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FYI SOUTH Magazine, January 2003. VOL.3 ISSUE 1

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PORTAL TO THE PAST ¡V THE HAKKA CULTURE HALL by Angelica Montgomery

       Kaohsiung¡¦s Hakka Culture Hall calls the notice of traffic flying by with the charm of its design, and the brightness of its white walls and red roofs. At the center of the building¡¦s three faces are two brassy oxen, symbolizing the farm work that is so central to traditional Hakka life.

       ¡§The spirit of hard work and saving money is very important because it took so much [for the Hakka] to move to Taiwan. The oxen sculpture outside [shows] the spirit of the Hakka people,¡¨ says Fu You-shun, executive director of the Hakka Culture Hall.

Built four years ago with NT$70 million in funding from Kaohsiung City Government, the culture hall means a lot to the city¡¦s Hakka residents, many of whom were born in rural Hakka enclaves such as Kaohsiung County¡¦s Meinung (see page 22). ¡§Because the Hakka people are a minority in Taiwan, they will eventually become just like Taiwanese people. We want to show our art and language so people will see what we¡¦re about. We want to keep our Hakka tradition,¡¨ Fu explains.

      Artefacts from both Taiwan and mainland China provide a glimpse of the Hakka lifestyle of yore. Among them are three blue frocks with special cuff designs which indicated whether the wearer was single, married or widowed.

       The exhibition on Hakka marriages includes a detailed description, in Chinese only, of the rituals that surround Hakka weddings. A sedan chair, once used to carry a bride to her wedding, is stout and dark blue - quite different to the tall, bright red sedan chairs that ethnic Taiwanese once used for their nuptials.

Rudimentary farming tools, such as those for manually processing rice and tilling the soil, show the labor-intensive life of Hakka farmers. Hakka culture has long been linked with hard work ¡V an association that is directly tied to the people¡¦s history. ¡§Hakka have migrated so much. Our lives have been so hard. We have had to rebuild our homes again and again,¡¨ says Fu.        Renovations to the culture hall include the creation of a new library that will be ready in January 2003. In due course the public will be given access to the library¡¦s books on Hakka language and history.

      In the museum basement, visitors can look at photographs depicting Hakka life and history. Unlike the rest of the exhibits, the photographic display includes English information. The basement also contains a collection of traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy. Many original works are for sale; proceeds help the culture hall meet its running costs.

       The culture hall also offers a variety of daytime classes, including traditional music, oil painting, and European flower painting. A 12-week course, with a single two-hour class each week, costs NT$1,500. Evening classes on Hakka language and songs are available for NT$300 per session.

The Hakka Culture Hall is open to the public every day except Mondays and national holidays, from 9am to 12pm and 1:30pm to 5pm. Admission is free. -Hakka Culture Hall 215 DungMen 2nd Road, Sanmin, Kaohsiung City (07) 315-2136~8

FYI:

To find out more about Taiwan¡¦s Hakka minority, try the central government¡¦s Web site, www.hakka.gov.tw (Chinese only), or that of the US Taiwan Hakka Association www.twhakkausa.org (English).