Last year (2020), the Forestry Bureau of the Council of Agriculture and the author Kuei Chun Miya collaborated to publish Lokot: The Fish that Lived in a Tree, a picture book about nature based on ancient Amis folktales. The story's setting is Taiwan's East Coast. The book describes the journey and struggles of the bird's nest fern as it moved from the sea to the land. The book was quickly reprinted because ideas were clearly set out with interesting yet philosophical content; moreover, it was also picked up by Martin Podstavek, the representative of the Slovak Economic and Cultural Office Taipei (hereafter referred to as the Slovak Office), and translated into the Slovak language by Podstavek's wife, Dr. Liang Chen. After nearly 10 months of work on the manuscript, the book is now available in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. This is the first time that a picture book about the mountain and forest wisdom of Taiwan's indigenous people has entered Central Europe, allowing more than six million Slovak-speaking people to witness the beauty of Taiwan's diverse natural ecosystems and ethnic cultures. The Forestry Bureau said that ever since Martin Podstavek, representative of the Slovak Office, took office and came to Taiwan in 2017, he initiated frequent communications with the Forestry Bureau on bilateral forestry and nature conservation. Through his enthusiastic efforts, the Forestry Bureau's Alishan Forest Railway signed a sister railroad treaty with the Slovak Čierny Hron Railway in December 2018. In September 2020, the Forestry Bureau signed a "Letter of Intent for Exchange and Cooperation on Forest Culture Publications." The Slovak Office and the Forestry Bureau's first-ever picture book on the traditional mountain and forest wisdom of indigenous people—Lokot: The Fish that Lived in a Tree—was the first selected for this exchange. Podstavek not only actively mediated with Slovakia's Perfekt publishing house to publish the Slovak edition of the picture book, his wife Liang Chen, who is fluent in the language, also personally worked on the translation of the whole book, overcoming many obstacles to complete this feat. Liang Chen, who is originally from China, said that after she was stationed in Taiwan with her husband, she got to know the beautiful mountains and forests of Taiwan, and more importantly, she experienced the diverse ethnic cultures and the warmth and friendliness of its people. When she received this meticulously crafted picture book about indigenous people's mountain and forest culture from Director General Lin Hwa-Ching of the Forestry Bureau, she and her husband (Podstavek) were filled with curiosity. After reading the book, she was deeply moved and stunned by the profound and splendid culture of Taiwanese indigenous people, which has been passed down from generation to generation. She felt that it was a Taiwanese children's book well worth recommending to her friends in Central Europe. She also hoped that such a moving book could help more Central European readers get to know Taiwan. Liang Chen also mentioned that when she was translating the book, she found that there were many names of plants native to Taiwan drawn in the book, and even though they were accompanied by Latin names, she still tried her best to find their corresponding names in Slovak. Since Slovakia and the Czech Republic were historically the same country for around a century, many of the botanical names only had corresponding Czech terms. Therefore, Liang Chen and the publisher carefully checked Slovak plant encyclopedias and verified them one by one before producing a complete and accurate Slovak translation of the original book. Regarding the publication of the picture book, the Slovak Office representative Podstavek said that Lokot: The Fish that Lived in a Tree talks about human coexistence with nature, as well as retracing the past and searching for the traditional wisdom left behind by our ancestors. He is very pleased that this is the first picture book of Taiwanese indigenous folktales to reach Central Europe. Lin Hwa-Ching, Director General of the Forestry Bureau, emphasized that the release of Lokot: The Fish that Lived in a Tree in the Slovak-speaking world gives people in Central Europe the opportunity to rediscover Taiwan through the nature-centric perspective of the indigenous people's oral narratives, thus arousing their curiosity about Taiwan's exciting natural environment and diverse cultures. In the future, the Forestry Bureau will continue to carry out more nature-related publications and forestry exchanges with Slovakia to share ideas and learn from each other and promote the friendship among Taiwan, Slovakia, and Central European countries. The second edition of Lokot: The Fish that Lived in a Tree is now available for purchase. If you want to catch a glimpse of Lokot and his mesmerizing story, please visit the physical and online bookstores of Wu Nan Books and the Government Books Store, as well as online bookstores such as Kingstone Book or Books.com.tw. Note: I. Official websites of the two largest bookstore chains in Slovakia https://www.martinus.sk/?uItem=939947 https://www.pantarhei.sk/knihy/pre-deti-a-mladez/bajky-a-povesti/ryba-na-strome.html II. Czech e-commerce platforms https://www.knihydobrovsky.cz/kniha/ryba-na-strome-343898436 III. Please visit the following websites to purchase this picture book in Taiwan: Wu Nan Books https://www.wunanbooks.com.tw Government Books Store (online store) https://www.govbooks.com.tw Books.com.tw (online store) https://www.books.com.tw Kingstone Book (online store) https://www.kingstone.com.tw
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