National Taiwan Museum – The Sands of Time

There’s another museum in Taipei – yes, Taipei is not just the National Palace Museum – that focus on the history of the island of Formosa. National Museum of Taiwan is often overlooked, but it’s worth some time to understand the history of this fascinating island.

Imprints of Time 時代印記

Thought this corridor of time, the visitor is brought through the major periods of Taiwan history of occupation by foreign powers, starting with the Dutch East India Company.

Dutch East India Company 荷蘭東印度公司 (1624-1662)

Taiwan played an important role in the Age of Exploration in the 17th century. The Dutch established a fort and settlement at Fort Zeelandia in 1624. During the seventeenth century, when Europeans from many countries sailed to Asia to develop trade, Formosa became one of East Asia’s most important transit sites, and Fort Zeelandia an international business center. On behalf of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), ships departed from Formosa and headed north to Japan, west to Fujian, or south to Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Iran or Europe.

The Colour Painting of Fort Zeelandia 熱蘭遮城彩繪圖

Watercolour, 1936, Johannes Vingboons

In the 17th century there were at least four versions of this painting in circulation; the one shown in this exhibition is a replica made by the Taiwan Governor-General’s Office Museum in 1936 of the watercolour version by the 17th-century painter Johannes Vingboons.

Completed in 1634, Fort Zeelandia 熱蘭遮城 was the centre of Dutch colonial rule in Taiwan in the 17 century. A solid fortress, it was located on Taiyuan Island 大員島 which was a busy international trading port and prosperous political and mercantile settlement. In the heyday of Dutch rule in the 1640s, Fort Zeelandia and Taiyuan Island best reflected the prosperity of the era.

The golden age of the Dutch colony is perfectly captured in The Colour Painting of Fort Zeelandia. In it we see the Dutch administrative district 熱蘭遮城 and Chinese quarter 臺灣市鎮 on Taiyuan Island as if from a bird’s-eye viewpoint over the main island of Taiwan. The names of important places are marked in Dutch, showing that the depiction was based on local data.

The Sinkang Manuscript Price List 新港文書物價表

In the 17th century, missionaries of the Dutch East India Company in Taiwan used the Roman alphabet to teach the local Pingpu people 平埔族 to write their own language for missionary and administrative purposes, and this marks the first time that a language of Taiwan was set down in writing. As a result, traditional Pingpu documents written in Romanisation appeared.

These documents were later called Sinkang Manuscripts「新港文書」, referring to their earliest origin, Sinkang Village 新港社 in Tainan. The document here is not a contract but a list of the groceries and prices. It may be a written reminder about the prices of the groceries required by a Pingpu villager for a banquet in the 10th year of the Jiaqing reign (1805).

Kingdom of Tungning (1662–1683)

On 30 April 1661, General Zheng Chenggong 鄭成功 (known to the rest of the world as “Koxinga” 國姓爺) of Ming China (1368-1644) laid siege to the fortress (defended by 2,000 Dutch soldiers) with 400 warships and 25,000 men. After nine months and the loss of 1,600 Dutch lives, the Dutch surrendered on 1 February 1662, when it became clear that no reinforcements were forthcoming from Batavia (present day Jakarta) and when the defenders ran short of fresh water.

The Portrait of Koxinga donated to the museum by the descendants of Zheng 鄭成功畫像

Under the Koxinga-Dutch Treaty (1662) signed on 1 February between Koxinga and Frederick Coyett, the Dutch governor, the Dutch surrendered the Fortress and left all goods and VOC property behind. In return, all officials, soldiers and civilians were free to leave with their personal belongings and supplies. On 9 February, Frederick Coyett officially surrendered the fort and led the remaining Dutch forces and civilians back to Batavia by sea, ending 38 years of Dutch colonial rule on Taiwan.

Qing Dynasty (1683–1895)

The Qing dynasty (1636-1912) sent an army led by general Shi Lang 施琅 and defeated the Ming loyalist Kingdom of Tungning in 1683. Taiwan was then formally annexed in April 1684.

The Leisure Painting of Prime Headman Dunzi 潘敦仔行樂圖

Ink and Colour on Paper, 12th year of Qianlong (1797), 200 x 90.3 cm

This picture depicts Dunzi 潘敦仔, the third generation chief of Anli Tribe 岸裡社, riding an oxcart in the countryside. With his upper body naked and white cloth wrapped around his waist, he sat on deerskin under a tree, enjoying himself drinking and smoking. The Anli Tribe was originally a small community, but during the 18 century, it was recruited by the Qing government and contributed troops to quell many local riots. Its reputation grew, and the third generation chief Dunzi excelled by becoming the general leader of the nine Anli villages. Later, the hereditary Pan family became established.

While lacking the tasteful elegance often the traditional elegance of the Chinese painting, this work nevertheless delicately conveys the bold and unrestrained nature of Dunzi as the leading prime headman of central Taiwan during the Qing Dynasty

The Qing dynasty extended its control of Taiwan across the western coast of Taiwan, the western plains, and northeastern Taiwan over the 18th and 19th centuries. The Qing government did not pursue an active colonisation policy and restricted Han migration to Taiwan for the majority of its rule out of fear of rebellion and conflict with the Taiwanese indigenous peoples.

The Kangxi Taiwan Map  康熙臺灣輿圖

National Taiwan Museum has collected four versions of the Kangxi Taiwan Map. The original version of the Qing Dynasty showing the southern region was too damaged to be restored. The exhibition displays the digitally reconstructed version of 2016 (Digital/Dream Reconstruction Version (ver. D) ), which is based on the original version of the Qing Dynasty, with reference to two replicas of the Japanese Period. It may be the closest version to the original to date.

Han migrants were barred from settling on indigenous land and markers were used to delineate the boundaries of settled areas and mountain dwelling aborigines. Despite Qing restrictions, settlers continued to enter Taiwan and push the boundaries of indigenous territory, resulting in the expansion of Qing borders in Taiwan to encompass all of the western plains and northeastern Taiwan.

The lack of state sponsored colonial administration led to frequent rebellions by Han settlers in Taiwan. By the end of Qing rule in 1895, Taiwan’s ethnic Han population had increased by over two million with some estimates at over three million, making them the majority demographic on the island.

Painting of Lin Tianmu’s Tour to Taiwan 林天木臺灣巡行圖

Replica 仿製品 2021年9月製作

The Qing Dynasty establish imperial inspector institution 巡臺御史 in the 60th year of the Kangxi reign (1721) to supervise the administration of Taiwan. This long-scroll historical painting in ink and colour depicts the tour of inspection of Taiwan made by Lin Tianmu 林天木, the Emperor’s Inspector in Charge of Taiwan, in the 12 year of the Yongzheng reign (1734). This painting is a copy by Japanese painter Hiroshi Katase at Lin Tianmu’s hometown: Tuojiang, Guangdong in 1924.

The Taiwan Chronicle Woodblocks 高拱乾《臺灣府志》木刻板

Wood, 1695 (康熙34年)

On December 5, 1905, a fire broke out in the Civil Affairs Department of the Governor-General’s Office in Taipei. The fire quickly engulfed several warehouses and specimen rooms. Unfortunately, the original set of woodblocks of the Taiwan Chronicle 《臺灣府志》, supervised by Gao Gongchian 高拱乾 in the 34th year of Kangxi reign (1695) that were formerly preserved in the Tainan Confucian Temple were also burned. Only two remained, which survived as the sole original woodblocks for this history book. It was Taiwan’s first woodblock printing and had profound influence on the style and compilation of Taiwan local chronicles in the Qing Dynasty.

The Rising Sun 旭日初昇

On 30 August 1872, Sukenori Kabayama, a general of the Imperial Japanese Army, urged the Japanese government to invade Taiwan’s tribal areas. In September, Japan dethroned the king of Ryukyu 琉球. On 9 October, Kabayama was ordered to conduct a survey in Taiwan. In 1873, Tanemomi Soejima was sent to communicate to the Qing court that if it did not extend its rule to the entirety of Taiwan, punish murderers, pay victims’ families’ compensation, and refused to talk about the matter, Japan would take care of the matter.

Butan Incident 牡丹社事件

In May 1874, Japan sent troops to Taiwan on the grounds that a group of drifting Ryukyu fishermen had been killed by local indigenous people. The Japanese army, led by Jyuudou Saigou, landed on the Hengchun Peninsula, and battled at Shihmen 石門 with members of the Paiwan Tribe 排灣族 from Butan Village 牡丹社. Meanwhile, the Japanese conducted diplomatic negotiations with the Qing government, and in September the two sides signed a contract, acknowledging the legitimacy of the Japanese warfare. The Qing paid the Japanese military expenses, while Japan withdrew its troops from Taiwan. History has set down these events as the Butan Incident.

The 53rd Japanese Protection Flag Distributed to Friendly Tribes during The Butan Incident 牡丹社事件「蕃社保護旗第53號」

This protection flag was awarded to a chief of the Paiwan Tribe who provided Saigou with labor and building materials when the army was stationed at Fenggang Village 楓港社.

Bulletin on “The French Betray the Alliance” Issued by the Superintendent of Taiwan Liu Ao, 1884 《背盟無端挑衅曉諭》

During the Sino-Franco War 清法戰爭 (1884-1885), the French invaded Taiwan during the Keelung Campaign in 1884. The Chinese had already been aware of French plans to attack Taiwan and sent Liu Mingchuan 劉銘傳, the governor of Fujian, to strengthen Taiwan’s defenses on 16 July. On 5 August 1884, Sébastien Lespès bombarded Keelung’s harbour and destroyed the gun placements. The next day, the French attempted to take Keelung but failed to defeat the larger Chinese force led by Liu Mingchuan and were forced to withdraw to their ships. The war ended with an epidemic outbreak in the French camp, and a weak Qing government agreeing to stop the war and “compensate for losses.”

Republic of Taiwan 臺灣民主國 (1895)

As part of the settlement for losing the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing empire ceded the islands of Taiwan and Penghu to Japan on April 17, 1895, according to the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki 馬關條約. The loss of Taiwan would become a rallying point for the Chinese nationalist movement in the years that followed.

“The 1895 Yellow Tiger Flag of the Republic of Formosa” Digital Reconstruction 2012「1895年臺灣民主國藍地黃虎旗」2012 數位重建版

In an effort to induce intervention from the world powers, member of the Taiwanese gentry and officials conspired to establish Republic of Taiwan 臺灣民主國, and announced independence on May 23. On the 25th, members of the gentry delivered the seal and national flag – also known as the Yellow-Tiger Flag – to the Governor’s Office. Tang Ching-Sung 唐景崧, the former Governor, then became the first President. Since the Republic of Taiwan was only a political manoeuvre to stop the cession of Taiwan to Japan, it dispersed in defeat not long after the Japanese landed in Taiwan. The Republic lasted only five months, the Japanese occupied Taiwan and sent the flag to Japan.

Japanese Colonial Period (1895–1945)

The period of Japanese rule in Taiwan has been divided into three periods under according to policies: military suppression (1895–1915), dōka (同化): assimilation (1915–37), and kōminka (皇民化): Japanization (1937–45). 

Seal of Taiwan’s Governor-General and the Announcement of Japanese Rule of Taiwan 大日本帝國臺灣總督之印與領臺告示

Japanese colonial policy sought to strictly segregate the Japanese and Taiwanese population until 1922. Taiwanese students who moved to Japan for their studies were able to associate more freely with Japanese and took to Japanese ways more readily than their island counterparts. However full assimilation was rare.

Shinpei Goto and the Anti-Footbinding Painting 後藤新平《解纏足紀念畫》

In the early Japanese Period, reforming the foot-binding custom of women in Taiwan became an important social issue. In 1900, the gentry of Taiwan established the Taipei Natural Feet Society to promote the Anti-Footbinding Movement for women, emphasising that women’s footbinding was an obstacle to Taiwan’s progress and women should maintain natural feet. movement.

Silver Tableware used by Crown Prince Hirohito 裕仁皇太子「行啟紀念物」銀製餐具組

Taiwan gyoukei (Japanese: 台湾行啓／たいわんぎょうけい) was the comparative name given to the visit of Taiwan by Crown Prince Hirohito 裕仁皇太子 (who later became Emperor Showa) in April 1923. He was under the invitation of the Taiwan Governor-General Den Kenjiro 田健治郎, to emphasise the rule of Japan on the colony, as the world was in a wave decolonisation after the wend of WWI.

After full-scale war with China in 1937, the “kōminka” (1937–45) imperial Japanisation project was implemented to ensure the Taiwanese would remain subjects of the Japanese Emperor rather than support a Chinese victory. The kōminka movement was generally unsuccessful and few Taiwanese became “true Japanese” due to the short time period and large population. In terms of acculturation under controlled circumstances, it can be considered relatively effective.

Republic of China (1945-?)

After defeat of Japan in WWII, and the control of Taiwan was handed over to Republic of China, which is primarily the Kuomintang-led government in Mainland China. The people of Taiwan welcomed a new regime even though they were not consulted about their future. The circumstances of this handover remained the main contention for the pro-independence movements in modern-day Taiwan. Especially among the survivors and descendants of the 228 Incident, the ROC take over of Taiwan under Kuomintang was not legit because technically, ROC has never “owned” Taiwan.

Pens That Signed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty 簽訂中美共同防禦條約用筆

After the Korean War ended in 1953, the USA established a mutual defence mechanism in East Asia with Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asian countries. On December 2, 1954, Foreign Minister George Kung-chao Yeh and US Secretary of State John Dulles signed the “Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty” at the US Department of State in Washington, D.C. On March 3, 1955, the treaty, with ten articles in both traditional Chinese and English, was exchanged at Zhongshan auditorium in Taipei and came into effect.

The original treaty is kept at the National Palace Museum. This treaty was annulled after the recognition of PRC and ROC’s exiting the UN, and the USA established the “Taiwan Relations Act” in the late 1970s.

The blood Flag or Anti-Communist Heroes Dy the 10 Team of Task Group 1 反共義士第一支隊第十大隊全體呈獻之血旗

90 X 133cm

The Korean War of 1950-53 marked the start of the conflict between democracy and Communism after World War II. China sent troops across the Yalu River to assist North Korea. The Nationalist Government in Taiwan did not participate in the war, but tried to persuade Chinese Communist prisoners of war to defect through international propaganda.

After the war, the first batch of Chinese prisoners ( the “anti-communist heroes” ) came to Taiwan on August 19, 1953. The largest group of “anti-communist heroes” arrived on January 23, 1954, and took part in the Prisoner Release Ceremony, witnessed by Taiwan, South Korea and the United States. This movement of “anti-communist heroes defecting to freedom” revived the low-spirited Nationalist Government. This movement was later commemorated with the establishment of “123 Freedom Day” (January 23).

During their imprisonment in the War, these “anti-communist heroes” wrote many letters and made many flags, signing them with blood to show their loyalty to Taiwan. In 1954, blood letters and flags totaling over 600 items were donated to the National Taiwan Museum by the Free China Relief Association and Friends of the Armed Forces Association.

History of the island is still being written today, being the only fully democratic territory with in the greater Chinese region. The people of Taiwan today are multi-racial, tolerant, and open – a great departure from the almost homogeneous culture across the straits. The paths of the two regimes are walking further apart. We can only pray for peace in these times of turmoil.

Visited Sep 2023

About National Taiwan Museum

National Taiwan Museum 國立臺灣博物館, established in 1908, is the oldest museum in Taiwan. The Japanese government wanted to commemorate the opening of the west coast railway and so established the Taiwan Governor Museum 「臺灣總督府民政部殖產局附屬博物館」on October 24, 1908. At its opening, there were more than 10,000 pieces of collections in the museum.

In 1913, funds were collected to build the Governor-General Kodama Gentaro and Chief Civil Administrator Goto Shinpei Memorial Museum at current site in 228 Peace Memorial Park. In 1915, after two years of construction, the museum was completed. It is one of the most noteworthy public buildings in Taiwan.

From the colonial-era Taiwan Governor Museum to the National Taiwan Museum today, the building has witnessed the history of Taiwan and also recorded the natural and anthropological development of this land. The collection and research continue to focus on the research of anthropology, earth sciences, zoology, and botany. Today, the museum is divided 4 separate buildings spread across Taipei covering different topics of Taiwanese history.

• Main Building – Located in the 228 Peace Memorial Park 228 和平紀念公園, this building houses the permanent collections of taxidermy that are left behind from the colonial days, as well as special exhibitions of local history.
• Natural History Branch – Located opposite the Main Building in the former Taiwan Land Bank 臺灣土地銀行, this Natural History Branch focuses on Palentology and history of the original occupiers of the building. The admission ticket for the Main Building covers this exhibition too.
• Nanmen Branch – Located in the camphor factory of the Monopoly Bureau 專賣局舊樟腦工廠, it is part of the historical monument reuse program which combines the historical architecture with the museum exhibitions.
• Railway Department Park – Located onn the site of the former Railway Department of the Transportation Administration 台灣總督府交通局鐵道部, features exhibitions on Taiwan’s railway history.

Two more branches are planned to be opened in the near future that would cover the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and old Mitsui Bussan Company building.

The museum has witnessed Taiwan’s history and recorded its natural and humanitarian developments. Through this window, one may catch a glimpse of Taiwan’s evolution with regard to the fields of earth sciences, humanitarian developments, zoology, and botany.