Taiwan

Taiwan's population density is 603 persons per sq km (1561 per sq mi) with a total population of about 22 million (1997). The majority of the population lives on the western side of the Chungyang Range in it's fertile plains and basins and is comprised of mostly ethnic Han Chinese. These ethnic Han Chinese were either born on the mainland or had relatives who were and are subdivided into 3 categories based on their dialects: Taiwanese (speak Min aka Taiwanese), Hakka (speak Kejia aka Hakka), and Mandarin. All of these languages are part of the Sino-Tibetan language family.

Also found in Taiwan are aboriginal groups, with nine tribes speaking different versions of Formosan, which is a member of the Austronesian language family. Even with all the different languages, Mandarin Chinese is the official language of Taiwan.

Taiwan's total area, including surrounding islands, is approximately 36,000 sq km (13,900 mi), of this Taiwan Island comprises about 98%. Separated from Mainland China by the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan is bordered by the South China sea in the south, the East China Sea in the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the west.

Approximately half of Taiwan Island is covered by the Chungyang Range. Their highest elevation is 3,997 m (13,114 ft) at Mount Jade (Yu Shan). The most productive land is found west of this range where broad, fertile plains are found as well as basins that gently slope down to the Taiwan Strait. Immediately east of the mountain range, precipitous cliffs are found that drop down 760 m (2500 ft) to the Pacific Ocean.

language

Taiwan's official language is the same as mainland China's, which is Mandarin Chinese. Some of those native to Taiwan speak Taiwanese. Chinese and Taiwanese are similar in that they both use Chinese characters, but in Taiwan the old characters are still in use, whereas a simplified version is used on the mainland

Taiwan's Religion/Philosophy

Development of Religion in Taiwan
Taiwan practices freedom of religion, generously accepting foreign religious ideas while honoring traditional beliefs: even within the same family, it is common for different faiths to exist. As a result, Taipei has welcomed the development of many different religions.

Traditional Chinese religions include Buddhism, Taoism, and folk beliefs. Taoism is indigenous to China, while Buddhism was introduced from India. Taoists and Buddhists originally worshipped separately in Taiwan, but during the period of Japanese occupation (1895-1945) Taoists were singled out for severe persecution and began worshipping their deities secretly in Buddhist temples. By the time Taiwan was returned to Chinese administration at the end of World War II, the two religions had blended together; while a few temples today are purely Buddhist, most Taiwanese continue worshipping a variety of Buddhist, Taoist, and folk deities in a single temple.

People

Taiwan has a rather homogeneous society. Early Han Chinese immigrants, or "Taiwanese" are of two groups: the Hakka, who came mostly from Guangdong Province, and the Fujianese, who came from China's southeastern coastal province of Fujian. These two groups comprise about 85 percent ofthe population with the Fujianese outnumbering the Hakka by about three to one. There are currently, nine major aboriginal peoples in Taiwan Province: the Atayal, Saisiyat, Bunun, Tsou, Paiwan, Rukai, Puyuma, Ami and Yami. The Atayal, which are known for their custom of tattoing their faces, are distributed primarily over a large area in the northern part of Taiwan's central mountain range. There are more than 7,000 Tsou people in Taiwan. The Tsou are partrilineal and every Tsou man in required to learn the skill of hunting. The battle ceremony, Mayasvi, is still observed by the Tsou.

Early plain-dwelling tribes or the Pingpu people, have ceased to exist as distinct groups due to assimilation with Han Chinese over the last three centuries. In 1997, the number of indigenous people in the Taiwan area was just over 389,900. The Hakka comprise an estimated 20% of the population.

The Arts

Art in the ROC is tremendously diverse: from gilded temple carvings to conceptual abstract sculptures; traditional folk operas to avant-garde performance art; conservative Chinese ink paintings to contemporary award-winning films; ancient aboriginal chants to experimental blends of Chinese and Western classical music; Peking opera to postmodern dance; and every in-between.

Until the television era coming in the 1960s, puppet shows were one of the primary forms of entertainment in Taiwan. Almost any festive occasion, whether a wedding, holiday, or temple festival, called for a puppet performance.

Traditional Chinese Festivals

Traditional festivals are important events in the life of every Chinese, beginning right from childhood. Festivals such as the Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Winter Solstice are more of less evenly distributed across the four seasons. In China's traditional agricultural society, festivals served to mark the passing of time. Lifestyles of the people of the Republic of China today have undeniably changed a great deal since those time, and people now function according to a different concept of time, but the importance of traditional festivals in their lives has not faded.

Households set off firecrackers and paste Spring Festival couplets on the Chinese New Year and for the Lantern Festival, the have colorful lanterns. The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated with moon-cakes, while the Dragon Boat Festival , on the fifth day of the lunar month, commemorates the death of Chu Yuan, who drowned himself in a river to protest again tyranny and corruption. Another custom is the eating of tzung-tsu, a rice dumpling stuffed with pork or beans which are wrapped in broad bamboo leaves.

Taiwanese Snacks

Chinese cuisine is world famous, and Taiwan is unquestionably the capital of Chinese cuisine. Wheat-based foods, which are the staples of the more arid northern part of China, and rice-based foods, which are the staples of southern China, can all be found here in Taiwan. A wide variety of Taiwanese-style snacks can also be savored in boisterous night markets around the island. Thanks to Taiwan's natural environment of high mountains and surrounding seas, people can enjoy delicacies from both land and sea anywhere on the island.