Taiwan

We have often been with Taiwanese friends where both Mandarin and Taiwanese are used interchangeably. One sentence is spoken in Mandarin, followed by another sentence in Taiwanese. Or, a sentence may begin in Taiwanese and then finish in Mandarin. The people in central Taiwan where we serve are functionally bi-lingual. That is, they speak both [...]

The seventh month of the lunar calendar is called “Ghost Month” in Taiwan. In Taiwanese folk religion, the spirit world consists of three types of beings: gods, ancestors, and ghosts. The gods are the highly respected and powerful spiritual beings. Ancestors are family members who have already died. They require living relatives to offer ongoing [...]

My Taiwanese friend, Jane*, is a devout Buddhist. I remember a class in high school on Buddhism, learning the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path and words like enlightenment, nirvana and karma. But high school was a long time ago and I was curious as to exactly what my friend believed. So I asked Jane [...]