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Taiwan Customs

Taiwan has been gradually developed since the large-scale immigration of people from Fujian and Guangdong in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Although the Japanese colonists tried their best to implement national assimilation, they encountered stubborn resistance from the Taiwanese compatriots. After the Kuomintang moved to Taiwan, a large number of people from the mainland came to Taiwan. Therefore, the living habits and social customs of Taiwan's Han compatriots are basically the same as those on the mainland, and generally maintain the characteristics of the Fujian and Guangdong regions.

(1) Food, clothing, housing and transportation

1. Clothing. In the past, rural men and women mostly wore Hanfu. Women in middle age and above like to wear long gowns,

or shorts; elderly people like to wear green and black clothes or fragrant cloud gauze; suits and leather shoes began to spread to the countryside during the Japanese rule, and have become quite popular in the past few decades. Some urban women wear cheongsam and other national costumes. At present, young people mostly wear suits or Hong Kong shirts and trousers. Rural men and women often wear hats or wrap towels to protect themselves from the wind and sun.

2. Diet. Taiwanese residents eat rice as their staple food for three meals a day. During festivals, guests are usually entertained with sumptuous food and wine such as chicken and duck. Taiwanese residents are all fond of wine. When offering sacrifices to gods and entertaining guests, good wine is a must. At the turn of spring and summer, and autumn and winter, Chinese medicines are often used to stew animal foods to refresh and replenish the body. Dishes are often seasoned with MSG, sugar, etc. The restaurant operates Sichuan, Guangdong, Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, Fujian and other regional flavor dishes. The current living standard of Gaoshan compatriots is still low, and some still rely on taro and sweet potatoes as their staple food.

3. Residence. The styles of houses in Taiwan can be roughly divided into three types: Chinese, Western and Japanese. The Chinese style is a bungalow, mostly in southern Fujian style, including one-dragon, windlass handle, three-heyuan, four-heyuan, etc. With Zhuoshui Creek as the boundary, the rural villages are scattered in the north and residential in the south. Most of them are built in mountain valleys near the water to avoid wind and sand. Most Western-style buildings are made of bricks in the past, but in recent years most of them have been changed to reinforced concrete. In Japanese style, "tatami" is spread in bungalows. Most of the houses in the towns are Western-style. With the development of industry and commerce in recent years, new apartments have increased rapidly, and high-rise buildings are lined up in rows. However, due to the rapid growth of population, the housing problem has not been fundamentally solved, and many people still live in simple shacks.

4. Walking. Currently, the most popular means of transportation in Taiwan are bicycles and motorcycles. In recent years, the number of cars, planes, ships, and trains has increased, making it more convenient, and private cars have increased in large numbers. Taxis are widely available in towns and cities. Many buses are equipped with air conditioning. However, transportation is still inconvenient in most rural areas, and sailboats and sampans are still needed in places with many rivers. There is no way to go in mountainous areas, so we can only climb and trek along mountain roads.

(2) Weddings and funerals

1. Weddings. In the past, there were many wedding rules in Taiwan. People with the same surname did not get married. There were two types of marriages: first marriage (bringing through a matchmaker) and minor marriage (bringing a son-in-law or half-bridal marriage). Generally, it needs to go through four stages: marriage negotiation, engagement, engagement, and wedding. The age of marriage is generally no more than 30 years old for men and 25 years old for women. At present, it has been changed to free love through the introduction of a matchmaker, the sedan chair has been changed to a car, and the marriage has been notarized in the court. However, weddings in Taiwan are very extravagant and wasteful, leaving many young people with a heavy burden. In rural areas, some people are happy to get married in groups. Gaoshan people practice monogamy in their marriages, and their parents usually decide when they are young, so divorce often occurs after marriage.

2. Funeral. Funerals are similar to those in mainland China. After a parent dies, the children will keep vigil that night. The whole family mourns, provides a bowl of rice, burns paper money, and rushes to make a shroud for the deceased. At the same time, relatives and friends are visited, a coffin is purchased, and then sacrifices are made. After the sacrifice, the children help the body and bury it. In the coffin, they serve "filial piety rice" for breakfast and take turns to cry. Then they choose a day for the funeral. The funeral procession is like a long queue. Relatives and friends are sent to the suburbs. The filial man kowtows and bids farewell. The coffin is then transported by truck to the cemetery for burial. Today, cremation is quite common. There are funeral parlors, crematoria and cemeteries in some places in Taiwan, and some Buddhist temples and pagodas also store ashes.

3. Fertility. When a woman gives birth to a child, she must tell her relatives and friends, which is called "announcement of good news." When the moon is full, red eggs are given to relatives, friends and neighbors to show good luck. Pregnant women give birth to the full moon, which is called "confinement". Within one month, they usually eat sesame oil and pork liver as a non-staple food. Grandparents must give gifts of clothes to babies when they are one month old, four months old, or one year old. The preference for boys over girls is quite serious in Taiwan. A grand ceremony is held for the birth of a boy, regardless of whether he is a month old, one year old or 16 years old, while the ceremony for a girl is greatly simplified or even not held at all.

In the past 30 years, the Taiwan authorities have promoted the "Family Birth Control Program" with the slogans "Two children are just right" and "Girls and boys are equally good."

4. Birthday celebration. Taiwan compatriots like to celebrate birthdays. After men and women come of age, every birthday, their families prepare plain noodles, incense candles, etc. and hold a simple celebration ceremony. Generally, longevity begins at the age of 50. The age of 60 is the lower longevity, the age of 70 is the middle longevity, the age of 80 is the upper longevity, the age of 90 is the senior longevity, and the age of 100 is the longevity. Every birthday is celebrated by descendants and relatives and friends are invited, which is quite grand.

(3) Gift taboos

1. It is forbidden to give handkerchiefs to others. In the past, bereaved families in Taiwan would give towels to mourners after the funeral, with the intention of cutting off contact between the mourners and the deceased. Therefore, there is a saying in Taiwan that "giving a towel will cut off the roots." Therefore, under normal circumstances, if you give someone a towel, it can't help but remind people of unlucky funerals and the meaning of separation and farewell.

2. It is forbidden to give fans to others. Fans are cheap and fragile, and are used to cool people in the summer. When the weather gets cold in late autumn, there is a saying of "autumn fans see their friends", which means they are too ruthless and will be thrown away after use. There is a saying among Taiwanese people: "If you send a fan, you will never see it again", which is based on this mentality. Giving a fan to a young man or woman in love means that they are about to get cold, which means they are not sincere. Therefore, never give a fan as a gift.

3. It is forbidden to give scissors to others. Scissors are sharp tools that can hurt people, and they have the meaning of "cutting in two with one knife" or "cutting in two with one cut". Giving scissors as a gift can make people feel ill-intentioned. Therefore, never give scissors to anyone.

4. It is forbidden to give umbrellas to others. In Taiwanese, "umbrella" and "san" have the same pronunciation. If you give an umbrella to someone, it still means sending "san" to the other person, and "rain" and "give" in Taiwanese agree with each other. "Umbrella" and "give away" have the same pronunciation, which will inevitably cause misunderstandings on the other side.

5. It is forbidden to give others a mirror. Because mirrors are easy to break, "a broken mirror is hard to make it round." There is also the intention of asking people to take a good look at themselves in the mirror because they think they are ugly.

6. It is forbidden to give away bells. Because "clock" and "end" have the same pronunciation. Sending a bell will make people think of "sending off", which can easily arouse the resentment of friends.

7. It is forbidden to give sweet fruits to others. The sweet fruit, known as rice cake, is a must-have item for Taiwanese people to worship gods and ancestors during the Chinese New Year. However, it is strictly prohibited to steam and eat it when mourning a bereaved family. Therefore, if you give sweet fruit to someone, it will remind the recipient of a funeral in the family. Naturally, it is taboo.

8. It is forbidden to give rice dumplings to others. It is customary for Taiwanese people to neither steam sweet fruits nor give rice dumplings to bereaved families. If you give rice dumplings to someone, it will be misunderstood as treating the other person as a bereaved person, so it is also taboo.

9. It is forbidden to give ducks to others as "moon meat". "Moon meat" refers to the meat eaten by women within one month of giving birth. The "moon meat" they eat is usually "hot" foods such as sesame duck, pork loin, and pork liver. Ducks are "cold" and should not be eaten. In addition, there are common sayings in Taiwan such as "a dead duck will keep its mouth shut" and "a duckling will die in July and a half." If a duck is used as a congratulatory gift, it will remind people of an ominous omen.