To honor the late Hakka cultural preserver Hsu Teng-chih (徐登志) for her contributions to the transmission and preservation of Hakka culture and language, Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te conferred a posthumous presidential citation on behalf of President Tsai Ing-wen in a ceremony held on Dec. 6.
Honored with the title of "Mother of the Dabu Hakka Language," Hsu passed away on Nov. 25 at the age of 78. Su Yu-qian (蘇郁茜), Hsu's second daughter, received the citation on her behalf.
Deputy Mayor of Taichung Chen Tzu-ching (陳子敬) also presented a mayoral citation, and the Chairman of the Council for Hakka Affairs in Taichung, Chiang Chun-lung (江俊龍) spoke about Hsu Teng-chih's life in Hakka during the ceremony.
Hsu Teng-chih once taught at Zhongke and Dongshi elementary schools and dedicated her life to the promotion and transmission of Hakka culture. In view of the long-term crisis of language inheritance in the Dapu Hakka-speaking community of central and eastern Taiwan, Hsu systematically compiled Dapu Hakka-language teaching materials, including pronunciation books, collected colloquial nursery rhymes, and edited Hakka dictionaries. She promoted several published books on the customs and folklore of the Dongshi Hakka community to increase the community’s visibility. On Oct. 13 this year, Chairman Chiang Chun-lung conferred the honorary title of "Mother of the Dabu Hakka Language" on Hsu in recognition of her lifelong achievements.
Minister Lee pointed out that Hsu had contributed greatly to the Hakka language, the Hakka writing system, the archiving of traditional cultural documents, its preservation, research, and creative work. She was also dedicated to promoting the transmission of the Hakka language and culture as well as conveying its vitality.