Ep. 316 | The History of Taiwan (Part 7)

Taiwan's history continues into the 1930s during the period of Japanese rule. We pick up where we left off last time in 1930. In Part 7 we'll take the history all the way to the end of WWII and the defeat of Japan. We'll look at several of the events of the 1930s such as The Taiwan Exposition, the Kōminka Movement, Taiwan's role in the war, and what happened when it was all over.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/TermChineseEnglish/Meaning
Táinán台南Located on the southwest coast of Taiwan, this is where the earliest recorded history began with the arrival of the Dutch in 1624. Tainan was where the Dutch built Fort Provintia and Fort Zeelandia
Míng明朝The Ming Dynasty 1368-1644
Qīng清朝Last imperial dynasty of China 1644-1912
Taipei (Taihoku)台北Called Taihoku City in Japanese, Taipei is located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about 25 km (16 mi) southwest of the northern port city of Keelung. Most of the city rests on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed. The basin is bounded by the relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border
Běitóu北投The northernmost of the twelve districts of Taipei City, Taiwan, famous for its hot springs
Dàdàochéng大稻城It was also known as Twatutia (a transliteration of the Taiwanese Hokkien Tōa-tiū-tiâⁿ),Daitōtei during Japanese rule, and Tataocheng during the Kuomintang era. Dadaocheng was an important trading port in the 19th century, and is still a major historical tourist attraction and shopping area. The district is known for the local Taiwanese cuisine
Emperor Hirohito昭和天皇1901-1989, Emperor Showa, commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name Hirohito (裕仁). The 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989
Nakagawa Kenzō中川健藏1875-1944, Japanese bureaucrat and political figure. Served as governor general of Taiwan 1932-1936
1935 Shinchiku-Taichū EarthquakeThis quake occurred with a Richter magnitude of 7.1 (7.0 Mw) in April 1935 with its epicenter in Taizhong, Taiwan (Shinchiku Prefecture). It was the deadliest earthquake in Taiwan's recorded history, claiming 3,276 lives and causing extensive damage. Twelve seconds after the mainshock, an aftershock of ML 6.0 occurred, centered on Gabi Village (present-day Emei Township, Hsinchu County).
Táizhōng台中City on the west coast of Taiwan that also served as the provincial capital
Xīnzhú (Taichū)新竹City on the northwest coast of Taiwan
Éméi Township峨眉乡A rural township in Hsinchu
huángmínhuà皇民化The Kōminka Movement, "Kōminka" literally means "to make people subjects of the emperor". There were three components. First, the "national language movement," Second, the "name changing program" Third was the "volunteers' system" drafted Taiwanese subjects into the Imperial Japanese Army and encouraged them to die in the service of the emperor
Hokkien福建In the Minnan dialect, the people, language and culture of southern Fujian
Hakka客家A Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhejiang, Hainan, Guizhou in China, as well as in parts of Taiwan. Unlike other Han Chinese subgroups, the Hakkas are not named after a geographical region in China. The word Hakka or "guest families" is Cantonese in origin and originally refers to the Northern Chinese refugees fleeing social unrest, upheaval and invasions in northern parts of China who migrated to the south.
Kobayashi Seizō小林 躋造1877-1962, was a Japanese naval commander, commander of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (1931–1933) and the 17th Governor-General of Taiwan (1936–1940)
Kamidana神棚These were little mini-Shinto alters placed in a person's home
Kokugo国语the national Japanese language (Guóyǔ in Chinese)
Kaiseimei 改姓名(Gǎixìngmíng) officially replacing one’s Chinese name with a Japanese name
Gāoshā Yìyǒngduì高砂义勇队The Takasago Volunteers
Jīlóng基隆Officially known as Keelung City. It's a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Taipei City and Taipei.
Ruìfāng District瑞芳区suburban district in eastern New Taipei City, Taiwan
Jīnguāshí金瓜石Kinkaseki POW Camp
Gāoxióng高雄The city of Kaohsiung on the southwest coast of Taiwan
Yílán宜兰县A county in northeastern Taiwan, just southeast of Taipei
Zhōngshān Hall中山堂a historical building which originally functioned as the Taipei (Taihoku) City Public Auditorium. It is located at 98 Yanping South Road in the Ximending neighborhood of Zhongzheng District, Taipei
Ando Rikichi安藤 利吉1884-1946, was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and 19th and final Japanese Governor-General of Taiwan from 30 December 1944 to October 1945.
Haiphong海防a major industrial city in Vietnam. Hai Phong is also the center of technology, economy, culture, medicine, education, science and trade in the Red River delta.
Chén Yí陈仪 / 陳儀1883-1950, was the chief executive and garrison commander of Taiwan Province after Japan surrendered. He acted on behalf of the Allied Powers to accept the Japanese Instrument of Surrender in Taipei Zhongshan Hall on October 25, 1945. He is considered to have mismanaged the tension between the Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese
Zhèjiāng浙江A coastal province in Eastern China, south of Jiangsu and north of Fujian
Fujian福建A coastal province in Eastern China, south of Zhejiang and east of Guangdong
Táiwān Dìwèi Wèidìng Lùn台湾地位未定论the Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan
Nánshā Islands南沙群島The Spratly Island Chain in the South China Sea
Xīshā Islands西沙群岛The Paracel Island Chain in the South China Sea
Pénghú澎湖Also popularly known as the Pescadores Islands. This is an archipeligo of 90 islands in the Taiwan Strait covering an area of 141 square km. The largest city is Magong
Xiàmén厦门Major city in southern Fujian, also known as Amoy
Zhāngzhōu漳州City on the southern coast of Fujian
Quánzhōu泉州City in southern Fujian adjacent to Xiamen
Méi County梅县Méi County in Eastern Guangdong. The center of Hakka Culture in China
Guǎngdōng广东Province in southern China
Shàoxīng绍兴City in Zhejiang Province

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Ep. 317 | The History of Taiwan (Part 8)

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Ep. 315 | The History of Taiwan (Part 6)