After 150 years, Rev. George Leslie Mackay Continues to Inspire the Formosan
In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Rev. Mackay’s arrival in Taiwan, National Chinese Orchestra and Taipei Chinese Orchestra each staged a theatrical production to pay tribute to this great man.
Left: National Chinese Orchestra’s Mackay the Trekker | Right: Taipei Chinese Orchestra’s Formosa Bloom
TAIPEI, Taiwan — 150 years ago, a Canadian missionary, Rev. George Leslie Mackay (1844–1901), arrived in Taiwan (then called Formosa). “Beautiful indeed was the first view of North Formosa, as seen from the deck of the steamer… we all stood and gazed, deeply impressed,” he wrote.
Mackay spent most of his life living and working in Taiwan at a time when the majority of its population lived in poverty. His unbounded sense of duty went far beyond propagation of faith; he not only founded over 60 churches across the island, but established hospitals, as well as school for women. In addition to serving its people’s health and well-being, Mackay led the nation towards modernisation.
To pay tribute to this pioneer, the Taipei Chinese Orchestra (TCO) and the National Chinese Orchestra (NCO) each staged a theatrical production, Formosa Bloom (蔥仔開花) and MacKay the Trekker: A Lover Letter to Formosa (馬偕情書), respectively. Let’s have a look at how two of the most prestigious orchestras in Taiwan has, through narrative, music and cross-genre collaborations, recreated Mackay’s adventure around Taiwan through performance onstage.
A family portrait of Rev. George Leslie Mackay, Tiuⁿ Chhang-miâ and their three children
The Woman Who Lived in the Shadow of Mackay
TCO’s Formosa Bloom shed light on the woman who lived in the shadow of our greatly admired man: Tiuⁿ Chhang-miâ (張聰明). Chhang-miâ was previously known as Chhang-a (蔥仔), Taiwanese for “green onion” and a homophone for “intelligent”. When baptised by Mackay, she was renamed as Chhang-miâ, literally “intelligent and bright”.
Formosa Bloom traces the life of Chhang-a who, first raised as a child bride, grew to become a progressive woman for her time. She said no to foot-binding, and learned how to read at the church. Most importantly, she married Mackay when cross-cultural unions were uncommon. Who would’ve thought that someone as ordinary as Chhang-a would one day become Chhang-miâ? She was not only Mackay’s best assistant, but followed his footsteps to become the first female in Taiwan to travel around the world. When in Canada — Mackay’s hometown — where was known as Minnie Tiu, she was able to deliver speech in a second language.
A scene from Formosa Bloom shows Chhang-miâ and Rev. Mackay
Courtesy of Taipei Chinese Orchestra
The Chinese title for Formosa Bloom is “Chhang-a Blooms”, which refers to how the main character has outgrown herself. Symbolically speaking, “Chhang-a”, which means “green onion”, could be a metaphor for the ordinary — the blossoming of green onion is akin to the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. By putting the spotlight on Chhang-a, Formosa Bloom pays tribute to this pioneer and all women, past and present.
What makes TCO’s Formosa Bloom unique is that it’s presented in Taiwanese opera, with its libretto in Taiwanese dialect. Having watched many classical operas while living in Europe, I was a bit worried, and curious at the same time, how a Taiwanese opera would turn out.
A scene from Formosa Bloom shows Chhang-miâ delivering a public speech while in Canada
Courtesy of Taipei Chinese Orchestra
While the nature of Taiwanese’s tone system is an advantage, an impressive aria is missing. Its music, too, has unfortunately failed to express the emotions and moods, making it all the more difficult for audience to develop a deep understanding of the characters. Oftentimes, the complexity of its musical compositions makes it feel as if the music and libretto were competing against one another.
Given that it’s a Taipei Chinese Orchestra production, I was expecting the melody to show influences of traditional Chinese, if not Taiwanese, music. I was left disappointed when I realised that the pieces played in Formosa Bloom couldn’t be identified as Taiwanese nor traditional.
Formosa Bloom would’ve been more a lot more interesting to watch if the story of Chhang-miâ’s life is not narrated in chronological order, which make it more a “musical documentary” than opera. What I like most about Formosa Bloom is the fictional characters, a trio of Angel, Devil and Fairy, who play a pivotal role in weaving the narrative and, from time to time, draw our attention away from a stage that is often overcrowded with clusters of singers and performers. When flowers of all sorts are blooming in a riot of colour, it’s difficult to discern the beauty and rarity of each, and certainly not Formosa’s bloom.
Actors and actresses from Formosa Bloom gather onstage for curtain call
Belated Love Letter to Rev. George Leslie Mackay
In memory of Mackay’s life-long dedication, the National Chinese Orchestra staged MacKay the Trekker: A Lover Letter to Formosa, a music theatre that takes the audience — following Mackay’s footsteps — on a journey around Taiwan.
The story unfolds with a modern lady, one of the main narrators, who reads from Mackay’s dairy. As we’re led to travel back in time, we meet Mackay — though without really seeing him — who is remembered for singing gospel hymns to the Formosan. We then meet Tan Thah-So, whom Mackay referred to as “Mother of Isreal”, the first woman in Taiwan to be baptised and converted to Christianity. According to the playwright, Shih Ju-Fang, Tan’s conversion to Christianity symbolises how the motherland welcomes and embraces the arrival of Mackay. Tan later married her adopted grand-daughter, Chhang-a, to this Canadian missionary.
Mackay the Trekker’s stage set ingeniously blends the orchestra into the backdrop
Courtesy of National Chinese Orchestra
MacKay the Trekker fuses traditional Chinese arts with bel canto. The three actresses, who are responsible for narrating the story, come from different background: Hsiu-Nien Hsu, a celebrated Gezai opera singer, plays the role of Tan Thah-So; Chen Hai-Yun, a Mezzo-soprano, plays the role of Chhang-miâ; and Datian, who has extensive experience in musical, takes on both the roles of a contemporary narrator and Mackay’s daughter. It’s worth nothing that Mackay is absent throughout the performance. Curiously enough, Mackay’s absence does not diminish, but rather emphasise, the fact that he’s omnipresent.
MacKay the Trekker is a music theatre that unites orchestra, drama and animated video. What makes this theatrical production unique is that it invites members of the orchestra, who are often out of the audience’s sight, to taking on the role of supporting cast. At some point, musicians from the strings, woodwind, and percussion even bring their instruments to the forestage to play with the actors and actresses! Paul Ching-Po Chiang, Music Director and Conductor of this performance, also takes on the role of a narrator.
In Mackay the Trekker, members of the NCO take on the role of supporting cast
Courtesy of National Chinese Orchestra
The peak arrives at a point when the line “The beauty of Formosa lies at the end of the journey” is repeated by the actresses. Besides its evocative melody, the animated landscape in the backdrop also demonstrates the beauty of Formosa and its people whom Mackay had encountered. In particular, I was drawn to a selection of black and white photographs taken by Koa Kau, who accompanied Mackay on many of his expeditions. Among these images, we see Mackay pulling teeth for Formosans; it’s said that he had pulled more than 20,000 teeth!
While inviting musicians to act is an innovative move, the transformable stage set designed for MacKay the Trekker is pivotal in blending the orchestra in the background when needed. The only pitfall, however, is that part of the stage set blocks the audience from reading the texts in the video; this suggests that whoever designed the set and video worked behind closed doors. Nevertheless, MacKay the Trekker is a successful production that has allowed the National Chinese Orchestra to overfulfill its mission of “using traditional music to recount the best stories that Taiwan has to offer”.
His Legacy Lives On
It’s uncertain whether it is a coincidence that two of the nation’s most important orchestras had chosen to pay tribute to the same man, both the National Chinese Orchestra and Taipei Chinese Orchestra took a rather unusual, and indeed bold, approach to tell the stories of this legendary man.
In my view, TCO’s Formosa Bloom shows a good attempt to incorporate Taiwanese dialect into western-style opera, but there’s certainly room for improvement. Whether opera is the most appropriate form to recount the story of Formosa Bloom is open for debate, but opera, which is considered a form of “high art”, may be less accessible to general public. A memorable aria or evocative melody — both challenges are yet to be resolved by Formosa Bloom — would’ve been able to bring the audience closer.
Most people walk into a theatre expecting an escapade from life, and MacKay the Trekker offers an unique experience that’s not found elsewhere. It welcomes audience from all walks of life, both children and adults. The incorporation of members of orchestra as supporting cast has been done so naturally that it not only melds music and drama, but creates a memorable experience for spectators and performers alike.
Since the 20th-century, Rev. George Leslie Mackay has been known for his contributions to the early development of Taiwan. But today, it’s clear that his influence has gone far beyond. Though no longer with us, Mackay’s legacy continues to inspire the land and people of this beautiful island — not only in the 21st century, but future to come.
Taipei Chinese Orchestra’s Formosa Bloom had its world premiere at the Taipei Performing Art Centre on July 8 & July 10, and will go on a tour to perform at the National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts (Weiwuying) on November 4 & 6.
National Chinese Orchestra’s MacKay the Trekker — A Love Letter to Formosa had its world premiere at the Taiwan Traditional Theatre Centre on September 17 & 18.