CULTURAL BORROWING is one of the fascinating processes of international
exchange. When one area of the world comes under heavy influence from
another, to what new cultural features do people prove most responsive, and
to what features of their own culture do they hold most firmly? In the first
section of this chapter we consider an aspect of Taiwanese life to which its
people have held very firmly indeed: the glorious heritage of Chinese, Fuji-
anese, and Taiwanese cooking. In the second section we turn to a Taiwanese
cultural feature that has been much more overwhelmed by the Western al-
ternative: the elaborate, classy, but less convenient styles of fashion typifying
traditional Taiwanese society.

Our strongest memories of first arriving on Taiwan in 1980 are associated
with smells. The most glorious of those emanated from the countless eateries
that dot the capital of Taipei. Food is everywhere, from the humble to the
fancy and all manner of gradations in between. The enticing aromas of Taipei
food drift down alleyways, where some enterprising vendors make a mint
producing select specialties with artful simplicity under conditions of very
low overhead. Smells sweet, pungent, piquant, seduce the sense of olfaction.
They welcome the stroller and the patron as they waft from small restaurants
whipping up noodle dishes, soups, roast duck, steamed dumplings, or menus

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