Taiwan A to Z: The Essential Cultural Guide

by Amy C. Liu

Do you know:
Why it's a very bad idea to give a clock as a gift?
Why so many Taiwanese have a PhD?
How Taiwanese parents chose names for their children?
Why a new mother shouldn't take a bath for a month after giving birth?

The answers to these and many other intriguing questions can be found in Taian A to Z, a product of the author's discovery of her own roots. Wrtitten by a Taiwanese who has a deep understanding of both Western and Eastern cultures, this book provides foreigners with true insights into the fascinating intricacies of Taiwanese culture.
Taiwan A to Z explains the essential information any expatriate living and working in Taiwan should know.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Graham Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good info but writing isn't great. Lots of repetition, alphabetical organization is impractical and unwieldy (especially for such a short book), and sticks to generalizations a bit too much.

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Amy C. Liu’s book after a four week vacation to Taiwan. Obviously it might have been better to read this book before the trip, but at that point I didn’t know such a book exists.
Despite some criticism I’d recommend this book to everybody travelling to Taiwan; be it to prepare for vacation, for a business trip or an extended stay.
The author covers many aspects about Taiwan and its culture which a foreigner should know about – and it helps you to understand things that might seem strange otherwise.

Miss Liu who spent much of her life in the US before moving back to her home country Taiwan covers the following topics from A to Z:

ABC’s
Betel Nut Beauties
Biandang
Breakfast
Chicken Soup
Chinese Calligraphy
Chinese Chops
Chopsticks
Confucius
Dragon Boat Festival
Dumplings
Eateries
Etiquette
Face (Mianzi)
Feng Shui
Foot Massage
Fortune telling
Fruit Paradise
Ghost Month
Gift Giving
Guanxi (Relationships)
Hot Pot Culture
Hot Spring Bathing
Identity
The Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan
Indirect Communication
Jia
Kuanyin
Languages Spoken on Formosa
Lunar New Year
Man Yue
Moon Festival
Naming The Baby
“No”
Oolong Tea
People of Taiwan
Qipao
Red Envelopes
Religions in Taiwan
Special Sixty
Tai Chi
Temple Worship
University Degree? Master’s? and a PhD?
Vendors of Taiwan Specialty Drinks
Wan Mian
Wedding Ceremonies in Taiwan
Wedding Photography
Women in Taiwan
Xiao
Yin-Yang
Zuo Yuezi

Does a Taiwanese know what all these topics mean from just reading the header (each chapter has a sub-header that I left out as well)?
Are these points really the pillars of Taiwanese culture?

As mentioned I learned much about Taiwan reading this book, but there were some aspects of the book I didn’t like.
There’s almost half a dozen of “testimonials” praising the book. Well, I’m happy Miss Liu wrote the book, but this was a bit too much praise before the book even started.

But there’s also much praise during the book. You could even say that’s the golden thread of it. According to the author Taiwan has the best food, the best hot springs, is the best place for wedding photography and so on. I certainly agree that Taiwan is a very nice place, enjoying every day of my trip there, but for my taste some chapters of the book were too exuberant. Maybe this relates from her stay in the US?

On the other side some chapters do generalize a lot without giving facts: “People born in that decade are usually lazy, cooperate badly with colleagues and have problems to find a partner etc.” The same goes for some business and education related chapters.

Less personal opinion and more facts would have been better!

If you take away these shortcomings (in my opinion) you’ll get a very good introduction to Taiwanese culture for your money.


Bought at Eslite, Taipei – 12/2012 – NT$ 490

[Maria]

I picked this up quite randomly. Unfortunately it's not so well written. Much of it can apply to Chinese cultures more broadly, but did have some interesting sections and I think it brought out some of the nuances in Taiwanese culture. Overall an interesting read.