Taiwan puts itself in yet another interesting position.

In many parts of the Chinese-speaking world the Han Chinese have faced systematic homogenization. The incredible diversity of the Chinese has long been perceived as a potential cause for disunity in the successive empires and republics that have ruled over the land that we now call China. Since the days of the Yellow Emperor there have been active attempts to standardize and simplify the Chinese languages and identity. Methods for this have varied from strategic taxation practices to killings of supposed intellectuals who went against the grain.

Possibly for the first time in history, many Chinese are now taking pride in the diversity of the Han, and calling for recognition of the many distinct languages and traditions that vary among Chinese populations. In the People's Republic this is discouraged from higher levels, and the Chinese Nationalist Party in Taiwan openly punished many who used non-Mandarin Chinese during the days of Chiang Kai-shek. (Who ironically had his name Romanized from his native Wu language, and not Mandarin.) But now that the Taiwanese enjoy historically unparalleled freedom and prosperity, they have the means and the will to express their cultural diversity proudly.

Modern contrivings of folk culture are often dubious, and I've been to enough Luaus (one) to be cynical in the face of pseudo-traditional culture. In spite of all this, I have found a modern repackaging of folk culture in central Taipei that, while fun like a Luau, doesn't reek of BS. I am talking about the shiny new Taipei City Hakka Cultural Park.

The Hakka are a subgroup of the Han Chinese with a distinct language and culture. Their population is mostly scattered across southern China and they don't form a majority in any particular region. Their lack of a perceived homeland makes sense when considering that the word Hakka （客家）actually means "guest family" in their own language. The Hakka form a sizeable minority in Taiwan, with most estimates being around one-in-six. This free greenspace was developed and is maintained by "Metropolitan Hakka" who say that they are motivated by "modern cultural awareness." Descriptions in the park centre on the situations that brought about the traditional Hakka lifestyle and how these elements helped form the last few decades of prosperity in Hakka circles.

While there are definitely are a few self-directed compliments that pop up in the descriptions in the park, there is no air of primordial Hakka superiority as there is a strong focus on the development of Hakka culture. For example, they choose to draw attention to their status as participants in the Chinese literary sphere, downtime during certain seasons on the farm, and the motivation that comes from destitution as reasons for a strong scholarly tradition. Strong social bonds in Hakka communities are credited to the group work made necessary by the irregularity of farming work schedules.

When I talk about "primordial superiority" I'm talking about how some people describe the cultural traits of ethnic groups as a natural (or supernatural?) endowment that has been, is, and forever will be attached to an ethnic identity. I like how there are no claims in the park that the Hakka simply have been biologically smart or caring since the dawn of time. You may find it bizarre that I find the lack of claims of biological superiority in a cultural showcase refreshing, but… yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and not name names here.

Anyway, the park is a refreshing greenspace with an interpretive centre that explains the how the Hakka got to Taiwan (by boat!) and how they lived once they got there. There is even a farming exhibit that demonstrates the traditional rainwater irrigation and terracing system used in Hakka mountain farming. When I was there, an old couple was chattily tending to the pepper crops with such painstaking care. On a side note, thinking of the amount of labour versus the projected value of the pepper crop humbled me in a weird way; I suppose that I really have no way of knowing how many man-hours have gone into any meal I've had. Ever.

The onions needed a special cultivation method that seemed to involve stacking straw around the bulbs. When I was there, an old man was explaining the system to a small girl in heavily accented Mandarin. I suppose that they may be members of the metropolitan or "invisible" Hakka. The old man's enthusiasm makes the source of motivation that brought around the cultural park clear to me. According to the manifesto in the brochure, metropolitan Hakka in Taiwan want to record their history and build a cultural showcase before memories of the old ways fade. After seeing that man's enthusiasm, it is easy why so many people were willing to put forward the money, time, and labour to see such an elaborate project through for no financial profit.

The presentation of this gift to the city of Taipei is probably not free of controversy. I am sure that there are Taipeiers, perhaps some Hakka Taipeiers, who could see such a gesture as being unnecessarily divisive: "This is who we are, now you tell us who you are." But the truth is that the motivating factor behind the establishment o this park is recognition of the fact that certain ethnic distinctions are fading in the modern world. I feel that there is some tacit recognition of this in the establishment of such a park, and only now that the Hakka are largely assimilated into Taiwanese society can such a park be considered necessary.