Returning to Youth • See the Age of Hope
Date: 2016.10.25-2017.01.15
Time: 09: 00-18: 00
Location: CKS Memorial Hall Central Corridor
In the 1950s, Taiwan faced a precarious international situation. It endured events such as the shelling of Kinmen and the August 23 Artillery Battle, while undertaking industrial development with the support of U.S. loans and aid. Across economic, cultural, and social spheres, conditions gradually stabilized. Under the policy of import substitution and continued financial assistance from the United States, living standards in Taiwan steadily improved and developed.
On the international stage, the stationing of U.S. forces not only reinforced Taiwan’s strategic importance in the Pacific region, but also introduced Western popular culture—centered on the United States—through powerful broadcasts from the American Forces Network (AFN). New ideas flowed into Taiwan as well. For young people at the time, Western literature, music, and films represented the most fashionable and sought-after sources of information.
American influence extended beyond popular culture. Among young students, a catchy saying emerged: “Come, come, come—go to National Taiwan University; go, go, go—go to the United States.” This rhyme reflects the educational aspirations shaped by the joint entrance examination system of the era. These ambitious youths absorbed the first wave of modern thought and cultural transformation in postwar Taiwan, eagerly embracing new knowledge. Many would later become leading figures in Taiwan’s cultural, political, and economic spheres, injecting fresh momentum into the economic takeoff of the 1970s.
Looking back, this exhibition focuses on the younger generation aged 18 to 30 during the 1960s. Through their perspective, it begins with the foundations of education, expands to the popular culture of the time, and further explores developments in literature, the arts, and visual aesthetics. By revisiting the formative years of the 1960s, the exhibition allows us in the 21st century to rediscover the innocence of youth and glimpse a beautiful era of optimism—one that embraced a future full of boundless possibilities.
