The Taichung Municipal City Huludun Cultural Center held a press conference last Wednesday to promote its Huludun Culture Festival — “Happy Huludun — An Exhibit for the People of Fongyuan.” The festival started last Friday and will run until Saturday, with historic Huludun paintings, Fongyuan specialty products as well as painted “happiness” hulu, or calabash, on display, which are to be used by lovers and married couples to make wishes of happiness for their relationships.
Huludun was an old name for the Fongyuan area, possibly a Chinese transliteration of the original Aboriginal name for the area. The exhibit includes a display in the center’s lobby as well as a performance in the plaza. The display area consists of a photography exhibit, as well as displays of the food and drink culture of local commoners, traditional architecture, a “bicycle rhapsody,” and the aesthetics of traditional cookies.
Jen She Association Chief Lin Hsuan-hung says that during the event that his association previously held to promote the local “love-locks bridge,” thousands of couples and friends participated, making wishes that their dreams come true. He says that this year’s festival and painted calabash for lovers and couples are meant to create a happy “Huludun” image for the city, and hopefully allow people to feel the beauty of being a couple, making wishes that they will always be happy together.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
葫蘆墩文化中心上週三舉辦「幸福葫蘆墩—豐原人展寶」葫蘆墩文化節記者會，文化節從上週五至這週六展出葫蘆墩歷史畫面、豐原特產及「福定」漆彩葫蘆，歡迎情人、夫妻一起來做幸福約定。
豐原舊地名為葫蘆墩，可能是原住民原稱此地的漢文譯音。「幸福葫蘆墩—豐原人展寶」包括文化中心大廳展示及廣場演出，展示區有攝影展、庶民飲食文化、傳統建築特色、鐵馬狂想曲、餅道生活美學等展品。
仁社社長林宣宏說，仁社之前辦理「心鎖橋浪漫鎖心願」活動，有數千位情侶或親友參與，一同祈願美夢成真，為營造幸福葫蘆墩的城市意象，今年開發「福定」漆彩葫蘆，歡迎情人、夫妻感受文化節「福定」之美，許下幸福約定。
（自由時報記者謝鳳秋）
TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字
1. calabash n.
葫蘆 (hu2 lu5)
例: The West African string instrument known as the kora is made from a large calabash cut in half.
(叩拉是由大葫蘆切半所構成的西非弦樂器。)
2. transliteration n.
譯音
例: The English word kowtow is a transliteration of the Chinese word koutou.
(英文的kowtow是中文叩頭的譯音。)
3. commoner n.
庶民 (shu4 min2)
例: In ancient times, commoners were not allowed to touch or look directly at nobility.
(古代庶民不能直接碰觸或直視貴族。)
