unlike other rice cake makers who use rice flour mixes, we keep it pure and simple—we grind white rice to make it from scratch.”

From start to finish, each batch takes at least seven to eight hours. Chen’s insistence on doing everything by hand is the secret to preserving the flavor. For 25 years, he has relied not on flashy marketing—but on the draw of childhood nostalgia.

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Puzi embroidery center holds classes to pass along tradition

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Children hold needles as they go stitch by stitch, learning to embroider. This is the Embroidery Hall in Chiayi’s Puzi, which strives to promote the traditional practice.

A group of kids parade a miniature palanquin through the hall. The cloth cover on top and tiny flags were all made by their embroidery teachers.

Embroidery teacher
I made a flag for the messenger at the start of the procession. It’s actually the first time I’ve tried it. It needed chives, so I used thin ribbons and wrapped them in thread.

Wu Pin-jui
Puzi Mayor
It’s a miniature of a scene welcoming Matsu. All of the embroidery was personally done by teachers with the association.

Embroidery is intertwined with temple culture. Since Peitian Temple is there, Puzi early on became a center for the industry. Puzi embroidery was sold all over Taiwan. But as the process became mechanized, handmade works have become scarce. To protect this local culture, the Puzi City Office has started offering embroidery classes. One woman is learning to become a teacher with encouragement from her husband.

Chang Chien-chi
Embroidery teacher
My father-in-law has passed away. At the time, my mother-in-law was depressed. Seeing his mother like that, my husband was afraid the same thing would happen to me. So he encouraged me to pursue my interests.

Each work of embroidery is as delicate as a painting. The art has advanced from a service for the gods to a part of everyday life. Over 22 years, the embroidery hall has offered classes as well as organized all kinds of exhibitions to guide people through the world of needle and thread.

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Electricity restored to southern neighborhoods after five days without

Typhoon Danas toppled a number of transmission towers and power cables in the southern area of Chiayi’s Budai Township, causing a power outage for more than five days in some nearby regions. While Taipower Company’s technicians have been working tirelessly to restore electricity, locals had to make do with electricity generators provided by local borough chiefs and temples. On Thursday, 33 temporary utility poles were installed, restoring power to many households in the area.

A row of temporary utility poles is propped up. Meanwhile Taipower Company’s technicians are installing power cables, making for quite a sight.

A number of transmission towers at a power substation in the south of Chiayi’s Budai Township had collapsed, leading to a blackout in the area. In response, Taipower Company initiated a contingency plan, mobilizing more than 100 staffers to install 33 temporary utility poles to function as the transmission towers. After 67 hours, power was finally restored.

Weng Chang-liang
Chiayi County commissioner
Last night, electricity was successfully transmitted here. Next, we’ll be able to gradually connect households to the grid. The number of households without electricity has fallen to 23,000.

Utility poles are needed to prop up power cables that transmit electricity from the substation to households. But too many utility poles had collapsed in the typhoon. Even though it’s already been five days since Typhoon Danas left, a whole row of the poles are still yet to be removed from fish ponds in a village in Dongshi Township.

Meanwhile in Budai Township, a local resident is eating noodles at a shop without any lights on.

Many borough chiefs had taken out electricity generators for residents to charge their phones, and so had a temple nearby and a local restaurant.

Resident of Budai Township
We had no electricity for four, five days already. The first time I was able to charge my phone again made me so happy.

In neighboring Jianjun District of Tainan, many schoolkids have cycled all the way to a temple to charge their phones.

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It’s as if the region north of Zengwen River has been abandoned. There’s not even a notification of when power will be restored. The whole row behind me is like the Third World.

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I can charge my phone in the car, so I charged it in the car.

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