如果是女神 Tune to Goddesses

This project was initially released on every full moon and new moon starting from 17 October 2024, for a total of seven chapters. The album was then released after all chapters had been collected. Each chapter includes a story, a sound, an action, and a recommended location in Tainan. You can listen along with the story and engage in the action. All content can be accessed on the “Post Pandemic Acts – Therapeutic Auditory Tell Tales” project website by Ting Shuo Hear Say.

Project presented on: telltales.tingshuostudio.org/en/tune-to-goddesses/

本計劃原於2024年10月17日開始的滿月及新月發行，共有七章，在發行完畢後集結為這張專輯。每章包含一篇故事、一段聲音、一個行動，以及台南的建議行動地點。歡迎搭配故事與行動聆聽，可於「聽說」的「後疫情作為——聽覺療癒說謠」網站中閱讀。

計畫呈現於： telltales.tingshuostudio.org/tune-to-goddesses-zh/

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It is said that artists and witches share the same fate, both embracing vanishing stories and turning hatred into joy (see Note 1). If goddesses had fates, would they be similar? The stories of goddesses have been passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years, embodying the many facets we all possess—gentleness, fury, containment, strength, kindness, destruction, wisdom, hysteria, and more. What we cannot fully reveal in this rational, civilized world might find expression, healing, and repair through the stories of goddesses and the spaces they inhabit. In these spaces, we are free—free to set aside reason and descend into the marrow of our being, where we can feel.

But what is a god, really? Out of humanity’s awe and fear of the unknown, witches, ghosts, and goddesses were born. In many stories, the boundaries between them blur and shift. What makes a god a god—could it be that gods are shaped by collective belief, formed through the stories we tell and hear? Perhaps gods reflect a kind of nostalgia for the raw, inescapable truths of life, which linger in the deep recesses of our consciousness.

This project was inspired by various goddess temples in Tainan, drawing on both Taoist traditions and goddess myths from around the world, reinterpreted and reimagined. If she were a goddess, what would she think?

If you look deeply into the flickering firelight, you may catch a glimpse of the goddess, for she rules the darkness and the night.

Perhaps, within it, you may also see yourself.

*Note 1: Quote from the book by Hong Kali. “The Spirit is Watching Us: My Witch Diary”. Locus Publishing, 2023.

據說藝術家和女巫的八字是一樣的，都是擁抱消失的故事，幫忙解恨化喜的人（註1）。如果女神有八字，大概也會長得很像？女神的故事流傳了數百上千年，涵納了你我都可能擁有的面向：溫柔的、暴烈的、涵容的、強悍的、善良的、毀滅的、睿智的、神經質的……。現實世界的我們在理智的文明社會裡，無法全然展露或表達的，或能轉而在女神的故事、她們的空間裡化解、修補。在這個空間裡，是自由的，可以暫時放下理智的思考，往深入骨髓的最裡面，你能夠感知。

然而，究竟什麼是神呢？因人類對未知空間的敬畏與恐懼，誕生了女巫、女鬼、女神。在許多故事裡，她們之間的分際是流動而模糊的。而神之所以為神，會不會是，在聽、說故事以後，集體信念堆疊出來的信仰？會不會，是我們對潛伏於意識底層，難以面對的生命真實的某種鄉愁？

這個計劃起源自台南的各個女神廟及許多廟宇中的女神，內容的成形則是結合了道教與世界各地許多女神故事、神話，超譯女神。如果是女神，她會怎麼想？

如果你往搖曳的火光裡仔細看去，可能會看到女神，因為她掌管了黑暗與夜。

或許你也能在裡頭，看見自己。

註1：引用自《神明在看著呢！我的巫女日記》洪承喜著，大塊文化出版，2023年。

Composition / Recording / Mixing: Yenting Hsu
Mastering: Nigel Brown
English Translation: Alice Hui-Sheng Chang

Special thanks to Ling-Chun Kuo, the host of T.i.Lab, Sibyl Huang, Assistant Professor at the National Sun Yat-sen University, and Chen Yi-Tian from the De Ji Traditional Chinese Medicine Store in Anping, Tainan. Also, heartfelt gratitude to the spiritual seniors at numerous temples, including Founding Jade Emperor Temple, Kailong Temple, Lady Linshui Temple and more, for sharing their diverse perspectives with me.

Thanks to Alice Hui-Sheng Chang, Nigel Brown, Shih-Chi Wang, Yannick Dauby. Thank you to my friends and peers who share an interest in these themes and generously shared their insights. Deep gratitude to all the people and stories I encountered in Tainan.

A profound thanks to all the bold, loving, revered, and complex goddesses who inspire this.
The project is supported and produced by Ting Shuo Hear Say and funded by National Culture and Arts Foundation from 2022 to 2024.

作曲 / 錄音 / 混音：許雁婷
成音：Nigel Brown
英文翻譯：張惠笙

特別感謝「戲遊傳說」主持人古靈精、中山大學助理教授黃資婷、台南安平得記中藥行老闆陳義添，開基玉皇宮、開隆宮、臨水宮等許多廟宇的師姐師兄，謝謝他們帶給我不同的觀點。謝謝張惠笙、Nigel Brown、王詩琪、澎葉生；謝謝對這主題有相同興趣的同好友人們慷慨分享，謝謝所有在台南相遇的人與故事。謝謝眾多可愛可恨、敢愛敢恨、可敬的女神！

本計劃於2022至2024年間，受到聽說聲音工作室支持製作、國家文化藝術基金會贊助。