Brown Bag Talk #2 — College of Cultural Resources, TNUA (Fall 2025) Topic: The Dharma Master — The Central Figure in Penghu Folk Beliefs and His Evolution Across Eras Speaker: Wei-Szu Chen (PhD Candidate, Doctoral Program in Cultural Heritage and Art Innovation) Host: Prof. Chieh-Hung Tseng (Director, Graduate Institute of Arts Administration and Management) Date & Time: Monday, October 27, 2025 · 12:30–13:30 Venue: Cultural Resources Bookstore, 4F Research Building, Taipei National University of the Arts Capacity: 30 participants (first come, first served) Registration: Until 23:59, October 24, 2025 Link: https://forms.gle/8wniZ5EDpsnHH3re7 A reminder email will be sent two days before the event.
About the Talk Penghu’s complex folk belief system—integrating Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Minnan shamanic traditions—is known in Taiwan’s academia as Fajiao (“Ritual Teachings”). Its most distinctive figures are the fashi (ritual masters), who act as exorcists, healers, and spiritual mediators trained from a young age within temple traditions. Through interviews and ethnographic study, the speaker explores how these masters have preserved and transformed their practices across generations amid challenges such as globalization and population decline.
