This series is a celebration of quintessential Taiwanese flavors. It presents four nostalgic foods—each accompanied by a calligraphic poem or prose passage and a short story about its origins. For example, the airplane-shaped crackers are paired with a reflective prose piece; the classic Uni-President pudding is matched with a modern poem; on-gu-gwei, a turtle-shape rice cake in red, references the local blessing “May you live to 120”; while layered rice cakes draw from an entry in the Ming dynasty medical text Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao gangmu) by Li Shizhen.
These iconic snacks are deeply rooted in Taiwanese memory, their names and tastes instantly recognizable to many. And yet, their origins often go untold. The accompanying poems may not be widely known, but they resonate closely with the emotions these foods evoke. Through the layering of calligraphy and illustration, Chang Tien-chine bridges food, culture, and fond memories. His work not only captures the essence of everyday life in Taiwan, but it also reflects his personal journey of questioning what it means to write and why we write at all.
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