School: Yuming Vocational High School of Industry & Home E
    Miaoli, Taiwan, R.O,C Taiwan

9 students, ages 16-20 years worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 12, 2009. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2008

Classes and Teachers: Mr. Pao-I Li,Mr. You-Sheng Chang,Ms. Yu-Ping Wei and Mr.Chien-Lin Chen

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.ymvs.mlc.edu.tw/

1. Description of Our Community

The dragon dance can be seen all around Taiwan, but “bombing the dragons” can only be seen in Miaoli’s Hakka region. In early days, agriculture was the main economic activity for the Hakka people in Miaoli. Their lives were closely related to temple fairs and festivals. In addition to the regular dragon dance, dragons are also deified in “dragon-welcoming” activities to bring people safety, auspiciousness and good harvests. The small towns around Miaoli City, such as Gongguan, Touwu and Tongluo, used to have dragon dances every Lantern Festival. But because there are more stores (and more red envelopes) in Miaoli City, the dragon dance is mainly seen here as a grand annual occasion. The dragon dance and parade not only attract tourists to Miaoli but have also become one of the most important Lantern Festival activities during the Chinese New Year.

2. Summary of Our Project

“Bombing the dragons” is a traditional custom developed by the Hakka people in Miaoli, Taiwan. It is also part of the four folk events during the Chinese New Year: Sky Lantern Festival (northern Taiwan), Dragon-Bombing Festival (central Taiwan), Beehive Rockets Festival (southern Taiwan) and Bombing Han-Dan Festival (eastern Taiwan). In the “dragon-bombing” activities, a great amount of firecrackers and beehive rockets are used to eliminate evil influences and welcome the New Year. Teams usually start practicing the dragon dance before the Lantern Festival and it builds up to a climax on that day, creating a lively and exciting atmosphere for the New Year.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:4-6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:not sure

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1. Information collection 2. Webpage-making techniques 3. Schedule arrangement 4. Schedule management 5. Transportation

5. Our Project Sound Bite

we have learned about our unique local culture and are better able to cherish it. We hope that more people will know about, care for and participate in this cultural activity so as to promote and pass down this cultural heritage. we have become more mature and established our friendship more firmly under the guidance of our teachers, Mr. Pao-I Li and Mr. You-Sheng Chang. This is what we have gained, in addition to learning about the cultural activity, in the Taiwan Schools Cyberfair project. We hope that through our effort, people will understand, join and pass down this unique Lantern Festival activity in Miaoli.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

Dragon-Bombing in Miaoli” - is developed around the topic “Local Art Culture,” and aims to integrate the artistic and cultural events of Miaoli’s dragon-bombing festival. The significant importance of this project is to bring people in the county as well as in the whole country to the realization that it is everybody’s responsibility to pass down traditional art and culture. With this perspective, we can all value and cherish the land on which we live and our ancestors. Through this project, the team members have learned to assign jobs, search for and integrate information, and systematically establish the structure of the website. Online learning provides a more efficient approach to learning than traditional methods as the Internet can help children expedite the acquisition of the latest information.

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

Equipment: 1.Desktop computer:Search for and save information, create web pages 2.Digital camera:Archive meetings, operations and interviews 3.Video camera:Archive meetings and interviews 4.Scanner:Convert prints and photos into digital files 5.Pen recorder:Record meetings and interviews 6.Printer:Print materials 7.ADSL:Upload and download web pages, search for information and communicate 8Telephone:Contact the instructors, team members and interviewees Software: 1.Internet Explorer:View web pages, search for, upload and download information 2.Macromedia Dreamweaver, Microsoft FrontPage:Create, edit and manage web pages 3.Macromedia Flash:Make animations 4.Ulead PhotoImpact, Photoshop:Process Images 5.Acdsee:Manage digital photos 6.Microsoft PowerPoint:Create briefs 7.Microsoft Word:Process words 8Microsoft Outlook, MSN Messenger:Communicate with team members Obove these tools are donated by school,and to complete this project, all techologies have their useful and meanful functions for us. Without any of tools we are unable to achieve this project.

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

The participants in this project are the ambassadors who represent their community and should take on the mission of introducing their local features to the world. Promoting Miaoli’s unique cultural activity via this project To promote the unique art and cultural activity in Miaoli and develop it into a local feature, we gathered a good deal of material, investigated its origin and participated in a series of activities. Our goal is to present the culture more comprehensively so as to effectively promote it. We hope this project will awake the Miaoli citizens to recognize, support and pass down their own local culture.

“Bombing the dragons” shows the unique Hakka culture

The position of dragons, which was placed between mortals and gods by Hakka ancestors, reflects Hakka people’s emotions and trust in the interaction between them and gods. From inviting the “dragon god” to be their guest and to help eliminate misfortunes and bestow blessings, to sending the “dragon god” back to heaven, the custom, practiced year after year, shows the intimate relationship between the Hakka group and the “dragon god.” Their ancestors’ longing for the arrival of January 15th on the lunar calendar (the Lantern Festival) is also passed down.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

Due to the Hakka people value dragons; they believe dragons can keep them safe. Therefore, every year around the Lantern Festival, dragon dance teams can be seen on streets, wishing people a happy New Year. The activity has gradually developed into the custom of “welcoming dragons, following dragons, wrapping dragons and bombing dragons.” Miaoli City hosts the dragon-bombing event during the Lantern Festival every year. It is the tenth year that Miaoli hosts the dragon-bombing event. If people do not have a basic understanding of artistic and cultural work, they will not be aware of, or may even neglect and forget the wonderful legacies our ancestors have left to us. This project helps everyone to realize and understand the significance of artistic and cultural work; art and culture is an integral part of life and once the community learn to appreciate and value it, our lives will be enriched. We hope that more people will know about, care for and participate in this cultural activity so as to promote and pass down this cultural heritage. Therefore, we do believe that both the community and people who visit our website will gain ideas of how this traditional custom can be last, and the reason why people will pray for good fortune and prosperity for every new year from this activity. Once visitors who read our website, they will realize the importance and meaning for Hakkanese making effort on promoting “Gragon-Bombing”. As long as they arise motivation and interests to participate Gragon-Bombing event in person and they will able to realize how interesting the local Miaoli culture is.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

To complete this project, we were so lucky that there were a great number of people who willing to provide their own ideas to meet our needs. They are Miaoli Mayor Yu-Mei Tsou, Director of the International Culture and Tourism Bureau Chen-Fong Lin, and bamboo-woven dragon maker Mr. Ping-Yen Lo the “bamboo-woven dragon” Master Ping-Yen Lo, and Miaoli City Office provided abundant assistance and valuable material for us to comprehensively introduce the culture on the Web pages. Besides, there were so many friendly people who were very welcome to be interviewees for us to complete questionnaires, as well as provided their knowledge, enthusiasm and advices about our project. We appreciate all the supports we received during the project!