By MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network, Reported by Chen Guanxin
Is Malaysia’s Bak Kut Teh part of Southern Fujian culture? And how are Taiwan’s god-carrying palanquin and Kinmen’s god-carrying sedan chair, both rooted in Southern Fujian culture, yet different from each other? The first World Southern Fujian Cultural Festival will be held from April 28 to May 4, featuring events such as an academic symposium on Southern Fujian culture, a film forum, a Southern Fujian cultural film exhibition, and Southern Fujian cuisine experiences. These activities allow the public to engage all five senses—sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste—to experience and understand the Southern Fujian culture that has long been part of daily life, originating from the Central Plains’ Heluo region, then spreading to Fujian, and eventually crossing the sea to Taiwan.
The once immensely popular Wang Ge and Liu Ge left behind a precious legacy in Taiwanese Southern Fujian culture films. (Photo provided by National Film Archive)
In the early 17th century, European colonial powers forcibly occupied the coastal areas of Southern Fujian. Zheng Chenggong, using Kinmen as his base, launched expeditions, landed in Tainan, and reclaimed Taiwan from the Dutch, attracting a large number of immigrants and introducing Han Chinese culture to develop the island. Meanwhile, Kinmen also served as a forward base over a thousand years ago for Southern Fujian people venturing to Nanyang, as well as the homeland of Southeast Asian immigrants, contributing to the dual characteristics of Southern Fujian culture as both a “maritime culture” and a “hometown of overseas Chinese.” The trend of dual urban centers—north and south—that emerged in Taoyuan County during the Qing Dynasty led the Taoyuan Plateau, situated at the intersection of Hoklo and Hakka cultures, to develop its unique “Hoklo in the north, Hakka in the south” cultural identity.
The “2012 World Southern Fujian Cultural Festival” will launch a series of events in Tainan, Kinmen, and Taoyuan. This time, the Tainan area is combining with the “World’s Tayouan — 2012 Zheng Chenggong Cultural Festival” 'Celebrating the 351st anniversary of the Sacred King Zheng Chenggong, in addition to an international academic symposium on Southern Fujian culture and a film forum, along with a Southern Fujian cultural film exhibition, there will be guided tours of Zheng Chenggong’s port temples on February 28–29 and May 5–6. These will take participants to explore cultural sites such as the ruins of Fort Zeelandia in Anping, Taiwan’s Poetry Road in Yanshui, and the Temple of the Prince of Yanping, offering an in-depth understanding of the historical context from European colonialism in the early 17th century to repelling the Dutch, reclaiming Taiwan, and introducing Han Chinese culture.
Through artistic performances, the public can gain insight into the refined essence of Southern Fujian culture. (Photo provided by Chinese Culture Association)
What’s the connection between Malaysia’s Bak Kut Teh and Southern Fujian culture? Over a hundred years ago, when Chinese people ventured to Nanyang, thrifty ancestors gathered herbs fallen on the docks and pooled resources to buy meaty bones, brewing them into a broth-heavy, meat-light soup. Paired with China’s millennia-old tea culture, this became today’s Bak Kut Teh. At the Southern Fujian Cultural Festival in Kinmen, alongside the 332-year-old Gue Dao Ying Chenghuang (City God Welcoming) series of events, there will be performances by Southern Fujian folk art troupes, the Xiamen Gezi Opera Troupe, and demonstrations where participants from Malaysia and Singapore make traditional Southern Fujian dishes such as Bak Kut Teh, Fujian shrimp noodle soup, and shrimp crackers on-site, allowing attendees to savor Southern Fujian cuisine and reflect on the historic journeys of Chinese people across the seas.
The Taoyuan area has planned performances by local teams from Guishan, Taoyuan, and Luzhu, and has also invited groups such as the Nine Heavens Folk Arts Troupe, Pastoral Music Orchestra, and Golden Branch Performance Society to perform Southern Fujian songs and dramas. Local gentry and elders will also participate in a “Common People’s Culture Forum” to discuss the development of Southern Fujian culture in Taoyuan.
Southern Fujian Cultural Festival official website: www.gacc.org.tw/min-nan
The manually carried palanquin at Kinmen temple festivals is a cultural asset of Southern Fujian folk belief, with bearers vigorously shaking it side to side to express reverence for the deities—a practice distinct from the up-and-down motion seen in Taiwan’s god-carrying palanquins. (Photo provided by Chinese Culture Association)
Highly localized temple festival activities showcase the distinctive traits of Southern Fujian culture. (Photo provided by Tsai Wu-huang)
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