Culture of Taiwan
In recent years, the concept of Taiwanese multiculturalism has been proposed as a relatively apolitical alternative view, which has allowed for the inclusion of mainlanders and other minority groups into the continuing re-definition of Taiwanese culture as collectively held systems of meaning and customary patterns of thought and behavior shared by the people of Taiwan.
Due to Taiwan's strategic location along East Asian trade routes, the Taiwanese were also exposed to cosmopolitan influences and the effects of European commerce.
Japan's effort taught Taiwan's elite Japanese culture and language but did not largely interfere in religious organizations.
When Japan's suppressive wartime policies were lifted following World War II, the Taiwanese were eager to continue with their prewar cosmopolitan activities.
On another level, the state's main objective was to "sinicize" the Taiwanese by teaching them Mandarin Chinese and Nationalist ideology through compulsory primary education.
[17] In 1953, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek issued his first major opinion on culture to complete Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, which included prescribing Nationalist curriculum for education, building facilities for intellectual and physical recreation and the major state cultural program of promoting anti-communist propaganda.
[18] In regard to Taiwanese cultural life, the major thrust was for "universalization" of education in Mandarin, which was enforced by law.
Despite the hard-line Chinese control over culture, the Soviet advances in technology led to a new Nationalist focus on building closer cooperation with American universities and developing engineering programs.
[19] The American presence in Taiwan also encouraged Taiwanese to resume some politically, ethnically neutral cultural activities, which was expressed in a flourishing Taiwanese-language media market.
These programs involved subsidized publication of Chinese Classics, the symbolic functions of the National Palace Museum, promoting famous prewar scholars to prominent positions in government and academic institutions, textbook and curriculum design with a focus on the official view of "traditional" Chinese culture and involvement in social and community events and the exemplification of Confucian ideology intertwined with Sun Yat-sen thought.
[citation needed] Bentuhua or Taiwanization/Taiwanese localization has become, arguably, the most important symbol of cultural change over the past twenty years.
Humanistic Buddhism traces its roots to Chinese monk Venerable Taixu (1890–1947), who promoted more direct contributions to society through the Buddhist community and was a significant influence for Venerable Yin Shun, who is generally considered to be the key figure who brought Humanistic Buddhism to Taiwan.
The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has been active in promoting human rights and the use of the spoken and written Taiwanese (see Pe̍h-ōe-jī), both during Japanese rule, as well as the martial law period of the Republic of China, during which the exclusive use of Mandarin was legally mandated.
Taiwanese Mandarin, derived from Standard Chinese, is spoken at different levels according to the social class and situation of the speakers.
There also exist differences in official[26] pronunciations of a few words such as 垃圾, which is pronounced lèsè in Taiwan but lājī in China, with the former being derived from Shanghainese.
Democratization in the late 1980s and the lifting of martial law granted Taiwanese artists freedom of expression for the first time in history.
[29] As Taiwan's art scene matured there began to be a greater specialization in exhibit spaces with dedicated museums for things like photography and ceramics opening.
Because they are found nearly everywhere, convenience stores in Taiwan provide services on behalf of financial institutions or government agencies such as collection of the city parking fee, utility bills, traffic violation fines, and credit card payments.
Nearly all students attend some sort of buxiban, whether for mathematics, computer skills, English, other foreign languages, or exam preparation (college, graduate school, TOEFL, GRE, SAT, etc.).
One of the best known figures in Taiwanese cinema is director Ang Lee, who has also made movies in the West and has won an Academy Award.
Some popular pop artists in Taiwan include Leehom Wang, Jay Chou, Jolin Tsai, and David Tao.
In this process, Taiwan produced several hip-hop artists, including Dog G, MC HotDog, Machi, and L.A. Boyz.
The Chen administration's policies included measures designed to focus on Taiwan while de-emphasizing cultural and historical ties to China.
This sometimes led to incongruities such as Sun Yat-sen being treated as both a "foreign" (Chinese) historical figure and as the "Father of the Country" (Republic of China).
One phenomenon that has resulted from the Taiwanization movement is the advent of Taike subculture, in which people consciously adopt the wardrobe, language and cuisine to emphasize the uniqueness of popular, groundroots Taiwanese culture, which in previous times had often been seen as provincial and brutally suppressed by Chiang Kai-shek.
Successful Chinese pop artists from other countries (e.g. Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin from Singapore) are also trained, groomed and marketed in Taiwan.
Today, it is widely watched and enjoyed by the Overseas Chinese communities in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United States.
