Brief History of Taiwan (II)

        After the Zheng-family regime was destroyed, there was a debate over whether or not to bring Taiwan into Qing Empire's realm. The Kangxi Emperor (康熙皇帝) disagreed to annex Taiwan in the beginning, but was later convinced by Shi Lang (施琅) that Taiwan has its strategic significance. However, generally speaking, the Qing dynasty ruled Taiwan with a passive attitude in first 190 years.

        In early period under Qing rule, immigration from the mainland to Taiwan was under rigid limitations. For example, only single Fujianese men were allowed to immigrate Taiwan, leading the phenomenon of "Tangshan grandpa, no Tangshan grandma (有唐山公，無唐山媽). " The Han settlers (漢人移民), as well as the aborigines had suffered many hardships since food, land, water, and other kinds of resources were scarce at that time. Consequently, armed conflicts occurred regularly between the aborigines and the Han people, or between settlers from different provinces and prefectures. In addition, revolts broke out quite often. During Lin Shuangwen's rebellion (林爽文事變), the most massive one, three county seats (縣城) once fell into 30,000 rebels' occupation, and it took two years to stamp out the riots. The combative climate could be proved through the proverb "every three years an uprising; every five years a rebellion (三年一小反、五年一大亂)."

Lin Shuangwen's rebellion

"The Qing army laying siege to Daliyi Village" (清軍圍攻大里杙)

photo credits to: twnpluplu.blogspot.tw

        Not until the second half of the 19th century did Qing Empire notice the importance of Taiwan in their maritime defense strategy. In 1860, China lost in the Second Opium War (第二次鴉片戰爭); according to unequal treaties, four treaty ports in Taiwan were forced to be opened to trade with Western countries. In 1871, four Ryukyuan (琉球) vessels met a violent typhoon and one of them drifted to the southern tip of Taiwan. Fifty-four members of its crew were killed by the Paiwan aborigines due to some misunderstanding. This accident brought about Japanese invasion of Taiwan against the aborigines in 1874.

Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874)

photo credits to: ihc.apc.gov.tw

        In response to changes in the international situation, the authorities began to alter its policies towards Taiwan. These policies were implemented to develop infrastructure, education, and fortification. In the aftermath of the Sino-French War (中法戰爭), administrative divisions are adjusted as well: Taiwan was declared a separate province in 1885, divided into four prefectures (府/直隸州), eleven counties (縣), and three sub-prefectures (廳). Liu Mingchuan (劉銘傳), the first governor of the Taiwan Province, was dedicated to modernizing Taiwan. Under his leadership, a railway was built from Keelung to Taipei, becoming the earliest railroad system of Taiwan and China.

Liu Mingchuan

photo credits to: www.epochtimes.com

        Less than a decade later, First Sino-Japanese War (甲午戰爭) broke out. Failure of the Qing Empire led to the end of its rule over Taiwan.  The island of Taiwan and Penghu was ceded to Empire of Japan as a result of Treaty of Shimonoseki (馬關條約) in 1895. Unwilling to accept the fact of cession, some Taiwanese managed to resist Japanese forces. Although there were resistance movements such as the short-lived Republic of Formosa (臺灣民主國), and the militia organized by people island-wide, they couldn't withstand the fierce offensive launched by Japanese and were finally suppressed.

Brief History of Taiwan (I)

        During glacial periods in the Late Pleistocene (更新世晚期), the sea levels became so low that some people from southeast Chinese coast were able to walk through Taiwan Strait and settle on the island. They are believed to have been the ancestors of Taiwanese aborigines.

        With the increasing prosperity of East Asia trade during Age of Discovery, the Dutch, with a view to trade with China and Japan, choose Taiwan as their commercial base. In 1623, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) first arrived on Tainan and build Fort Zeelandia. Meanwhile, the Spanish establish a colony in the north of Taiwan and built two fortresses in Keelung and Tamsui, respectively. The result of competition between the Dutch and the Spanish is that the Spanish was driven out from Taiwan in 1642.

         In the 17th century, while the Dutch occupied the south and the Spanish seized the north, the Kingdom of Middag (大肚王國) formed the third political power in the central west plains in Taiwan. The Kingdom was actually a supra-tribal alliance composed of several plains aboriginal (平埔族) tribes, including Papora, Babuza, Pazeh, and Hoanya. It had been independent from other regimes for 100 years until it was overwhelmed by Qing Dynasty in 1732.

         Koxinga (國姓爺), or Zheng Chenggong (鄭成功), was born to a well-known Chinese merchant and pirate Zheng Zhilong (鄭芝龍); he was against the Manchu regime which had overthrew the Ming Dynasty in 1644. He needed a proper place for his "Anti-Qing sentiment (反清復明)," so he led his fleet to Taiwan and defeated the Dutch in 1662. After the takeover of Taiwan, Koxinga established a government (known as Kingdom of Tungning), and refused to surrender to Qing court.

The statue of Koxinga

photo credits to wikipedia.com

         However, after the death of Koxinga's son, Zheng Jing (鄭經), the Qing court dispatched admiral Shi Lang (施琅) to attack Zheng's fleet in Penghu. Eventually, Zheng Keshuang (鄭克塽), the successor of Zheng Jing, conceded defeat and thus Taiwan was annexed by Qing dynasty. Since then, Taiwan was declared part of the territory of Fujian Province...

(To be continued)

The video below provides a overview of Taiwanese history, though some of its historical perspectives are debatable~

Bai-Yue in Taiwan

        Taiwan is a mountainous island. There are 286 peaks more than 3,000 meters high, making Taiwan geographically unique. 

        The Bai-Yue, or Top 100 (百岳) are the 100 mountains are nominated by some mountaineers in Taiwan. Most of member in Top 100 list are over 3,000 m. When I was 7 years old, my family went hiking in Hehuanshan area (合歡山區), which is accessible by public road. I went backpacking to Xiluandashan (西巒大山) on New Year Holidays this year. The trip was three days long, and it was my first time to camp in the wild.

The following mountains are five of the Bai-Yue where I've climbed to the top so far:

1. Hehuanshan North Peak         合歡北峰      3,422 m         (11,227 ft)

2. Hehuanshan East Peak             合歡東峰      3,421 m         (11,224 ft)

3. Hehuanshan Main Peak           合歡主峰      3,417 m         (11,211 ft)

4. Shimenshan                                    石門山          3,237 m         (10,620 ft)
5. Xiluandashan                                  西巒大山      3,081 m         (10,108 ft)

        Among the Bai-Yue, the most towering, majestic, and unique ones are selected in particular. They are bestowed on the title "the Big Five, the Pointy Three, and the Ominous One" (五嶽三尖一奇).

The Big Five／五嶽

#1  Yushan (Jade Mountain)          玉山 3,952m (12,966 ft)

#2  Xueshan (Snow Mountain) 雪山 3,886m (12,749 ft)

#3  Xiuguluan Mountain 秀姑巒山 3,825m         (12,549 ft)

#4  Nanhu Mountain                      南湖大山 3,742m (12,277 ft)

#5  Beidawu Mountain 北大武山 3,092m (10,144 ft)

Yushan (Jade Mountain)

photo credits to: medicaltravel.org.tw/

The Poity Three／三尖

        The Poity Three are three mountains with pyramid-like steep grades and towering top. Among them, Dabajian Mountain is the most magnificent one. Its steep grade with about a 35° incline, making it look like a wine barrel!

#1  Central Range Point 中央尖山 3,703 m (12,149 ft)

#2  Dabajian Mountain 大霸尖山 3,492m (11,457 ft)

#3  Dafenjian Mountain                 達芬尖山 3,208m      (10,525 ft)

Dabajian Mountain

photo credits to: mypaper.pchome.com.tw/mammut99

The Ominous One／一奇

      

        Qilai Mountain North Peak has an infamous nickname, Black Qilai (黑色奇萊) because many mountain accidents took place on this mountain in early 70s and subsequent in the early 80s. This is why it is considered "ominous". 

Qilai Mountain North Peak                  奇萊北峰 3,607 m         (11,834 ft)

Qilaishan North Peak

Photo credits to: tw.hiking.biji.co/

The Holy Ridgeline／ 聖稜線／せいりょうせん

        Running from north to south connecting Snow Mountain to Dabajian Mountain, the Holy Ridge is a lofty ridge of mountains in Shei-Pa National Park. It was first named by Tetsutarō Numai (沼井鉄太郎) in 1927.

The Holy Ridgeline

photo credits to: blog.xuite.net/teatraveler/blog

Let's watch this time-lapse video in the end of the post!

Hot Springs in Taiwan

        Autumn has come, and Winter is around the corner. Are you eager to enjoy hot springs and spa? Come to Taiwan and explore "the Hot Spring Kingdom"!

        Taiwan has a great variety of springs, including hot springs, cold springs, mud springs and seabed hot springs. Among above, the best-known ones are hot springs. Moreover, Taiwan has more than one hundred hot springs, which makes itself one of the highest spring-concentrated place in the world!

        Hot springs are formed by natural waters that emerge from the inside of the crust. Taiwan is located on the fault line where two tectonic plate -- Euro-Asian Plate (歐亞板塊) and Philippine Sea Plate (菲律賓海板塊) collide in the Ring of Fire (火環帶), also called the Circum-Pacific seismic zone (環太平洋地震帶). The frequent geological activities result in hot springs island-wide.

        Hot springs can be found in different geological areas, such as plains, mountains, valleys and oceans. In terms of geographical division, many hot springs are found in the northern Taiwan, especially near the Datun Volcanoes (大屯火山群). These includes Beitou (北投), Yangmingshan (陽明山), Wulai (烏來), and Jiaoxi (礁溪). There are also hot springs distributed over Central Taiwan such as Tai’an (泰安), Guguan (谷關) and Dongpu (東埔). In East Taiwan, we have hot springs in Ruishui (瑞穗), Antong(安通), and Zhiben (知本). In the southern part of the island, there are hot springs in Guanziling (關子嶺), Sichongxi (四重溪). There is also an undersea hot spring in Greenisland (綠島). Undersea hot springs are so rare that they are only found in Italy, Japan and Taiwan.

        Nowadays, a great number of hot springs in Taiwan are developed into resorts or hotels, possessing recreational and therapeutic functions. They provides the perfect havens to unwind and rejuvenate while away from hectic city life. Needless to say, hot springs are one of the most precious gifts that the earth has given to Taiwan.

photo credits to en.rocketnews24.com