As I travel outside Taipei, I am collecting even more bird stories and images. While in Nantou province in Taiwan’s central mountains to give a lecture at Chi-Nan University, I visited a sculpture park dedicated to self-taught stone-carver Yuan Lin.
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Studies from Hotta Masaatsu’s Album of Forest Birds, 18th-19th c., National Tokyo Museum
Side Visit to Japan — Late October 2018
Midway through my Fulbright stay I was joined by my husband, writer Jonathan Blunk, for a three-week visit. Together we made a side trip to Japan, where we both had contacts to meet and research to pursue.
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Traditional ceramic roof ornaments at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial in Taipei
Look Up — Mid October 2018
One of the first sights to catch my eye in Taipei was the classic Chinese roof ornament or “roof charm” showing a man sitting on a bird, usually a chicken or phoenix, which was traditionally the first in a series of ceramic “walking beasts” on the roof ridge of important buildings.
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Rooster float seen on October 10—“Double 10th Day”—Taiwan’s National Day that celebrates the beginning of the Republic of China in Taiwan
Bird Study in Taiwan — October 2018
What Do You Know About Taiwan?
Taiwan is an independent democratic state in East Asia, officially called the Republic of China (ROC). It’s a compact mountainous island located off the coast of mainland China.
Read MoreRiding on a Bird — Late September 2018
I made an immediate start on my Fulbright bird-figure research in Taiwan, discovering in my first weeks many examples of human-bird connections in traditional art and popular culture in Taipei.
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