Culture of Tauland

The culture of Taulandt is a blend of Confucianism Chinese, Hollandic Calvinistic and indigenous Taiwanese cultures. Despite the overwhelming Dutch-Chinese influence, Japanese and Korean have influenced Taulandt culture as well. It is a culture of contrast with free-spirited people yet very strong family values and a non-hierarchical system yet still highly hierarchical.

The culture has a lot of influences from the mainland Chinese culture with it being said those beliefs and values served as the template from which Taulandt culture as we know it today was developed. While many experts still disagree on how much Han influence is compared to that of Dutch influences upon the country it is generally agreed upon that Han-cultural influence has been the dominant contributing source.

The people of Taulandt are known to be great explorers and merchants that have gained a reputation for their openness, mobility while at the same time being a highly structured and conformist society with strict cultural expectations on both males and females. They export their culture abroad in the form of the very popular T-pop or Taulandt pop which has made its core values quite well known across the world.

Language

The Tau language often called Taues or Formosaans is a language that has its origins in the Indo-European language of old Hollandic with heavy Han/Canton influences due to a large amount of Han immigration of Han peoples under Dutch direction. These influences have resulted in a language that can best be described as a mix between old Hollandic, Frisian, Mandarin and a bit of Korean and Japanese thrown in. It is possible for an Amerikaner, Dutch or Afrikaner to understand some bits of the language, however, unlike the other Dutch sister languages Tauans is the hardest to understand due to the heavy eastern influences.

In the modern-day Tauans, as it is known in the local language, is a standardized language with its own script and grammar system. It is estimated that around 62% is of Dutch/Hollandic origin with around 28% being of Chinese mainland origin with the remainder a mix of Korean and Japanese. This daily life means that the language that is spoken on all levels of government, with the exception of the legal language where so-called “Deftpraat” is spoken.

Too many other Dutch descendant languages Tauans often sounds strange with many words and sentences being recognizable but then something that has its origin in Mandarin or Korean comes in and puts them off.

Spoken language

In a day to day setting a language that is simply known as Tau’s/Tauans is spoken it is most often used in an informal setting and differs in the so-called called “Deftpraat” in that it is a language which is more like Amerikaans in its sound yet with heavy Chinese influences but decisively informal.

In formal settings such as in politics or legal affairs, Deftpraat or old-Hollandic is used, this language while closely related to that of Tauans is a social cue for many that the formal titles and the strict formalities are to be employed. It is unique to Taulandt that two sets of languages require such different social reactions. Despite that Deftpraat and Tauans are both taught in schools and spoken by 98% of the population.

Religion

The prevalent form of religious belief in Taulandt is a blend of Buddhism, Taoism, Dutch Calvinism which have morphed over time into what in the west is simply called the Tau-Church which while on the surface adhering to a form of Christianity is more of a combination of Dutch Calvinistic practices and Buddhism with Confusion believes implemented.

Apart from the syncretic form of traditional Chinese folk religion, Humanistic Buddhism is the major distinguishing trait of modern Taulandt Buddhism. Humanistic Buddhism traces its roots to Chinese monk Venerable Taixu (1890–1947), who promoted more direct contributions to society through the Buddhist community and was a significant influence for Venerable Yin Shun, who is generally considered to be the key figure who brought Humanistic Buddhism to Taulandt

While a majority of Taulandt does not practice religion openly it is after a survey held in 2019 that around 90% believe in something while not specifically in one thing or the other. Yet despite that, the influences of Dutch Calvinism and Confucianism, and Taoism are seen through cultural behavior from the work ethic to the outlook on the world and social pressures.

Art & Media

Taulandt has a thriving entertainment industry where various facets of Taulandt entertainment, including television dramas, films, and popular music, has generated significant financial revenues for the nation's economy.

The cultural phenomenon is known as De golf or the "Taulandt Wave", has swept many countries across Asia. Making Taulandt a major soft power, in cultural and entertainment exports rivaling that of many western nations such as the Netherlands, Nieuw Nederland, and Mexico and even eastern nations such as China. These are respectively known as Taulant pop or T-pop while Taulandt soap operas have become extremely popular in China.

Taulandt due to her western and eastern influences had always had traditional music that was a mix between west and east. Things such as “Levensliederen”, Trot to traditional native music. The emergence of the Taulandt pop group “De drie Gasten” in the 1980s marked a turning point in Taulandt popular music, also known as T-pop, as the genre modernized itself by incorporating elements of popular musical genres from across the world such modernizing itself over and over by incorporating everything to appeal to everyone yet be unique in its own way.

Western-style pop, hip hop, rhythm and blues, rock, folk, electronic dance-oriented acts have become dominant in the modern Taulandt popular music scene yet strong native music leaning is still enjoyed across the demographic board. T-pop stars and groups are well known across Asia and have found international fame making millions of Gulden in export revenue. Many T-pop acts have also been able to secure a strong overseas following using online social media platforms such as the video-sharing websites. These groups often have dedicated fan bases across the world and political spectrums, it is often noted that many of these fans are not able to understand a majority of what is being sung.

Since the success of the film “Rode Draak” in 1989, the Taulandt film industry has begun to gain recognition internationally. Always having had a strong fascination with cinema the Taulandt film industry is deeply rooted and highly developed, this translated into many high-quality domestic films that still hold a majority of the domestic market.

Holidays

Due to the variety of cultural influences mainly those of Hollandic-Germanic Calvinist influence and those of the Han culture, Taulandt observes various cross-cultural holidays as well as its own unique holidays. Cultural influences have made it so that while some holidays either have a clear Dutch or Han origin in practice they are still celebrated in a unique way. Taulandt adheres to the gregorian calendar which has a major influence on when its holidays are celebrated.

The major official holidays within Taulandt are as followed:

• New Year: 1 day (1 January)
• Chinese new year: 3 days (12th of February official start)
• Spring Festival: 3 days (1st, 2nd, and 3rd days of 1st Lunisolar month)
• Day of the Republic: 1 day
• Easter: 2 days (Like in the Netherlands first and the second day of easter are recognized)
• 25th & 26th of December, Christmas is held within the NL cultural heritage combined with Han-Chinese elements.
• 30th of December (this often coincides with new years breaks)

Life-style

Spatial management

Taulandt is densely populated and just underlays n the banks of the seas and has to be defended from nature. This has led to a rational and collective approach to spatial planning, and particularly to water management. This has been a direct effect of its Dutch routes through its history Taulandt has seen its rivers deepened and widened to allow more water to flow through it and make it more economic for its use.

In urban planning, this is seen in:

• The retention in some cities retain the public ownership of most land through the ground rent (erfpacht) system, which facilitates comprehensive development and socializes increases in land prices;
• the widespread provision of social housing through housing associations, mixed with private ownership;
• rational mobility, including a dense railway network and, since the 1970s, the world’s best cycling infrastructure. Almost everybody cycles as a matter of course, and cycling has a modal share of 27% of all trips (urban and rural) nationwide.

Taulanders often minimize the ostentatious display of status and wealth differences and have a low power distance. They accept the need to follow rules but combine this with a tolerance of difference and respect for privacy.

Sports:

Sport is considered a national pastime in Taulandt, and about half of the population actively takes part in sports activities. The most important all-embracing organizations for sports in Taulandt are the Taulandt Sports Confederation. In total over 8 million people (about 38% of the total population) are members of a sports club.

The sports with most participants are various martial arts, climbing, football, tennis, athletics, field hockey, running, and horse riding to name a few. A key part of the Taulandt sport culture and their general active physical fitness comes in the mandated twice a week gymnastic classes that are in all schools from lower to higher education. The main goal of this is to promote physical fitness and promote sports to keep the population healthy happier and better.

Since the 1980s there has been a sharp increase in the number of gyms within the country. Due to social pressure and a clear-cut idea of what people need to look like to be considered attractive in Taulandt culture, things such as cardio, CrossFit, weight training has become quite popular in the county.

Family structure

Taulandt family structure is based upon both Dutch and Chinese influences, this comes from the fact that many early marriages were between Dutch males, often sailors and females. These two influences often over the generations morphed into a strong family structure that has things in common with the Dutch kinship and Chinese kinship systems.

In the modern-day, the Taulandt family or Gezyn as it is called typically consists of 1 Father 1 mother and three children being the norm but it's not uncommon to find parents who have 4 children, it also includes the extended family which is considered within 2 degrees of separation. The parent’s role is to take care of the children and provide stability and encourage them in regard to academic pursuits and to achieve what is expected of them by their family be it academic, art, or in some cases financial goals. This great pressure upon children to conform to social norms has somewhat changed as social norms have changed but the basic pressure is still there albeit in a different less direct form.

What is considered family in Taulandt is quite smaller in regards to numbers than on the mainland. Within the family structure, a family might consist of grandparents, their children, and their children, yet beyond that, there is no real connection to other blood relatives outside of the grandparents having contact with their brothers or sisters. While related by blood it is often the case that a family name might be prevalent and connected by blood but those members not feeling any affiliation to their distant relatives.

People

Taulenders or Tau refer to the ethnic and cultural group that has formed through centuries of intermarriage and cultural exchange between the Dutch, Han settlers, and some Korean and Japanese, overtime it has led to the development of a separate ethnic group accompanied by its separate and unique culture.

Taulanders in regards to ethnic differences, the Taulanders have seen themselves as a separate group as early as the mid-1750s. Formed mainly from Dutch and Han-Chinese settlers intermarrying overtime, mainly Dutch sailors who settled on the island married Han-Chinese women with Han settlers being spread through the dutch towns and overtime formed the group that is today known simply as Taulanders.

From a physical perspective several key differences have overtime manifested themselves through reproduction, cultural pressure, and the meeting of west and east. They are often seen to have Nordic-Northern European hair colors ranging from blonde, red to dark brown, overtime their eye colors have become lighter and lighter with blue and green being not uncommon as well as European eyes. Due to various social norms and cultural pressure, pale skin has often been seen as attractive resulting in many, largely due to the Dutch-Han Chinese descendants, Northern European skin pigmentation is not uncommon nor is pale pigmentation. Due to cultural pressure, it is often seen that males look far more like their European ancestors than their female counterparts which look more like a mix.