MY TAIWAN LOCAL TAOIST TEMPLES PHOTOGRAPH MEMOIR

About the Book

Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China, has more Taoist temples than any other country including China where Taoism originated. With 9,584 Taoist temples in Taiwan, Taoism is the most popular religion in Taiwan followed by Buddhism and Christianity. Taoism has been part of the way of the Taiwanese people ever since the first Chinese immigrants set foot on the island centuries ago. The Taoist temples were among the first things they built, and many of these temples have survived for centuries and are still used by the descendants of those first Chinese settlers. The author has seen many Taoist temples in the four plus years he lived in Taiwan. This book deals with the local Taoist temples the author had traversed through countless times while in Taiwan. From the first time to the last time he saw these beautiful places, these local Taoist temples are impressive architectural marvels of Chinese culture.

About the Author

Daniel Nardini was born in Bloomington, Illinois, and raised in Elmhurst, Illinois. He graduated from Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin, in 1983, with a Bachelor’s degree in anthropology and history, and from Western Illinois University in Macomb in 1986 with a Master’s degree in European and Asian History. Nardini taught English as a foreign language in Taiwan from 1990 to 1994, and in South Korea from 1996 to 1997. Nardini worked for Lawndale News in Cicero, Illinois, from 1994 to 2014, and for the Fulton Journal, from 2018 to 2020. Nardini has written eleven previous books. They are: South Korea: Our Story; The Day China Cried: A Witness to the June 4th Massacre; My Taiwan, Seoul and Guadalajara (Mexico) Memoirs; My Italian American Family, Rural Taiwan, and Lawndale News Memoirs; My South Korea Photograph Memoir; My Taiwan Photograph Memoir; More Lawndale News Memoirs; A Taoist in Rural Illinois; My Seoul (South Korea) Local Buddhist Temples Photograph Memoir, My Gyeongju (South Korea) Photograph Memoir; and Witnessing the White Terror in Taiwan: 1990 to 1992. Nardini is now retired and lives with his wife Jade in Chadwick, Illinois.