By Pao-Chien Wang, Professor in the Department of Hakka Language and Social Sciences, National Central University / Deputy Dean in College of Hakka Studies / Director of Language Equality and Policy Research Center
The scope of Hakka arts is broad, ranging from the narrower fields of Hakka music, opera, and cinema, to the wider realm of traditional performing arts, folk crafts, and cultural-creative expressions. Some Hakka arts have evolved with the times, integrating modern elements to create something new. For instance, Yappy (Tseng Yi-Bin), a Hakka rapper from Miaoli, brings a fresh sound to Hakka music by performing in the UK drill style.
Some traditional crafts have also been revitalized through “cultural industrialization,” where fading industries are given new cultural meaning and a chance at revival—such as Meinong’s famous oil-paper umbrellas in Kaohsiung, or the art of indigo dyeing. Yet, other forms of Hakka arts are struggling to survive in the face of rapid modernization, and their preservation faces real challenges.
Hakka performing arts and crafts reflect the traditional lifestyle of Hakka communities. However, with advances in technology and the decline in market demand, many art forms are gradually disappearing as younger generations see little economic incentive to continue them. Recognizing this, government agencies have begun investing resources into cultural revitalization. For example, the Taoyuan City Government’s Hakka Affairs Bureau installed a large-scale Buma lantern display at its Hakka Cultural Center, while National Central University invited a Hakka Buma troupe from a local elementary school to perform in its “Multicultural Month” in 2015.
Beyond safeguarding traditions, Hakka institutions in Taiwan are also experimenting with new approaches to foster innovation and regeneration. The Taipei Hakka Cultural Foundation (where the author of this article serves as a board member), for example, staged Taiwan’s first Hakka-language family puppet play The Selfish Giant in summer 2025, adapting Oscar Wilde’s classic tale with puppetry, live actors, and music to bring children and parents alike into the world of Hakka arts.
Overall, the development of Hakka arts should follow two complementary paths: (1) reviving traditional performing arts and crafts by creating market demand that attracts young Hakka people to participate, and (2) encouraging new, cross-disciplinary artistic creations that breathe fresh life into Hakka culture. This approach not only helps Hakka communities reconnect with their own language and heritage but also invites non-Hakka audiences to engage with and appreciate Hakka arts.
Art thrives when it breaks boundaries and dares to imagine boldly. As the Nobel Prize in Literature committee recognized in 2016 when awarding Bob Dylan for “creating new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,” enduring art is born from reinvention.
The revitalization of Hakka arts must therefore empower creators to draw upon their own understanding of Hakka culture and personal life experiences. Hakka institutions, community leaders, and scholars should adopt an open and diverse mindset, moving away from rigid definitions of what Hakka art “should be,” and instead supporting creative exploration.
Indeed, Hakka communities in Taiwan and abroad have long promoted cultural preservation, sometimes encountering criticism from within or outside their communities for supposedly straying from “authentic” Hakka traditions. Yet, culture is not static—it is shaped by the interaction of people, environment, and society, and it evolves through lived experience. The diversity of Hakka culture across the globe reflects this reality: from the tulou of Yongding in Fujian, China, to the sanheyuan courtyard houses of Taiwan, Hakka architecture embodies both shared heritage and local adaptation.
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