A Question About the “Will to Beauty”
How did Taiwan’s art and media modernize?
You might think this is a grand question, but the numbers in the Revised Taiwan Provincial Chronicles will show you the answer.
In 1927, the first “Taiwan Art Exhibition” (Tai-Ten) was held in Taipei. 33 pieces were selected for Oriental Painting, and 62 for Western Painting. These aren’t just numbers—this was the starting point of modern art in Taiwan.
By 1981, there were 2,116 registered magazines across Taiwan. Every newspaper and magazine was a footprint marking Taiwan’s journey toward modernization.
Tai-Ten: The Starting Point of Artistic Awakening
1927, Taipei Education Hall.
The first Tai-Ten opened. 33 pieces in Oriental Painting, 62 in Western Painting.
Most interesting were the “Three Youths of Tai-Ten”—Lin Yu-shan, Kuo Hsueh-hu, and Chen Chin—all under twenty years old. Their works represented the complete replacement of traditional literati painting with “local color” and “sketching from nature.”
This wasn’t just an exhibition—it was an artistic revolution.
After World War II, the “Sheng-Ten” (Provincial Exhibition) took over. In 1946, the first Sheng-Ten had 33 pieces in Traditional Painting, 54 in Western Painting, and 13 in Sculpture. Later, masters like Pu Xinyu and Huang Junbi came from mainland China, merging Northern School techniques, Lingnan styles, and local sketching schools.
Art transformed from elite pastime to professional career.
Media: From “One Newspaper” to 2,000 Magazines
The numbers in the Cultural Affairs section are even more striking.
In the early post-war period, newspapers experienced a brief silence due to the abolition of Japanese-language editions. But after the government relocated to Taiwan in 1949, journalistic talent converged and the situation changed.
By 1981, the number of registered magazines reached 2,116, with financial and industrial categories making up one-fifth.
Major newspapers like Central Daily News, China Times, and United Daily News introduced high-speed rotary presses, capable of printing 120,000 to 350,000 copies per hour. This represented a shift from “elite niche” to “mass consumption” of information.
Television broadcasting began in 1962, changing everything. Early TV data showed 86.79% Mandarin programs and 9.45% Minnanese programs. Behind these linguistic distribution figures lay the language governance of the time.
Media transformed from a platform for the few to a network for the masses.
Cultural Governance: From “Passive Subsidies” to “Active Service”
Early cultural spending was often “passive subsidies,” like the Qing Dynasty’s imperial examination quotas. But modern local records document a transformation.
By the end of 1981, cultural centers and municipal art museums were being established across the province. The weight of culture in public budgets increased significantly.
Applied Arts (design) departments became popular in technical colleges, transforming art from “decoration” into “economic competitiveness.”
Culture transformed from ornamentation to an engine of development.
What These Numbers Tell Us
The cultural data in the Revised Taiwan Provincial Chronicles aren’t just cold figures—they are heart rate monitors of the land.
Three insights:
First, data transparency drives artistic quality. The progress seen in Tai-Ten and Sheng-Ten came from public review lists and honor data. Such competitive mechanisms are the algorithms that spark social creativity.
Second, media carriers define cultural boundaries. From woodblock printing to rotary presses to the Internet, every leap in media technology has dramatically expanded cultural participation rates.
Third, fusion is true “soft power.” The strength of Taiwan’s cultural industry stems from its ability to integrate traditional Confucianism, colonial experiences, Western trends, and mainland influences.
Every selected painting and every newspaper issue represents lines of code in history’s long script—optimizing social governance and enriching spiritual life.