Section 3: Celebration of Art and Culture Among Friends from Taiwan, China, and Japan

The cultural scenes in Hsinchu flourished after Zheng Yongxi built Beiguo Garden and Lin Zhanmei built Qian Garden. Beginning from the mid-19th century, the two gardens had been gathering places for literati and artists in northern Taiwan. Calligraphy, a literal expression of the heart, and painting, a pictorial representation of the heart, by local residents are indicators of a city’s creative energy. This section presents calligraphies and paintings by literati in Hsinchu, as well as works arising from their friendship with the Chinese and Japanese from the period just before the Qing dynasty up to the time around the liberation of Taiwan in 1945. These works show Hsinchu as an important hub that connects the world and fosters interactivity among Taiwan, China, and Japan.