Wildfire Collection: Thirty Years Anniversary Edition

Chapter 21 After "5" ([-])
This question also posed a conundrum in my own upbringing.I grew up in southern Taiwan.Usually, in a class of sixty elementary school students, there is only one child from other provinces; that is me.What I am facing is the language of Taiwan, the mountains and rivers of Taiwan, and the way of life of Taiwan, but the education I have received is always reminding me: what I am facing is inferior and temporary, and this is not my home. .Taiwanese dialect is vulgar, Taiwanese opera is obscene, Taiwanese songs have no style, goodbye is superstitious... Speaking standard Mandarin, I have a sense of superiority in my heart-"I" does not belong to Taiwan's "inferior" culture.

Growing up with this sense of superiority; I was in New York in [-] and met a man who had just come out of Hunan.He took a train from Changsha to Guangzhou, and then came to the United States from Hong Kong.With a strong local accent, he talked about the Xiangjiang River in Hunan, the tea oil trees in the countryside, and the pepper mountain; then he asked me: "Where are you from?"

I froze.Can I tell him that I am from Hunan?No, I don't speak Hunan dialect, and I don't know anything about Hunan.So should I tell him that I am Taiwanese?In an instant, I deeply felt my own poverty: I couldn’t hum a Taiwanese song, I never watched an opera show, I never once offered incense in a temple, I didn’t know what Liao Tianting was—I always regarded Taiwan as a How can I say that I am a "Taiwanese" person in a second-class culture?
The experience in New York shocked me a lot, and I realized that I was such a rootless person, and the reason for my rootlessness was the education I had received: it was mine, and I didn't admit it; it wasn't mine, and I pretended to be.In the end, there was nothing.That's what I mean by "cultural schizophrenia."

So the so-called local people who have lived in Taiwan for a long time, are they more "rooted" than me?Not necessarily.There is a red-haired city in Tamsui, but if you ask the residents of Tamsui what the red-haired city means, probably eight out of ten will not be able to tell why.All I know is that there is a red city wall over there, with a blue sky and white sun flag hanging on it, and there are many vendors selling fresh water "iron eggs" outside.If you enter the city, you will see some tables and chairs inside, but there are no instructions (I don’t know if it has been changed now?!), the only “instructions” are many, many wooden signs that say “It is forbidden to urinate here”!I really wonder: Are there really that many people doing that in so many corners?Why so many brands?
A Disneyland was to be built next to Tainan's Eternal Golden City. The case was sent to the mayor of Tainan, and it was passed.Mr. Chen Qilu expressed his sadness.But are the people in Tainan City sad?About eight out of ten have no idea what the Eternal Golden City is.

Therefore, it is not only me, a "child from the provinces" who thinks he does not belong here, who despises and ignores our living environment.People who have lived here for hundreds of years seem to be indifferent to Taiwan's local traditions.Here, we have to get to the bottom of it again.

The elementary school social textbooks in my hands have a total of twelve volumes, each volume has an average of one hundred pages, and the total is about 1000 to two hundred pages.Social textbooks clearly point out two purposes at the beginning, one is to let our next generation understand the historical origin of China, and the other is to let them understand our "living environment".Looking at these twelve volumes, I found that Taiwan is basically treated as a province in South China... The ones that really focus on explaining "Taiwan" only have more than 1000 pages out of the 30 or [-] pages!If the purpose of the entire twelve volumes is to let children understand his "living environment", why does this "living environment" only account for one-fortieth?
And how does this precious 30-odd pages describe Taiwan?The theme it emphasizes is: Taiwan is the base of revival.Let's speculate on what it means to "revitalize the base."

It basically has two meanings: first, it is military, that is to say, buying fighter jets is more important than building mental sanatoriums.Second, it is temporary, just a "base", not a home where one can settle down, live and die here.

Taiwan is such a place; our social textbooks teach our children this way.How can you blame me, a "child from other provinces", for not taking Taiwan seriously?How can it be blamed that the residents of Tamsui do not understand Taiwan?

I've probably hit a sensitive spot here, so let me explain.Where Taiwan is going politically is not the subject of my talk; I don't understand politics, so I am not qualified to speak on mass communication.What I am urgently calling for here is that no matter what the future political direction is, we must start to build "Taiwan consciousness". Simply put, we must wholeheartedly value Taiwan.It is important to understand our historical origins - we are all proud and self-respecting Chinese, but our living "living environment", Taiwan, must not be just 1000 pages out of [-] or [-] pages!

To establish "Taiwan consciousness", first of all, textbooks must be completely rewritten to tell the next generation that Taiwan is not "only" a "rejuvenation base", but also a "home" with history, culture, and long-term future that requires careful management .The history teacher not only told the children about the Xuanwumen Incident and the 72 Huanghuagang Martyrs, but also took the elementary school students to see the relics of Beinan and walk the Caoling Ancient Trail.The geography teacher not only told the children what the climate of the Qinghai Plateau is like, but more importantly, took the children to take the small train in Alishan to observe which plants are in which climate.When explaining religion, the teacher not only talked about Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism in books, but also took the children to the temple, and told them what happened to Mazu, Digong, Qiyebaye, and Chenghuangye in the midst of cigarette smoke. .

"Taiwan Consciousness" needs to be rooted in this way, let it germinate and grow slowly, and people who live on the land of Taiwan—without distinction from other provinces—can establish a distinctive and substantive identity that is recognized by all. culture.The current situation is that we cannot bring the culture of the mainland, and what we bring is fragmented and faulty; the culture in front of us seems unwilling to agree with it. In this state of emptiness, the strong culture of the West is still With Japanese culture, it is easy to sweep Taiwan.Recently, many people are talking about Japan's "Harajuku"

I was worried about the invasion of the subculture, and I was laughing to myself: How much Taiwan has been corrupted by American culture, plus Japanese culture, what is there to make a fuss about?Is it okay to be invaded by Japanese culture, but it is only natural to be fully occupied by American culture?

The important thing is not how to arm itself against the invasion of foreign cultures. If Taiwan itself has a solid cultural body, it will naturally face the impact of the outside world calmly and select and eliminate them.Without a solid and self-sufficient culture, one will be dizzy and at a loss as soon as the shock comes.But where does a solid culture come from?The most urgent thing is to break through what I call the "dilemma of cultural schizophrenia", to re-understand Taiwan's "living environment" with wide open eyes, to recognize it, affirm it, and embrace it.

In the direction of building "Taiwan consciousness," the government has actually already started.Adding "place of birth" to the ID card is a small gesture, but it has great significance.The construction of the Taipei Metro is also a long-term investment.The most important, of course, is the century-old plan to protect the ecological environment.Although these start too late, better than never.But the start is only the start, and it is still far away from the solution of the real problem.I think both the government and the people have not yet realized that the lack of "Taiwan consciousness" is the crux of many problems, nor have they realized how urgent the establishment of "Taiwan consciousness" is.I made a suggestion tonight in August [-]: Our textbooks must be rewritten. In what year do you think it will be possible?
The two dilemmas discussed tonight—the "dilemma of independent thinking" and the "dilemma of cultural schizophrenia"—both have little opportunity to "spread out and talk" because of the entanglement of political consciousness.When it comes to independent thinking, some people immediately call it "student movement" and "turmoil", just like shouting "fire! fire!" "Taiwan consciousness" may be interpreted as "Taiwan independence", which is even more terrifying than "fire".Let's have the courage to confront problems head-on!Independent thinking is not a poisonous snake or beast, it is the vitality of a nation. Without that ability, a society can only stand still.As for "Taiwan Consciousness", before anyone rushes to put a big hat on me, let me read a clip from "Wildfire":

I don't know anyone who considers Taiwan home.Some people reluctantly look back at the past continent, some fly to the future continent with a green card, and even more people don't want the past or the future, and they don't know how to cherish the soil under their feet.I am a person who wants to wander the world, but I know very well that even if my feet are wearing sandals and stepping on the stone roads in Turkey, when someone asks "Where do the tourists come from", I have only one answer: not Hunan, not New York, not Munich.Home, you can bid farewell temporarily, you can leave, you can forget, but home will always be the same. In Taiwan 40 years later, there will be people who want to leave but can’t, there are people who can leave but can’t, and there are people who are wholeheartedly here in this life; no matter what kind, as long as he regards this place as his “home”—willingly No matter, no matter what he has to do—as long as he regards this place as his "home", this place will be cared for, cultivated and cultivated.What I am afraid of is that after 40 years, if we still do not take care of this place, this home will fall into disrepair.

My "Taiwan consciousness" is nothing more than that.

On the evening of parting, you may ask me: What kind of dream do you have for Taiwan?
some.

Standing here to speak this evening, I have a deep fear in my heart, afraid of the "consequences" of my words tonight.My dream is: I hope that the next generation of Chinese people can stand at any place at any night and say what they want to say without any fear in their hearts.All the efforts made by our generation are nothing more than the hope that our next generation will have "freedom from fear".

These are my last words tonight.Thank you so much for listening.

(End of this chapter)