Entering Farm Fields and Experiencing Shinpi Township
My earliest impression of Shinpi Township is from a depiction in a Mandarin textbook entitled “Fields in Autumn” by Chen Kuan-Hsueh. We were required to recite prose describing Shinpi in school. Since then, I have read a little on Shinpi on tourism or county websites, and I assumed that it is a small, unremarkable village at the foot of Dawu Mountain. To my surprise, I learned more about Shinpi in a practical social responsibility course offered by my university. The class opened my mind to this fascinating location and made me realize how much of it remains to be explored.
I originally expected that Shinpi comprises only quiet villages. Shinpi is associated with terms such as “lack of resources and infrastructure.” In fact, Shinpi currently has more older adults on electric vehicles than it had children riding bicycles. Here, people waiting to pick up medications in pharmacies outnumber new students enrolling in neighboring elementary schools.
We arrived at a village in Shinpi that was located near a forest. The village had a seemingly unremarkable elementary school with few students. The school did not produce any noises that we are accustomed to hearing in most elementary schools.
The school was Shiangtan Elementary School. We taught the students science and designed and held student club performances and activities. We initially thought that the classes would end rather quietly, but the students’ energy proved us wrong. In fact, they are more imaginative than city students are. In contrast to city students bound by concrete walls, these rural students grow up with nature. Although they may not be as adept as city students are in social interaction, they definitely understand how to care for nature more than city students do.
After hearing the students’ gasps of acclamation and learning about their expectations of the world, I quietly thought to myself that coming here was the right decision.
During a charity cooking event, we stood in front of hot food and watched the students line up with content and eager looks on their faces; the heartwarming feeling that we felt then remains unforgettable even today. Although the outdoor banquet featured only circles formed by round, simple-looking tables without the extravagant decorations or dishes offered by restaurants, the students gathered together and laughed heartily by the tables like flowers blooming in a garden.
During the course, we interacted with local farmers and listened to them share their hard work and experiences in crop farming. These farmers lamented feeling trapped and always hoping for favorable weather to produce good harvests. Nonetheless, in truth, students are subjected to the same restrictions. Classroom desks and chairs are to students as poor weather is to farmers by limiting their possibilities and opportunities to experience the outside world.
Accordingly, we worked together. Because the farmers could not reach the outside world, we conducted outreach for them through classroom lessons. We marketed their produce online to send Shinpi’s produce away from the foot of the Dawu Mountain and to other people’s lives.
The farmers learned more about the world through the information they received, and we interacted with nature during our extracurricular activities.
The Shinpi Bogong Market Concert and Seminar on the History, Culture, Industries, and Literature of the Fields of Dawu Mountain, held in August, brought everyone even closer to land.
Hakka people commonly refer to the area under the Tudigong tree as “Bogong,” and we held our seminar in this area. The sun was bright and beautiful and penetrated through the spaces between the banyan tree leaves, creating changing light and shadows that accentuated the folk songs and chats. The changing lights and shadows, orchestras and singers performing folk songs, and Shinpi lantern riddles were truly enjoyable.
Away from the shade of the tree were booths set up by local farmers and new residents. They sold handmade and specialty products in addition to sharing stories about entrepreneurship and their part-time jobs. In addition to developing professional skills, they successfully ventured into and enjoyed multiple careers because these stories were a part of the villagers’ cherished culture and history in Shinpi.
The seminar on the history, culture, industries, and literature of the fields of Dawu Mountain was held in the afternoon. The speakers presented the dynamic history of Dawu Mountain, introducing visitors to a Dawu Mountain that differed from that described in books. Although clouds and rain showers disrupted the seminar, it changed the feel of the seminar.
After the seminar, we got in a car and entered the fields that we discussed in the seminar. Led by a tour guide, we passed the North Coast River and Wanlong Sugar Farm and Village at the foot of Dawu Mountain. In contrast to learning from books, we embarked on a “cultural trip” and learned by experiencing the location in person. Ice-cold wind blew after the clouds dissipated, revealing the fields like readers turning over a page. The experience was unrivaled because we were not viewing words and images in a book but experiencing them in real life.
“He that travels far knows much.” Classes entail closed concrete walls, dull school bells, the sounds of pencils writing on paper, and grades recorded on paper. To truly learn more about the world, students may venture outside the concrete walls and visit forests and fields.
Shinpi is a gigantic classroom. Where do you want to go over the weekend?
For several weekends, we visited the Shiangtan Elementary School. We entered the world of local farmers, listened to the “music” of the fields of Dawu Mountain, and observed a quiet Shinpi that is nonetheless full of life.
We wish for more opportunities to venture outside the classroom, visit fields, and continue to help people in need.
I originally expected that Shinpi comprises only quiet villages. Shinpi is associated with terms such as “lack of resources and infrastructure.” In fact, Shinpi currently has more older adults on electric vehicles than it had children riding bicycles. Here, people waiting to pick up medications in pharmacies outnumber new students enrolling in neighboring elementary schools.
We arrived at a village in Shinpi that was located near a forest. The village had a seemingly unremarkable elementary school with few students. The school did not produce any noises that we are accustomed to hearing in most elementary schools.
The school was Shiangtan Elementary School. We taught the students science and designed and held student club performances and activities. We initially thought that the classes would end rather quietly, but the students’ energy proved us wrong. In fact, they are more imaginative than city students are. In contrast to city students bound by concrete walls, these rural students grow up with nature. Although they may not be as adept as city students are in social interaction, they definitely understand how to care for nature more than city students do.
After hearing the students’ gasps of acclamation and learning about their expectations of the world, I quietly thought to myself that coming here was the right decision.
During a charity cooking event, we stood in front of hot food and watched the students line up with content and eager looks on their faces; the heartwarming feeling that we felt then remains unforgettable even today. Although the outdoor banquet featured only circles formed by round, simple-looking tables without the extravagant decorations or dishes offered by restaurants, the students gathered together and laughed heartily by the tables like flowers blooming in a garden.
During the course, we interacted with local farmers and listened to them share their hard work and experiences in crop farming. These farmers lamented feeling trapped and always hoping for favorable weather to produce good harvests. Nonetheless, in truth, students are subjected to the same restrictions. Classroom desks and chairs are to students as poor weather is to farmers by limiting their possibilities and opportunities to experience the outside world.
Accordingly, we worked together. Because the farmers could not reach the outside world, we conducted outreach for them through classroom lessons. We marketed their produce online to send Shinpi’s produce away from the foot of the Dawu Mountain and to other people’s lives.
The farmers learned more about the world through the information they received, and we interacted with nature during our extracurricular activities.
The Shinpi Bogong Market Concert and Seminar on the History, Culture, Industries, and Literature of the Fields of Dawu Mountain, held in August, brought everyone even closer to land.
Hakka people commonly refer to the area under the Tudigong tree as “Bogong,” and we held our seminar in this area. The sun was bright and beautiful and penetrated through the spaces between the banyan tree leaves, creating changing light and shadows that accentuated the folk songs and chats. The changing lights and shadows, orchestras and singers performing folk songs, and Shinpi lantern riddles were truly enjoyable.
Away from the shade of the tree were booths set up by local farmers and new residents. They sold handmade and specialty products in addition to sharing stories about entrepreneurship and their part-time jobs. In addition to developing professional skills, they successfully ventured into and enjoyed multiple careers because these stories were a part of the villagers’ cherished culture and history in Shinpi.
The seminar on the history, culture, industries, and literature of the fields of Dawu Mountain was held in the afternoon. The speakers presented the dynamic history of Dawu Mountain, introducing visitors to a Dawu Mountain that differed from that described in books. Although clouds and rain showers disrupted the seminar, it changed the feel of the seminar.
After the seminar, we got in a car and entered the fields that we discussed in the seminar. Led by a tour guide, we passed the North Coast River and Wanlong Sugar Farm and Village at the foot of Dawu Mountain. In contrast to learning from books, we embarked on a “cultural trip” and learned by experiencing the location in person. Ice-cold wind blew after the clouds dissipated, revealing the fields like readers turning over a page. The experience was unrivaled because we were not viewing words and images in a book but experiencing them in real life.
“He that travels far knows much.” Classes entail closed concrete walls, dull school bells, the sounds of pencils writing on paper, and grades recorded on paper. To truly learn more about the world, students may venture outside the concrete walls and visit forests and fields.
Shinpi is a gigantic classroom. Where do you want to go over the weekend?
For several weekends, we visited the Shiangtan Elementary School. We entered the world of local farmers, listened to the “music” of the fields of Dawu Mountain, and observed a quiet Shinpi that is nonetheless full of life.
We wish for more opportunities to venture outside the classroom, visit fields, and continue to help people in need.
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University characteristic Startup Stage Project
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Kaohsiung City
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Cheng Shiu University
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