Miaoli’s paddy fields, which were once used only for growing rice, have been transformed into canvases for expressing love. Yuanli Farmers Association has been promoting paddy art for the past nine years, and now that they have perfected the art, they are accepting requests for customized paddy “paintings.”
Liang Ruei-hsu, the head of Yuanli Farmers Association’s promotions department, said that most people are curious when they see the dark mauve color of Indica rice plants, so by using these plants along with green plants they can create paddy art and provide employment opportunities for farmers.
Liang says that the association has become very proficient at paddy art and can provide customized creations, whether they are signs, characters, pictures or letters.
In June, one man used paddy art to successfully propose to his girlfriend. Chang Chia-wei, an employee at a paper company, paid NT$30,000 to get the association to write the message “Yen Ju, Follow me OK.” When Liao Yen-ju, his fiancée, saw the rice paddy, she immediately accepted his proposal in front of a cheering crowd of friends.
Paddy art started in 1993, in a village called Inakadate in northern Japan. Although the village has a population of less than 8,500, its paddy art attracts 170,000 tourists per year and brings in a steady stream of income to the local economy. According to news reports, the management office makes NT$1.2 million dollars annually from rent, plan-ting and field maintenance, but visitor donations typically come in at around double that figure.
To create paddy art, the farmers first make a grid on the ground and then create an outline of the pictures or words they want to create, before finally planting the mauve rice plant seeds. Seeds can be planted twice a year, toward the end of February and July.(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY TAIJING WU)
苗栗以往只能種米的稻田，最近搖身一變成為示愛的畫布。苑裡鎮農會推動稻田彩繪邁入第九年，如今稻田彩繪技術成熟，還可接受「客製化」彩繪。
苑裡鎮農會推廣股長梁瑞旭說，一般人對在來米的紫色稻穗感到好奇，所以利用紫色及綠色兩種稻穗，創造稻田彩繪，提供農友就業機會。
梁瑞旭說，苑裡鎮農會的稻田彩繪技術已經純熟，不管是圖騰、文字或圖案、英文字母都可提供「客製化」服務。
六月份就有一位男子，借助彩繪稻田之力，成功地向女朋友求婚。在紙廠上班的張家瑋花了三萬元，委託農會在一幅彩繪稻田上寫著「Yen Ju, Follow me OK」（研如，跟著我好嗎），結果女主角廖研如看到字樣後，在朋友的歡呼下接受求婚。
事實上彩繪稻田藝術於一九九三年，在日本北部的田舍館村誕生。該村人口不到八千五百人，每年卻因此引來十七萬觀光客，各個爭先恐後的想一賭稻田上的圖案，也給當地帶來龐大商機。據報導，田舍館的稻田租金，種植與維護費用每年約台幣一百一十二萬元，但參觀民眾的捐款就多達台幣二百二十四萬元。
如要在稻田上畫出圖案，必須在稻田上以線條畫出格子，然後依照圖樣訂出座標，描出圖樣或字體的輪廓，再種下紫色秧苗。每年的二月底與七月底則為插秧期。
（自由時報記者張勳騰）
A: The four-day Tomb Sweeping Day long weekend begins Friday and will run until Monday. Are you going to sweep your ancestors’ tombs? B: I did in advance last weekend, so I can go to Kaohsiung to see the musical “The Phantom of the Opera.” A: Wow, is “Phantom” touring Taiwan again? It debuted in 1986, so this year marks the 40th anniversary of the show. B: And it’s not just touring Kaohsiung starting March 31, but also Taipei starting April 21 and Taichung starting May 26. A: “Phantom” is one of the world’s Four Major Musicals. I’ve seen all of them, except “Les
A: Apart from the musical The Phantom of the Opera, off-Broadway classic “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” and musical-themed concert “Broadway Hits Live” are also touring Taiwan. B: Musical-themed concert? That sounds interesting. A: Set for April 18 and 19, the show will feature a group of Broadway vocalists and dancers — with British singer Keala Settle as a special guest. B: So the audience can enjoy all the timeless hits from various shows at one concert. . . I like that. A: And there’s more: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic musical Jesus Christ Superstar will finally visit Taiwan for the first time
Visitors walking down the streets of London and other major English cities might notice a curious sight. Many of the old __1__ have some of their windows boarded up. What’s even stranger is that there doesn’t appear to be any consistent pattern as to which windows get covered. This architectural __2__ dates back over 300 years during a time when “coin clipping” was a common crime in England. Back then, silver coins had simple designs with __3__, unmarked edges. Without any pattern extending to the coins’ rims, it was difficult to tell if the edges had been __4__. This
Despite being a basic tool, pens come in a wide variety of forms. Classic styles include fountain pens, which deliver liquid ink smoothly through metal tips. Another common type is the ballpoint pen, which is easy to use. There are even special felt pens that are especially popular among artists. __1__ They have a small hole at the top. So why is it there in the first place? Could it actually be a design flaw? __2__ Since 1991, companies such as BIC have been producing ballpoint pens with holes in their caps for two main reasons: quality control
RSS