Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Arrival in LA
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Tamsui and the National Palace Museum
We spent the late afternoon and evening at Tamsui (Damshui), a port town outside of Taipei and on the river mouth into the Taiwan Strait. Our first stop was the old Fort Santo Domingo. This was originally a wooden fort built by the Spanish in 1629 at Tamsui on the northwestern coast of Taiwan. In 1642, the Dutch expelled the Spaniards from nearby Keelung, and the Dutch built a new fort on the site, called Fort Anthonio. In 1644, they replaced it by the structure still standing today, also called Fort Anthonio. From 1683 to 1867 the Qing Dynasty Chinese government controlled the fort and during this time (1724) built a stone wall with four gates around it, of which only one (main) gate survives. Following the opium wars in 1868 the British took over the fort, made it their trade consulate, and painted it red (it was previously white).This was a terrific way to spend out last evening in Taiwan. After visiting the fort we strolled over to the waterfront where we mingled with the local crowd. The sunset was beautiful. A long walk down the "old street" completed the evening. The attached video gives one a feeling of the craziness: like a carnival on steroids.
We are visiting the National Palace Museum today. Some background is in order (taken from Wikipedia.....). In 1931, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese Nationalist Government ordered the Palace Museum in Beijing to quickly move its most valuable pieces out of the city to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army. Select pieces from the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Preparatory Office of the Central Museum were selected for removal, as well as rare books of the Central Library. After WWII, the Chinese Civil War resumed ultimately resulting in Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's decision in evacuating the art to Taiwan. When the fighting worsened in 1948 between the Chinese Communist and Chinese Nationalist armies, the Directors of the Palace Museum made the decision to send some of the most prized items in the Museum's collection to Taiwan. A total of 2,972 crates were shipped in three groups and arrived in Keelung, Taiwan, in February 1948. By the time the items arrived in Taiwan, the Mao Zedong's Communist army had already seized control of the Beijing Palace Museum collection so not all of the collection could be sent to Taiwan. The 2,972 crates of artifacts moved to Taiwan only accounted for a quarter of the items originally transported South from Beijing, although the pieces represented some of the very best of the collection. The Peoples Republic of China government has long said that the collection was stolen and that it legitimately belongs in China, but Taiwan has defended its collection as a necessary act to protect the pieces from destruction, especially during the Cultural Revolution. However, relations regarding this treasure have warmed in recent years and the Palace Museum in Beijing has agreed to lend relics to the National Palace Museum for exhibitions and Palace Museum curator Zheng Xinmiao have said that the artifacts in both mainland and Taiwan museums are "China's cultural heritage jointly owned by people across the Taiwan Strait."
The pictures are: The Wind Symphony outside the National Palace Museum, Ft. Santo Domingo, local gentleman relaxing, Dr. Korak enjoying the fresh air on the waterfront, a scene looking up river at sunset and various food choices from street vendors....grilled squid....YUM!
Back in Taipei
We are back in Taipei. On the way we stopped at an ancient Taoist temple and had lunch in a wonderful carnival-like atmosphere. Today we have spent the day at the Taipei Zoo and gondola. The gondola takes one up the mountain to many tea houses from which one has a beautiful view of the Taipei Basin. Many students had tea prepared the traditional way. This was a beautiful way to spend couple of hours. This evening we will be traveling to Tamsui, which is one of the first ports to which foreigners had access. The Dutch East India Company being one in the early 17th century. There is an "old street" night market there and we will eat dinner on our own. The review of our concert has been posted on the WASBE web site: www.wasbe.org.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Concert
The concert day arrived. We departed the hotel at 10:30 am for the Chiayi City Cultural Center. On arrival the student stood on stage, snapped pictures and I think pinched themselves to see if the moment was real. We have been planning for this day for the past 18 months and now was the time. Subway sandwiches were provided for lunch, following which was an hour and a half rehearsal and sound check. The hall had about 1000 seats and was just completed in time for the WASBE conference. The concert was well attended and the audience was warm and receptive. Our performance was one of the finest that I have been associated with in my 21 year tenure as Director of Bands. Following the concert one American WASBE member said, "There are not many Americans here at the conference this year but those that are are extremely proud of you and the SIUE Wind Symphony." This made all of us feel as though we represented our country with honor. I think that many people now know of SIUE.
We depart for Taipei today and on the way stop at the ancient city of Lugang, including a visit to the Matsu Temple (the Taoist sea goddess). Tomorrow is a full day with a visit to the Taiwan Zoo and cable car then sunset and the evening at the town of Tamsui, located on the Taiwan Strait. The Spanish established a colony there in the early 17th century. More on this later.
Many photos. Thanks to Dr. John Korak for providing many of these!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
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