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Sparkling Ripples, Graceful White Silhouettes (Land Art Festival: Little Egrets)

2025-09-09
886-3-3322101
桃園市楊梅區新明街 172 號
The fish ponds are a prominent natural landscape in Fugang. The unique topography formed by the fish ponds and their ditches characterizes the terrain of Taoyuan. Initially developed for agricultural irrigation, the ponds provided not only water for farming but also a rich source of fish and shrimp, making them ideal habitats for bird feeding and nesting. As a result, agriculture, fish ponds, and natural ecosystems formed closely interdependent relationships. In recent years, due to declining agricultural production, land abandonment caused by agricultural depopulation, and land development, the number of fish ponds has drastically declined. Habitat destruction has also led to a decrease in bird populations. The once collective memory of idyllic rural landscapes has gradually vanished before the eyes of the local residents. In the artwork *Ling Lin Bo Guang, Pian Pian Bai Yin* by Professor Hsu Tsung-chieh, the white egret coexisting with the fish ponds was selected as the prototype. In the early agricultural society, egrets were regarded as guardian deities of fields and symbols of good fortune in rural areas, accompanying farmers with their rhythmic rise and rest. During the early spring plowing and autumn harvest seasons, egrets could often be seen strolling behind water buffalo, creating a tranquil pastoral scene in rural life. Since ancient times, the white egret’s pristine image has inspired literary artists. As depicted in Li Bai’s poem *White Egret* from Tang Dynasty: *The white egret descends toward autumn water, flying alone like fallen frost. Before its heart is known and it departs, it stands independently beside the sandbar.* This poetic portrayal captures the elegant, lifelike posture of the egret. The artwork, 8.5 meters high, creates a strong visual focal point on the flat fish pond landscape. Whether drivers on outer roads or passengers aboard the TRA train passing through Fugang are captured by the monumental scale. Placed on the access path connecting the upper and lower ponds, the artwork uses the unique characteristics of the fish ponds to create a borrowed view via water reflections. Visitors walking along the lakeside trail can leisurely observe the artwork and its mirrored reflection in the water from various perspectives, enhancing the interconnectedness of the ponds and completing the overall landscape of the Three-Linked Fish Ponds. The sculpture’s hollow design ensures the openness of space and the visual lightness of the structure. The towering height provides excellent aesthetic conditions from a human perspective, creating dramatic visual contrast and emphasizing human smallness, thereby cultivating humility toward nature. Originally a remote rural area, Fugang gradually developed into a commercial district after the construction of the Bogoang Station on the North Line in the fourth year of the Showa era of Japanese colonial rule (1929). The railway expansion not only improved transportation for Fugang, but also enabled a more diverse future for the area after the establishment of new industrial workshops. Likewise, the selected public art of this project, based on local elements and integrated with the regional topography, aims to reconnect the Fugang community with the memory of white egrets that once thrived here and to inject fresh cultural vitality. (Text source: Cultural Affairs Bureau of the City Government)
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