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If you've been to a Taiwanese wedding this century, it was likely a much toned-down version of what these boisterous events could once be like. John (who apologizes for having a cold) recounts watching a wedding and a funeral 20 meters apart held at the same "auspicious" hour. John and Eryk explore the development of Taiwan’s seemingly Western but actually home-grown modern wedding culture. And they recall the days when it was considered normal that a wedding (or sometimes a religious ceremony) would feature performances from lightly-clothed women. Enjoy this walk down the aisle of memory lane.
Cover: A photo of a photo seen at a temple in Madou, Tainan City, likely taken in the late 1990s. And right: An image from the blog Pān-toh : The Most Popular Taiwanese Banquet in the 1970s by Mia Lee.
Mia Lee writes: "Pān-toh, which means setting tables in Taiwanese, was the most popular Taiwanese banquet in the 1970s. It was often held when the lunar calendar is on a “red” day. People erect tents in a road or in a plaza in front of a temple, and the main chef (tsóng-phòo-sai) would come to the host’s house to prepare food for a large crowd. Whether it was a wedding or a funeral, the host would invite friends and relatives to join the banquet to share in the happiness and the sorrow. Rather than showing off luxury, the most crucial function of pān-toh was to gather people together in a sense of community spirit."
Below: An example of modern Taiwanese pre-wedding photos with a heavy focus on glamor and glitz. Photo by Cang Ai Wedding, Kaohsiung (Nov. 2018)
READ: Banquet Time! Pān-toh Culture in Taiwan, by Esther Tseng/Taiwan Panorama
READ: Marriage Customs, Old & New - 1964 - Taiwan Today
WATCH: Classic Wedding Traditions｜Wow! Taiwan / Taiwan Plus
Having women in skimpy outfits be a part of an event is "a thing" in Taiwan as well as China. Below: "Taiwanese Nursing Home Apologizes for Hiring Stripper to Entertain Nursing Home Residents - in 2022!!" Video by Wayne Samuel/YouTube
Below: "Why do some Chinese funerals involve strippers?" BBC News, 2018
Below: "China cracks down on funeral strippers in rural areas" - Asia Times, 2018
Below: "Taiwan festival celebrates 'tradition' with pole dancers"/AFP News, 2017
From article: "Taiwan's famous "dian zi hua che" or "electronic flower trucks", travelling floats loaded with garish lights in the shape of everything from dragons to ferris wheels. The trucks are used to take performers -- usually scantily-clad women and musicians -- to private and public events, including weddings and even funerals, and are particularly popular in smaller towns and rural areas. The tradition, dating back to the 1970s, reflects Taiwan's folk religion and culture, which is a unique mixture of the spiritual and the earthly."
For books about Taiwan and East Asia, visit Plum Rain Press.
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Check our very first episode, the story of a very white man who showed up in London in 1703... and claimed to be from Formosa. Or try a foodie episode from Season 3. Or, for those who want some harder-core history, hear the tale of the Lockheed U-2 pilot Wang Hsi-chueh 王錫爵, who became famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
