Chinanews.com, Beijing, February 13th, title: New Year's blessings are phenomenal. The head of the Taipei Academy said that he is not discouraged about the future of both sides of the strait.
China News Service reporter Liu Shuling
The New Year of the Tiger in Renyin and the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic has affected the reunion of many Chinese sons and daughters. It is also another year when many relatives and friends across the Taiwan Strait meet across the sea.
Different from previous years, cross-strait journalism veterans Fang Hanqi and Li Zhan, Taiwan veteran Gao Binghan and his younger brother Gao Bingtao, who settled in Xiamen, literary famous Bai Xianyong and Kunqu opera actor Yu Jiulin, and the ancestors of the same name in Quanzhou City and Keelung City, Dalian Village, etc. Conversations and New Year's greeting videos spread like wildfire, attracting attention and imitating social media, and a single hashtag on a single platform has accumulated more than 170 million views.
Undoubtedly, this has warmed countless relatives and friends living in urban and rural areas on both sides of the Strait.
In a recent telephone interview with a reporter from Chinanews.com in Taipei, Lin Gufang, the head of the Taipei Academy and a cultural scholar, said that such greetings have always existed.
I find it very welcome that social media (i.e. social media) has turned these greetings into a phenomenon to be discussed or observed.
Say your greetings out loud whenever you get the chance, and you'll find so many people who resonate.
"I won't be discouraged about the future of both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and that's why."
Recently, Lin Gufang, director of the Taipei Academy, was interviewed and talked about the phenomenon of people on both sides of the strait exchanging Chinese New Year greetings via video.
The picture shows Lin Gufang and his student Zhong Nanshan on a study tour.
Photo courtesy of Mr. Lin Gufang
Chinanews.com reporter: Since the beginning of 2020, cross-strait non-governmental interaction has been further hindered by factors such as the epidemic. This year, many friends cross the sea to pay New Year's greetings through the Internet, and the conversations and videos of greeting each other are popular on social media. How do you observe this cultural phenomenon?
Lin Gufang:
When I use social media such as WeChat during Chinese New Year, basically nine out of 10 are replying New Year congratulations from friends on both sides of the strait.
In fact, such greetings have always existed, but they have not been publicized in the past.
The frequency of New Year greetings this year is high and the interaction is hot. People posted it on social media, and it also allowed everyone to see the role of Chinese culture in the lives of Taiwanese people again and truthfully during the process of "de-Sinicization" by the Taiwan authorities. .
So I think it's great that social media has turned these greetings into a phenomenon to be discussed or observed.
Say your greetings out loud whenever you get the chance, and you'll find so many people who resonate.
I will not be discouraged about the future of both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and here is the reason.
For example, some politicians in Taiwan talk about Chinese culture from a negative perspective, but when something happens, the first thing to do is to worship Mazu. This root is permeated.
In Taiwan, there is also a very extreme point of view, saying that the Spring Festival should be called the Chinese Festival, but no one cares.
Recently, Lin Gufang, director of the Taipei Academy, was interviewed and talked about the phenomenon of people on both sides of the strait exchanging Chinese New Year greetings via video.
The picture shows Lin Gufang inspecting Dunhuang before the epidemic.
Photo courtesy of Mr. Lin Gufang
Reporter from Chinanews.com: You returned to Taiwan from the mainland in early January, and your visit is related to the Spring Festival reunion. What is the significance of the traditional three festivals, the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, in the emotional world of Taiwanese society? How do you spend traditional festivals?
Lin Gufang:
I am over 70 years old. When I was growing up, there was a strong traditional cultural atmosphere during festivals.
I study anthropology, and there is a saying that goes well, "the disintegration of ritual is the disintegration of society".
Ritual can make a society deeply connected.
I also pay more attention to festivals.
The traditional three festivals are particularly important to Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, because the meanings reflected in them can travel through ancient and modern times.
For example, after the Dragon Boat Festival, in the past, out of the need for health, we must get rid of some "evil spirits" that are not good for our health; the Mid-Autumn Festival represents an emotional connection.
The Dragon Boat Festival is more about taking care of the "body", while the Mid-Autumn Festival is more about the "heart".
The Spring Festival is the practice of combining the two, and the family is reunited.
In the agricultural era, families and clans are very important, and such a group strength can make an individual's life better.
Up to now, the Spring Festival is still the biggest festival of the year in Taiwan. At this time, it is necessary to meet relatives or friends face-to-face as much as possible.
Therefore, I also returned to Taiwan before the festival. This is a natural need from my life and my heart.
You see, how many people still have to travel like this during the epidemic.
Even in the Internet age, the form has changed, but the meaning of gathering has not diminished.
For me, the Spring Festival is the most important rest day of the year, and I can relax and rest boldly.
Go back to the simplest state, and have no destination in contact with relatives and friends.
Sit down, drink tea together, no matter how tired you are for a year, you will recover.
Don't bring the inertia of ordinary days to the festival.
The meaning of the festival, the first one is to let you rest and put an end to the things in the previous section, so as to start the new life in the latter section.
Recently, Lin Gufang, director of the Taipei Academy, was interviewed and talked about the phenomenon of people on both sides of the strait exchanging Chinese New Year greetings via video.
The picture shows Lin Gufang's participation in the West Lake Gathering last year.
Photo courtesy of Mr. Lin Gufang
Chinanews.com reporter: Before the outbreak, you said that there have been more than 600 trips to and from the two sides of the strait. When you revisited the mainland in September last year, why did you arrange this trip when many people still hesitate to travel across borders?
Lin Gufang:
Since the first time I came to the mainland in 1988, I have traveled to the mainland every two months on average and no more than three months at most.
Most of the time, there is no purpose, just to read the big book of heaven and earth, walk through the earth, and make an intimate observation of the state of culture and life, which contains my cultural feelings as a Chinese.
In the book "Ten Years Going and Going", I mentioned that as long as you don't go to the mainland for two or three months, when you talk about the situation in the mainland, you can't help but feel guilty, because the changes are too fast.
After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, I have not been here for about a year and a half, and it is under such a special situation; there are many students and friends in mainland China, and I think it is better to see how they are doing.
Plus, there's a book to be published, and a few classes that came to an abrupt halt.
With these concerns, this trip is imperative.
Recently, Lin Gufang, director of the Taipei Academy, was interviewed and talked about the phenomenon of people on both sides of the strait exchanging Chinese New Year greetings via video.
The picture shows Lin Gufang and his students climbing the Huairou Great Wall.
Photo courtesy of Mr. Lin Gufang
Chinanews.com reporter: Due to various factors such as the epidemic, many people believe that the normalization of cross-strait exchanges is even more irreversible. What is your observation on this?
Lin Gufang:
I always feel that the more confident a society is, the more open it is.
In terms of cross-strait exchanges, I have to admit that those in power in Taiwan are relatively less confident now; the less confident they are, the more they want to control.
But there are so many Taiwanese businessmen in the mainland, and so many young Taiwanese come to study, it is impossible for you to close it.
I don't think it's going to last long if it's an extreme confrontation for a short-lived purpose.
Even those who have achieved so-called "political victories" in Taiwan would ask, "Hey, Professor Lin, you are familiar with the mainland, will there be a fight between the two sides of the strait?" Usually, when the "winners" speak in the media, that's true You are brave, but when you ask me, there are only 4 words, which is very worrying.
How Taiwan will turn around for a long time, or in which direction, will of course take time, but I am not as pessimistic as many people think.
For both sides of the strait, time must be extended. From the perspective of the long history, many countercurrents are just floating bubbles. At the moment, we must do what we should. This is what I have always emphasized.
Chinanews.com reporter: In recent years, the contacts between young people on both sides of the strait in the online world have generated a lot of discord and even hostility, and related issues have aroused the attention and concern of observers. What do you think about this issue?
Lin Gufang:
One of the characteristics of virtual networks is the so-called "de-knowledge, de-centralization, and de-value". Of course, there is a reason that "keyboard warriors" hide their identities and kidnap social cognition; but this is also because some people ( Especially the retreat and abandonment of intellectuals and cultural elites.
In order to live a better life in front of me, there are many people of my age in Taiwan who show affection to young people when they have nothing to do.
Here, the self-defeating stance of the elites is an important reason why Taiwanese society has not been able to "neutralize" the extreme tendency of the Internet.
A friend asked me, why are you talking about Chinese culture everywhere now, with a louder voice than before?
Because I didn't need it before, how strong was the atmosphere of Chinese culture in Taiwan at that time.
Now, I deliberately talk more, just to inspire some people, not to let Chinese culture be hidden or covered up.
Although there have been changes in recent years, Chinese culture has already taken root in Taiwan.
Just like we talked about the Spring Festival just now, where can political forces wipe it out in a short period of time?
I have such a confidence.
A lot of people came to greet me privately and said, "I admire you so much. You said what we wanted to say." But I didn't feel any pressure to do that.
Why is there no pressure?
It's not up to you to decide whether he scolds you or not, it depends on whether you want to hug him or not?
If I want to be popular with these young people, to always be vulgar to cater to them, of course you will worry about what to say.
That's why I said that as long as someone is willing to speak out bravely, it will become a climate if they talk for a long time and talk too much.
In addition to the world of netizens, we have another world that should also be seen.
The problem now is that we let the world disappear.
Chinanews.com reporter: Will you go to the mainland to give lectures and visit friends in the near future? Any plans for the next step?
Lin Gufang:
Last year's trip to the mainland, including isolation, lasted for 4 months. It was the longest stay in the mainland in my history.
If the time cost is still so high, there is no way to come often.
I hope to resume normal exchanges as soon as possible, and I will travel between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait as frequently as in the past.
At the moment, I am building a Zen culture space in Ningbo to promote Zen culture.
It is hoped that when friends from mainland China or foreigners understand Zen culture, they will not just go to Japan and let Japan become the complete inheritor and spokesperson of Zen.
In addition, I also hope to conduct cross-strait exchanges in this space, to penetrate the appearance, so that some people and things can be seen and heard by each other.
I think this is the key work I should do.
(Finish)