醜美醜美的台北眾神花燈 The Taipei lanterns depicting numerous gods, both ugly and beautiful.
你好,我是Cindy,我是一名線上華語老師,每週我會跟你分享台灣重要的新聞或是有趣的文化,歡迎訂閱我的電子報! I'm Cindy. I am an online Mandarin teacher. Every week, I will share important news and interesting cultural insights from Taiwan with you.
本週關鍵字 (Keywords of the Week)
元宵節 (Yuánxiāojié) - Lantern Festival
花燈 (Huādēng) - Lanterns
中元節(Zhōngyuánjié) - Ghost Festival
醜美 (Chǒuměi) - Ugly-beautiful
打卡 (Dǎkǎ) - Check in (on social media)
大家好,上次跟大家分享五件農曆新年前台灣人會做的事情,雖然台灣已經放完農曆春節的假期了,但在華人的世界裡,其實「年」還沒過完,這個禮拜六是元宵節,元宵節也是傳統春節的最後一天,因此等到元宵節過後,才有過完年的感覺。今天想跟大家分享今年元宵節討論最高的醜美醜美的台北眾神花燈。醜美這個詞念的時候,台灣人會用台語發音。
(因為版權問題,照片來源是台北市長蔣萬安的臉書)
看到這張照片後面的花燈,不知道你有什麼感覺?你覺得這個好看?不好看?還是很可怕?這是台北元宵節花燈的作品之一,名字叫「眾神保庇龍平安」,取這個名字有台語的諧音的意思,代表許多神明會保佑你今年都很平安的意思。台北市長蔣萬安在看完這個作品之後的感覺是,醜美,就是又醜又美的作品。
許多台灣人看到這個作品都覺得非常可怕。這個作品在白天的時候,並不可怕,這裡面總共有13個神明,包含台灣人最喜歡求平安的媽祖、單身的人喜歡拜的月下老人、想要賺很多錢要拜的財神爺等,都是台灣人很喜歡的神明,但是偏偏花燈的特色就是在晚上去逛,也因此晚上這些作品從內部點燈後,讓許多台灣人都覺得好像到了地獄一樣,有一種在過「中元節」,而不是元宵節的感覺。不過這個作品也因為太特別,讓許多人特別去打卡,反而替這個創作者帶來許多的禮儀社的訂單。
我個人在網路上看到這個作品時,的確覺得非常特別,也真的有種要過「中元節」的感覺,但我必須要說,我覺得他超級有台灣特色,是很棒的花燈作品。在我小的時候,台灣的元宵節比較少大型的花燈,比較多圓形的燈籠,所以小的時候,我會提著燈籠去逛燈會,最早的燈籠裡面還放著蠟燭,但現在的花燈作品越來越大,也常常跟科技結合,我覺得太現代感了,反而沒有過元宵節的感覺,所以這個「醜美」的花燈作品,真的想給他一個讚。
如果你在台灣,可以去你的城市逛逛燈會,也可以在元宵節那天吃個湯圓,希望你喜歡今天的分享。如果你喜歡這篇電子報,歡迎分享給你也在學中文的朋友。
如果你想學中文,可以跟我聯絡:cindymandarintw@gmail.com
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本週關鍵字 (Keywords of the Week)
元宵節 (Yuánxiāojié) - Lantern Festival
花燈 (Huādēng) - Lanterns
中元節(Zhōngyuánjié) - Ghost Festival
醜美 (Chǒuměi) - Ugly-beautiful
打卡 (Dǎkǎ) - Check in (on social media)
Hello everyone,
Last time I shared with you five things Taiwanese people do before the Lunar New Year. Although Taiwan has already finished the Lunar New Year holidays, in the Chinese-speaking world, "the year" isn't over yet. This Saturday marks the Lantern Festival, which is also the last day of the traditional Lunar New Year celebration. Therefore, it's only after the Lantern Festival that we truly feel like the New Year has passed. Today, I'd like to talk about the most discussed topic this Lantern Festival, the Taipei lanterns depicting numerous gods, both ugly and beautiful. In pronouncing the term "ugly-beautiful," Taiwanese people would use the pronunciation in Taiwanese Hokkien dialect.
(As for the photo source, it's from Taipei Mayor Wayne Chiang’s Facebook.)
What do you feel when you see the lanterns in the photo? Do you find them beautiful? Unattractive? Or perhaps a bit scary? This particular lantern is one of the creations for the Taipei Lantern Festival, named “眾神保庇龍平安Zhòngshén bǎobì lóng píng'ān**". The name is a pun in Taiwanese, implying that many deities will bless you with safety throughout the year.** Taipei Mayor Wayne Chiang described his feelings after seeing this creation as "ugly-beautiful," meaning it's both unattractive and beautiful.
Many Taiwanese find this creation quite frightening. During the daytime, it doesn't evoke such feelings. There are a total of 13 deities represented here, including Mazu, whom Taiwanese people most commonly pray to for safety, the YueLao favored by singles, and the God of Wealth whom people pray to for prosperity,etc. However, the characteristic of these lanterns is to be visited at night, which is why when illuminated from within at night, many Taiwanese feel like they've entered hell, giving them more of a feeling of the "Ghost Festival" rather than the Lantern Festival. Nevertheless, due to its uniqueness, this creation has attracted many visitors to check in on social media and has brought the creator numerous orders from ritual societies.
Personally, when I saw this creation on the internet, I indeed found it very distinctive, and it truly gave me the sense of the Ghost Festival. However, I must say, I find it exceptionally characteristic of Taiwan and a fantastic lantern creation. When I was a child, Taiwan's Lantern Festival featured fewer large lanterns and more traditional round lanterns. I used to carry lanterns and stroll around the lantern fair. The earliest lanterns even had candles inside. But nowadays, lantern creations are becoming larger and often integrate technology. It feels too modern, losing the essence of the Lantern Festival. That's why this "ugly-beautiful" lantern creation deserves praise.
If you're in Taiwan, you can visit the lantern fairs in your city and enjoy some tangyuan (sweet rice balls) on the Lantern Festival day. Hope you enjoyed today's sharing.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, feel free to share it with your friends who are also learning Chinese. See you next week!
If you want to learn Chinese, you can contact me at: cindymandarintw@gmail.com
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