I was on my own on Monday the 9th. As I outline in my article on my introduction to Servas, I had arranged to meet my first Servas host on Monday afternoon. I had not yet seen the most noteworthy temples, nor the massive Chiang Kai-Shek memorial. I set out to see these highlights before making my way back to the Beitou area to meet my host. There is a lot of overlap between Buddhism and Daoism. I believe are components of Daoism and Buddhism in both the Baoan and Longshan temples. Dalongdong Baoan is an early 19th century temple Chinese folk religion shrine right next to a Confucian temple. The Confucian temple was not open and accessible at the early hour I arrived. I did not have a lot of interpretation available at the temples I did see, though my host, Grace was able to offer some explanation at the temple she showed me in Beitou later that afternoon.
Longshan is nearly 100 years older. Both Longshan and Baoan were built by settlers from Fujian province. Most Chinese immigrants to Taiwan who arrived before the great nationalist exodus were from Fujian. Longshan has Bhuddhist components, but also contains a shrine to Mazu, a Chinese folk religion sea god. This temple has posted instructions for those interested in worshiping. There are also items you can buy to make offerings. Interestingly, the gods apparently like cookies. You can also offer money. Conveniently, the gods prefer “god money” that is just stacks of gold colored paper as opposed to legal currency. There are rotating pillars with small figures in them representing people who have made contributions which help support the operation of the temple. Like most temples in Taiwan, Longshan also has pairs of crescent-shaped wooden divining blocks that can be used to ask yes or no questions of the gods. One side of each block is rounded, and the other side is flat. Combinations of “face up” and “face down” results equal yes, no, and unclear answers. People offered incense as well. They made bowing motions. The temples also had drums and bells which could be struck in certain circumstances. There was a morning worship while I was at Longshan. Adherents used Mandarin Character books to recite a couple of songs. Wooden guards stood at both doors. You are always expected to enter from the right door and exit from the left. You also are not supposed to step on the threshold, though unlike other temples I visited on my first Asia trip, wearing your shoes inside is fine. I was glad some of the worship was happening as I visited Longshan to add a bit more context to my visit.
The Chiang Kai-Shek memorial is the largest complex I have seen honoring a single individual. Chiang himself sits inside of an enclosed area at the top of a large pyramid of stairs, I believe totaling 89 to represent the years of his life. His statue appears remarkably similar to the one in the Lincoln memorial. There is a small museum in the lower level. Two other buildings house other types of national centers for performing arts. Musicals and other events are held there. The museum under Chiang’s statue is surprisingly even-handed. It tells the story of the Republic of China’s struggle with the communists and eventual defeat on the mainland. It talks of the KMT’s retreat to Taiwan. It explains quite fairly why not everyone holds Chiang and his party in the highest esteem. In that respect, it is quite different from Joseph Stalin’s home in Georgia, or even Graceland, which shockingly ignores the cause of Elvis Presley’s death.
The museum further does a nice job of drawing parallels with other democratic movements in Asia. They discuss the relationship between Taiwan, and the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, for example. There are some artifacts, too, of course. Even the artifacts are somewhat balanced. There are, of course, medals and honors that were given to Chiang by foreign statesmen. There are photos of him with many world leaders, and an explanation of why this trend died out as the Republic of China lost diplomatic status as a country to most of the world’s nations. There are documents and reports of his abuses. A state vehicle is on display. It is a well-done museum.
I also bought a souvenir there. I seldom buy souvenirs. Mostly I collect a few bills and coins as I travel. This trip, I left a couple of T-shirt slots empty, so I could buy shirts, then use them on the trip. I bought a Taiwan flag T-shirt. I won’t be able to use it in any part of the People’s Republic of China obviously. I liked it, though. Many of the older Taiwanese I saw in the early daylight hours gave me big thumbs up when they saw me wearing it. Younger people like Stacy, however, just thought it was weird. It is a cool shirt, though, and I’ll wear it around other parts of the world, and at home.
I met Grace, my first Servas host, at a subway station late in the afternoon. She showed me a temple in her neighborhood on the way home and explained to me in more detail some of the Daoist and Buddhist traditions associated with it. This was partly selected because she needed to visit the restroom. I walked on in while she did her business. It was a quiet place in the afternoon.
I went for a long walk the next morning. I tried to find my way through a jungle and up a nearby mountain, but the paths I followed always led to dead ends. I got my exercise in, though, and a lot of older folks expressed enthusiasm about my Taiwan flag shirt. I learned later that Grace also occasionally gives walking tours of Tamsui for tourists. She gave me a quick version between 9:00 and 12:00, because she had to work that afternoon. She showed me the good places I could come back and see in the afternoon at my leisure. I was able to come back and visit them, but not until the day before I left Taiwan. I had my own agenda for the afternoon.
The AYUSA partner in Taipei had apparently not seen a member of any host family visit Taiwan since before the 2020 Covid-19 outbreak. They were quite enthusiastic about interviewing Stacy and I, so we met at their office in the early afternoon and visited for about an hour and a half. We went from there to Zhongshan Girls High School, where I watched her team lose a one point game to a rival school. It was a fun experience, though much different than watching American scholastic sports. I was the only spectator. Although the team has an adult coach, it is largely guided by upper classmen. It as a game that could have been won with some minor adjustments. The level of play appeared more like a rec league basketball program.
The players were all extremely welcoming, though. They had a special greeting for one another. They also had a special greeting and gifts set aside for me. The coach asked if I had any feedback. She could not speak English, though. I tried to give a few tips, as I saw them, through Stacy at the coach’s request. She had to leave after the first four periods, though, to pick up her own children. I wrote up a report and sent it to her later.
After the coach left, the seniors were in charge. The teams played another quarter. The senior assistant coaches were not pleased with how things had gone, and continued to tack on quarters, apparently intending to play until the team got things right. This happened for several more quarters, one at a time. After about the 10th period, and no guarantee that would be the final one, I finally told Stacy I needed to go and made my way back to the metro station to head back to Grace’s house. I grabbed some dumplings on the way home and arrived back at about nine. That was the latest I felt comfortable returning to someone else’s home.
After a nice breakfast with Grace and her family, I headed out to my scheduled medical follow up, then caught the train to Tainan. Fore more information on transportation in Taiwan, click here. To read about the days I spent in Tainan, click the associated tile below.
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