Personify Anything
by Jenny
"Oh, I love escalator handrails; they are so cute!"
Well, one thing I have learned in Taiwan is that it is possible to personify anything and make it into a character. Often its a super cutesy colorful giant statue you put in front of your business so that you can sell more of whatever it is you sell. Sometimes it is on a billboard or poster to spread whatever message you need to spread. And if I remember correctly, somewhere along my travels, (either in Taiwan or Guangdong), I saw a personified escalator handrail with eyes and hands and feet and all. Its purpose in "life" was to convince everyone that they should hold onto the handrail when riding the escalator. I probably should have taken a photo of it for you, but I would have had to let go of the handrail to do so.
Meet Grandpa Bamboo. He promotes travel by rail in Hsinchu County. He is part of a family of characters that includes Little Brother Rice Bucket, or Zhú Tǒng Dì, pictured beside Grandpa Bamboo below, and Auntie Wild Rice Shoots, a.k.a. Jiāobáisǔn Āyí, who is in the bottom center of the photo below.
It is possible to cut a section of bamboo into a tall cup shape, then cook rice in it. The rice would pick up some of the bamboo flavour. That is what Little Brother Rice Bucket is.
Close up of Auntie Wild Rice Shoot
Doesn't she look more innocent than wild?
Sometimes it is not entirely clear what we are personifying. Any guesses? The sign just says, "This is where you get the train to Liujia or Neiwan."
This was at a western style restaurant in our neighborhood.
Do you associate onions with being smart? Chinese people do, because onion 蔥 and smart 聰 are both pronounced cōng (tsong) in Mandarin. I'm sure all the children who attend this kindergarten are far smarter than those of us who went to regular kindergartens, the kind without personified onions.
And while we are on the subject of food that walks, talks and smiles, here is a black soya bean. He's even got a drink, made from... one of his ancestors, I suppose.
I asked the people running this drink shop what this thing was, a piece of fruit? an animal? They weren't too specific. They just said, "He's Bingo," or "He's our mascot." Yes, but 它到底是什麼東西？！ They couldn't say.
Maybe someone should let Bingo know that DaYung doesn't sound too promising to English speakers. Most of us would rather live long than die young.
A drop of oil at a gas station
Personified drop of water on our water bill
What is this, the Eggman?
A giant plum and Mr. Lu
Pineapple people at a breakfast shop
An expo building
Roller skating Pepto Eggman Cowboy helps with shuttle travel.
One of the most alarming personifications was a caricature of a nuclear reactor doing all sorts of human activities including playing with human children and having babies. It was printed in 52 different drawings on a deck of playing cards given out to children who visit a hydro dam. The people who gave us a tour of the dam were very much in favor of opening the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant which has been built in northern Taiwan. I took photos of the playing cards.
This personified condom and personified birth control packet teach us that, "Two forms of birth control is the safest and most effective prevention."
