Shore Excursion – Kaohsiung Port 1

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Shore Excursion – Kaohsiung Port 1 Shore Excursion – Kaohsiung Port 1 KHH-CTST-KH01: Kaohsiung City Tour(4 Hours) Meals Pick up from/to Kaohsiung Port -- Tour Tour: Pier 2 / National Kaohsiung Center for Arts(Weifuyin) / Formosa Boulevard Subway Station National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) is the first national theater located in southern Taiwan. Its superb location and rich history signify its mission of bridging the past with the future, connecting local and global talents. Designed by Dutch architect Francine Houben, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) spans 9.9 hectares and sits in the northeast corner of a vast lush park. Transformed from a military training base to an arts and culture center of the future, Weiwuying continues its heritage of talent fostering and civil service. As it becomes one of the pivotal theatre complexes in the arts. Weiwuying hopes to bring forth new experiences and life-changing moments that make the arts special to everyone. Formosa Boulevard Station - named after the nearby Central Park, this station lies on the Red Line of the Kaohsiung subway. A two-level underground station, the Central Park stop was designed by British architect Richard Rogers. Design-wise, purple is the pervading color throughout the station. The courtyard grass areas, in turn, are covered in a slope of yellow windmills shaped liked sunflowers. Read more about Kaohsiung metro art. 2 Formosa Boulevard is one of the busiest stations in Kaohsiung city, and also one of the most beautiful. In addition to being the place where the Red and Orange subway lines meet, the stop is also the location of the “Dome of Light.” The “Dome of Light,” situated on the upper part of the station, is known as the biggest public art installation all over the globe. We thank the artist Narcissus Quagliata for putting together the dome in a little less than four years, which included shipping pieces of colored glass directly from Germany. KHH-CTST-KH02: Forguanshan Monastery(4 Hours) 3 Meals Pick up from/to Kaohsiung Port -- Tour Tour: Forgauanshan Monastery Foguanshan Monastery - which means "Buddha's Light Mountain," is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. It's also part of one of the largest charities in Taiwan. When you visit it, you'll see some of the nation's largest temples, a museum, a meditation center and a university. The area is peaceful, surrounded by green forests and interspersed with 10,000 beautiful Buddhist statues. KHH-CTST-KH03: Kaohsiung City/Lotus Lake Tour(8 Hours) 4 Meals Pick up from/to Kaohsiung Port Lunch Tour Tour: Lunch Pier 2 / National Kaohsiung Center for Arts(Weifuyin) / Formosa Boulevard Subway Station / Lotus Lake National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) is the first national theater located in southern Taiwan. Its superb location and rich history signify its mission of bridging the past with the future, connecting local and global talents. Designed by Dutch architect Francine Houben, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) spans 9.9 hectares and sits in the northeast corner of a vast lush park. Transformed from a military training base to an arts and culture center of the future, Weiwuying continues its heritage of talent fostering and civil service. As it becomes one of the pivotal theatre complexes in the arts. Weiwuying hopes to bring forth new experiences and life-changing moments that make the arts special to everyone. Formosa Boulevard Station - named after the nearby Central Park, this station lies on the Red Line of the Kaohsiung subway. A two-level underground station, the Central Park stop was designed by British architect Richard Rogers. Design-wise, purple is the pervading color throughout the station. The courtyard grass areas, in turn, are covered in a slope of yellow windmills shaped liked sunflowers. Read more about Kaohsiung metro art. Formosa Boulevard is one of the busiest stations in Kaohsiung city, and also one of the 5 most beautiful. In addition to being the place where the Red and Orange subway lines meet, the stop is also the location of the “Dome of Light.” The “Dome of Light,” situated on the upper part of the station, is known as the biggest public art installation all over the globe. We thank the artist Narcissus Quagliata for putting together the dome in a little less than four years, which included shipping pieces of colored glass directly from Germany. Lotus Lake - This famous scenic area on the northern outskirts of Kaohsiung City is noted for its profusion of temples, with the Confucius Temple at its northern edge and, in the south, the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas and the Spring and Autumn Pavilions. The lake is most beautiful in the late afternoon, when the setting sun is reflected in the water. Nearby are the ruins of the Fengshan County walls and gates, which have been designated a first-grade historic. Spring and Autumn Pavilions Two massive pavilions dedicated to Kuan Kung, the God of War, the Spring and Autumn Pavilions were completed in 1951. In front of the pavilions is a statue of Guanyin(Kuanyin), the Goddess of Mercy, riding a dragon. According to legend, Guanyin(Kuanyin) appeared above the clouds riding on a dragon, signifying that 6 believers must erect an image depicting this event between pavilions of summer and autumn: The present-day structures are a result of this vision. Dragon and Tiger Pagodas About 700 meters to the south of the Spring and Autumn Pavilions are the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. The dragon's throat is the entrance and the tiger's mouth is the exit. Entering a dragon's throat and coming out a tiger's mouth symbolizes turning bad luck to good fortune. Inside, paintings depict China's 24 most obedient sons as well as scenes of heaven and hell to inspire people to do good deeds during their lifetime, and to provide threatening examples of retribution for wrongdoing. KHH-CTST-KH04: Tainan Tour(8 Hours) 7 Meals Pick up from/to Kaohsiung Port Lunch Tour Tour: Lunch Anping Fort/Anping Old Street /Chih Kan Tower/Cheng Ching Kung (Koxinga)Shrine /Confucius Temple As it was once also called "Sian Shi Shemg Temple" (literally, it suggests that the temple pays homage to the greated teacher in the world), Tainan Confucius Temple is the first in Taiwan memorizes Confucius. In the Ming Dynasty, Yong-hua Chen, Koxinga's chief counselor, advised to build the temple. The Temple, run by the governments, was also the first and highest academy in Taiwan teaching Confucianism during the Ming and Cing dynasties. One of the most important commemorative rituals to be done during the Confucius Cultural Festival held in the Teacher's Day is celebrating Confucius' birthday. There are 38 things needed to be done before completing the ritual. The confucius Cultureal Festival In 1624, Dutch built the first fort in Anping, Taiwan, called "Fort Zeelandia", now known as Anping Fort, where has been the administrative center of the Dutch regime, 8 and the hub for trading. The building was originally constructed in square inner fortress and rectangle outer walls. In 1661, the fort was renamed as Anping to commemorate his home town when Guoxingye (Cheng Cheng-Kung) has driven the Dutch out of Taiwan. Therefore, Fort Zeelandia was also known as "King's Fort" or "Taiwan Fort", nicknamed Anping Fort. Guoxingye's Shrine (Yanping Junwang Temple), located by Kaishan Road surrounded by trees, is the only Fujianese style shrine in Taiwan. This is the shrine built in memory of the work and achievement of Cheng Cheng Kung, the pioneer of Taiwan. Cheng Cheng Kung was originally called Cheng Sun, a native in County Fujian. His father, Cheng Chi Lung, was a wanderer in his early days. He has been a merchant as well as a pirate. His mother was a Japanese lady called Tagawa. Cheng was born with great intelligence. Not only was he diligent in his studies, he also has a huge ambitious to achieve something big, i.e. to become someone who are good in both academic work and in the military field. By the time he was 21 years old, Wu San Kwei led the Qing army into China and the Ming dynasty thus came to an end. As a result of his father surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and his mother committed suicide, Cheng Cheng Kung suffered a lot of pain and decided that he should turn against the Qing Dynasty 9 to rejuvenate the Ming Dynasty in order to get rid of the shame caused by his father's traitor behavior. In April, 15th year of Emperor Yung Li (1661 A.D.), he led his army crossing the Taiwan Strait and after 9 months' battle, had finally retrieved Taiwan from the hands of the Dutch. Taiwan thus was no more a colony of the Netherlands. After gaining access to Taiwan, Cheng quickly built up the whole place by setting up governing offices, regulations, education system as well as developing more farm lands to improve the living standards of the local people. He also actively trained people in military tactics, preparing them to fight the Qing army. However, just half year after he had retrieved Taiwan, Cheng died of illness on May 8, the 16th year of Emperor Yung Li of Ming Dynasty. .
Recommended publications
  • Interpreting Zheng Chenggong: the Politics of Dramatizing
    , - 'I ., . UN1VERSIlY OF HAWAII UBRARY 3~31 INTERPRETING ZHENG CHENGGONG: THE POLITICS OF DRAMATIZING A HISTORICAL FIGURE IN JAPAN, CHINA, AND TAIWAN (1700-1963) A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAW AI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THEATRE AUGUST 2007 By Chong Wang Thesis Committee: Julie A. Iezzi, Chairperson Lurana D. O'Malley Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak · - ii .' --, L-' ~ J HAWN CB5 \ .H3 \ no. YI,\ © Copyright 2007 By Chong Wang We certity that we have read this thesis and that, in our opinion, it is satisfactory in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Theatre. TIIESIS COMMITTEE Chairperson iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to give my wannest thanks to my family for their strong support. I also want to give my since're thanks to Dr. Julie Iezzi for her careful guidance and tremendous patience during each stage of the writing process. Finally, I want to thank my proofreaders, Takenouchi Kaori and Vance McCoy, without whom this thesis could not have been completed. - . iv ABSTRACT Zheng Chenggong (1624 - 1662) was sired by Chinese merchant-pirate in Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. A general at the end of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, he was a prominent leader of the movement opposing the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and in recovering Taiwan from Dutch colonial occupation in 1661. Honored as a hero in Japan, China, and Taiwan, he has been dramatized in many plays in various theatre forms in Japan (since about 1700), China (since 1906), and Taiwan (since the 1920s).
    [Show full text]
  • A Case Study of Taiwan, China and the United States
    HOW DO NATIONAL ELECTION OUTCOMES AFFECT INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS? A CASE STUDY OF TAIWAN, CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES An Undergraduate Research Scholars Thesis by JACK WANG Submitted to the Undergraduate Research Scholars program at Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation as an UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SCHOLAR Approved by Research Advisor: Dr. Alexander Pacek May 2020 Major: International Studies, Politics and Diplomacy Track TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review.................................................................................................... 1 Thesis Statement ..................................................................................................... 1 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................... 2 Project Description.................................................................................................. 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. 3 KEY WORDS ................................................................................................................................. 4 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER I. TAIWAN: HISTORY AND 2020
    [Show full text]
  • CAST COINAGE of the MING REBELS John E. Sandrock
    CAST COINAGE OF THE MING REBELS John E. Sandrock Collecting China's ancient coins can be a very worthwhile and rewarding experience. While at first glance this endeavor may appear overwhelming to the average Westerner, it is in reality not difficult once you master a few guidelines and get the hang of it. Essential to a good foundation of knowledge is a clear understanding of the chronology of dynasties, the evolution of the cash coin from ancient to modern times, the Chinese system of dating, the Nien Hao which identifies the coin to emperor and thus to dynasty, and the various forms of writing (calligraphy) used to form the standard characters. Once this basic framework is mastered, almost all Chinese coins fall into one dynastic category or another, facilitating identification and collection. Some do not, however, which brings us to the subject at hand. The coins of the Ming Rebels defy this pattern, as they fall between two dynasties, overlapping both. Thus they do not fit nicely into one category or another and consequently must be treated separately. To put this into historical perspective it is necessary to know that the Ming dynasty lasted from 1368 to the year 1644 and that its successor, the Ch'ing dynasty, existed from 1644 to its overthrow in 1911. Therefore our focus is on the final days of the Ming and beginning of the Ch'ing dynasties. The Ming era was a period of remarkable accomplishment. This was a period when the arts and craftsmanship flourished. Administration and learning soared to new heights.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinax Course Notes
    Part 6: The Manchus and the Qing 23: The Qing Vision of Empire Professor Mark Elliot taught most of this section, allowing us to benefit from his personal focus on the Qing and the Manchus. Professor Bol stepped in for one week to teach The Scholars and Prosperous Suzhou, which must have been his special interest. It was one of the most fascinating weeks of the course129 and by far the toughest. Historical Overview The origins of the Qing dynasty date back to the 1630s with a peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng, a former postal official. Indeed, this may be the first recorded instance of an individual 'going postal.' 130 Li's rebellion spread through central China, drawing upon the anger of farmers, clerks, and soldiers who were devastated by, among other things, the inflation of copper currency against the silver required for tax payments.131 By the 1640s, the rebel army was moving toward Beijing. Meanwhile, the Manchus, descendents of the Jurchens of the Jin dynasty, were uniting tribal groups northeast of China, forging alliances with the eastern Mongols and raiding the Ming, all under the leadership of Nurhaci. By the late 1620s, the Ming had lost control of the northeast. Hong Taiji, Nurhaci's son and successor, re-organized and strengthened the Jin state, and in the 1630s conquered Korea, bolstering Manchu security and prestige. In 1636, Hong renamed his dynasty the Great Qing (da qing). In 1644, Li's rebels captured Beijing, leading the Ming emperor to hang himself. Shortly after that, the Ming general Wu Sangui, who was guarding the Great Wall at the Shanhai Pass, allied with the Manchus against Li Zicheng, deciding that he preferred the organized armies of the Manchus to the pillaging forces of the rebellion.
    [Show full text]
  • Tongue-Tied Taiwan: Linguistic Diversity and Imagined Identities at the Crossroads of Colonial East Asia
    Tongue-Tied Taiwan: Linguistic Diversity and Imagined Identities at the Crossroads of Colonial East Asia Yu-Chen Eathan Lai This thesis has been submitted on this day of April 15, 2018 in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for the NYU Global Liberal Studies Bachelor of Arts degree. 1 Yu-Chen Eathan Lai, “Tongue-Tied Taiwan: Linguistic Diversity and Imagined Identities at the Crossroads of Colonial East Asia,” Undergraduate Thesis, New York University, 2018. A history of repeated colonization and foreign occupation created in Taiwan a severe language gap spanning three generations, and left its people in an anxious search for the island’s “linguistic” and “national” identity. Taiwanese speakers of indigenous Austronesian languages and Chinese dialects such as Hokkien and Hakka have historically endured the imposition of two different national languages: Japanese since 1895 and Mandarin since 1945. In this project, I draw on anthropological perspectives and media analysis to understand the ideologies and symbols vested upon different languages and codes that still circulate within different media today. My research primarily investigates an autoethnographic report on a family history, several museum and gallery exhibits, as well as two different documentaries, all centered on Hokkien speakers in Taiwan. I argue that a future generation’s narrative construction of an authentic Taiwanese identity must be rooted in the island’s past and present reality of linguistic and cultural diversity. Keywords: Taiwan, Oral History, Colonial
    [Show full text]
  • Koxinga's Son Driven From, 1
    INDEX Aborigines, Taiwanese, Koxinga's Cheng Ch'eng-kung (Koxinga): as dealings with, 41, 72 hero, 1; evolution of apotheosis, Amoy, 13, 21; seizure of, 14; re­ 4-5; primary sources for life of, named, 15; Koxinga's son driven 6-11; "bare bones" of life of, from, 16; account of Koxinga's 11-17; problems in biograhy of, death in, 27; magic cannon at, 17-27; loyalty to Ming, 19-21; 38; celebrations at, 73 negotiations with Ch'ing, 22; Anti-Manchu resistance: Koxinga's plans for Taiwan, 22-23; per­ role in, 17-18, 34, 56, 71; sonal qualities of, 23-25; death Koxinga honored by present of, 25-27; as model figure, 33-35; revolutionaries of, 79, 80 popular image of, 36-43; "hero Anvil Mountain, statue of Koxinga with a thousand faces," 43-46; at, 64-65 Freudian undertones of, 46-49; Apotheosis: Confucian, 33-35; and anti-Manchu nationalism, popular, 36-43 50-56; Kuomintang use of, 63-70; Communists on, 70-74; Battles of Koxinga (Chikamatsu and Taiwan Independence, Monzaemon), 32 74-78; irony in portrayal of, 79-80; as political symbol, 80-84; Campbell, Joseph, 43-44 changed qualities of, as hero, 86 Campbell, Reverend William, 31 Cheng Ch'eng-kung chuan (Cheng Careri,]. F. G., 30 Chu-chung), 7; on Koxinga's Chan kuo fs'e (Intrigues of the War­ loyalty to the Ming, 20 ring States), 7 Cheng Ch' eng-kung chuan (Huang Chang Hsun, 82 Tsung-hsi?), 8 Chang Huan-yen, 15, 22, 86; a self­ Cheng Chih-lung (Nicholas Iquan; sacrificing martyr, 80; national father of Koxinga), 11; career of, hero, 82, 84 11-12; and the Ch'ing, 13; death Chang I-p'ing, 58
    [Show full text]
  • The Tourism Value of National Heritages in the Urban Development in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
    The tourism value of national heritages in the urban development in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan Shih-Feng Hung Graduate School of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University, No1, University Road, Tainan City, 701, Taiwan(R.O.C) e-mail: [email protected] Chao-Ching Fu Graduate School of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University, No1, University Road, Tainan City, 701, Taiwan(R.O.C) e-mail: [email protected] Abstract The heritages in a city could be considered as one of the important carriers represents urban culture. They are the media which the culture distribute and interchange, and the testimonies which recorded the historical and spatial transformation of the city in the past hundred years. They are also the witnesses of the glory and the fall of the city, and are also the witness of development process of the city. In Taiwan, cultural heritages, which had been built since almost 400 years ago and represented the different periods of the governances including Dutch, Qing Dynasty of China, and the Japanese, are preserved. Some of important cultural heritages had been designated as national heritages with its importance. While the tourism had been considered as the new trend of city development, the heritages in a city were also one of important elements of tourism. The promotion of the heritages tourism would also contribute to the competitiveness of a city. In this study, the cases in Kaohsiung City, a city full with the designated national heritages in southern part of Taiwan, would be analyzed. It will be also discussed that the tourism potential for these national heritages, and the tourism value within the development process of the city.
    [Show full text]
  • The European Discovery of China Pompeu Fabra University Barcelona
    THE EUROPEAN DISCOVERY OF CHINA POMPEU FABRA UNIVERSITY BARCELONA THE 17th CENTURY THE MING-QING TRANSITION raids, offered no significant resistance to the Manchu. It was a walkover and this enhanced the Manchu's confidence and pushed them to a serious blunder. The new dynasty ordered all its male subjects to shave their heads leaving only a patch in the back to be braided into a queue. They also had to change their dress style to conform to Manchu style, leaving aside their large tunics with broad sleeves and adopting the tight clothes of the Manchu. Probably that allowed the Manchu to distinguish at a glance the new absorbed subjects from the potentially dissident Chinese, making very difficult for anyone to change side. But this Hair and Dress Regulation infuriated the Chinese, both elites and plain people. Chinese sense of cultural superiority. The choice between losing their hair or losing their head stiffened Chinese resistance for decades. In time, the Chinese will become used to their queues but 250 years later the Chinese rebellion that toppled the Qing dynasty will begin with the public cutting of the queues. Women styles were treated with much more leniency, as is very obvious in the many images that we have of the harem ladies, where they always appear dressed in Chinese style. But Manchu women didn't bind their feet and that provided an immediate and irreversible identification of chinese women. With the north more or less pacified, the Manchu headed to the south. But so did the Ming loyalists. The emperor had hanged himself, but tens of thousands of Ming imperial princes were scattered throughout China, each of them living in a provincial palace with his women, his eunuchs and his retinue.
    [Show full text]
  • Taiwan: a History of Agonies Ong Iok-Tek1 Avanguard Publishing House, 2015
    Taiwan: A History of Agonies Ong Iok-tek1 Avanguard Publishing House, 2015 Reviewed by Aldric Hama “Taiwan belongs to the Taiwanese; the Taiwanese alone are the true masters of Taiwan.” Dr. Ong Iok-tek Following their flight to Taiwan, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang, claimed to be the legitimate government of China and made plans to eliminate the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and “recover the mainland.” At the same time, the CCP has claimed that Taiwan is an integral part of China—any “conflict” between the two is an “internal matter.” More recently, the Kuomintang, who always view themselves as mainlanders, have advocated reunification—with the condition that the CCP somehow vanishes from existence. Most Taiwanese, however, reject the idea of reunification, as they do not consider themselves mainland-Chinese and consider Taiwan a sovereign state.2 Much to the consternation of the CCP, to this date, Taiwanese sovereignty is ingrained into the Taiwanese peoples’ psyche, and not merely a byproduct of Taiwan’s political liberalization in the 1980s or waning Kuomintang social influence. The current book, Taiwan: A History of Agonies elaborates Taiwan’s past as a state independent of China and its subjugation over time by its vastly powerful neighbor. Professor Ong Iol-tek wrote Taiwan: A History of Agonies in 1964. The book was posthumously translated from the original Japanese into English and published in 2015. Born in Tainan, Taiwan in 1924, he graduated from prestigious Taihoku (modern-day Taipei) High School. Being fluent in Japanese, he continued his education at Tokyo Imperial University.
    [Show full text]
  • International Relations of Taiwan: the Republic of China in the International Setting
    FACULTAT DE TRADUCCIÓ I D’INTERPRETACIÓ GRAU D’ESTUDIS D’ÀSIA ORIENTAL TREBALL FI DE GRAU International Relations of Taiwan: the Republic of China in the International Setting Mariona Brull Carrera Tutor: Sean Golden Barcelona, June 2015 Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ 2 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3 2. Brief History of Taiwan ....................................................................................................... 4 2.1. The First Inhabitants of “Formosa” .............................................................................. 4 2.2. The First Colonizers of Taiwan .................................................................................... 5 2.3. Chinese Taiwan ............................................................................................................ 6 2.4. The Republic of China .................................................................................................. 8 2.5 The Road to Democracy ............................................................................................. 10 2.6 The New Generation ................................................................................................... 12 3. Brief Introduction to the History of International Relations in Taiwan ............................. 13 4. Analysis of the International
    [Show full text]
  • Beyond Diplomacy
    36 Vietnam and Korea in the longue durée. The Focus Negotiating tributary and colonial positions. Compared to ample studies of the history of Japan’s foreign relations with China, Korea, Ryūkyū and the Ainu people, there is little research available concerning the history of Japan’s relationships with Southeast Asia. This article provides a short sketch of Japan’s relations with Vietnam in the early modern period by focusing on international trade and diplomacy, and will hopefully serve as an initiator for further research. Junk ship from Cochinchina (Courtesy of Matsura Historical Museum) foreign trade policy, realized through these four gateway ports, not only with Korea and Ryūkyū but also with other countries such as China, Southeast Asian states and the Netherlands. Thanks to several sorts of Beyond diplomacy junk ships coming from the China Sea region, Japan successfully obtained a set of Asian commodities, such as raw silk and sugar, at Japan and Vietnam in the 17th and 18th centuries reasonable prices without sending out its own Japanese vessels to China and Southeast Asia. Ryuto Shimada Japan’s trade with Vietnam Before the establishment of Japan’s sakoku isolationist policy in the 1630s, Vietnam’s okugawa Japan (1603-1867; also exemption. This gateway was managed by trade with Japan was mainly conducted by known as the Edo period) set in motion the Governor, appointed by the Tokugawa Japanese merchants holding the so-called Ta unique systematic policy for foreign central authorities, and it was the most ‘red-sealed letters’ provided by the Tokugawa trade and diplomacy with the establishment important gateway port in terms of the scale shōgun’s central authorities.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 INTRODUCTION Accounts of Taiwan and Its History Have Been
    INTRODUCTION Accounts of Taiwan and its history have been profoundly influenced by cultural and political ideologies, which have fluctuated radically over the past four centuries on the island. Small parts of Taiwan were ruled by the Dutch (1624-1662), Spanish (1626-1642), Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga)1 and his heirs (1662-1683), and a large part by Qing Dynasty China (1683-1895). Thereafter, the whole of the island was under Japanese control for half a century (1895-1945), and after World War II, it was taken over by the Republic of China (ROC), being governed for more than four decades by the authoritarian government of Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang (KMT), or Chinese Nationalist Party,2 before democratization began in earnest in the late 1980s. Taiwan’s convoluted history and current troubled relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which claims Taiwan is “a renegade province” of the PRC, has complicated the world’s understanding of Taiwan. Many Western studies of Taiwan, primarily concerning its politics and economic development, have been conducted as an 1 Pinyin is employed in this dissertation as its Mandarin romanization system, though there are exceptions for names of places which have been officially transliterated differently, and for names of people who have been known to Western scholarship in different forms of romanization. In these cases, the more popular forms are used. All Chinese names are presented in the same order as they would appear in Chinese, surname first, given name last, unless the work is published in English, in which case the surname appears last.
    [Show full text]