| dc.description.abstract | This thesis is written in Hakka in its entirety and is in accordance with the National Central University Executive Master Program of Hakka Studies Graduation Requirements. The book is an edited version from my thesis, which is comprised of two parts. Part one is the research rationale, and part two is the creative writing in Hakka.
The thesis centers on the conflicts around water in the history: Inspired by the breeze, substantiated by the water, and centered on the reflections on the history.
During the Chin Dynasty, the Han Chinese people who had migrated to Taoyuan followed the migration and land domestication route roughly from Dayuan coast to inland tableland, even to Takoham river’s watershed. However, due to the lack of irrigation water in the tableland, conflicts for securing irrigation water were common despite the artificial ponds that were set up to tackle this problem. Large scale water battles broke out in the Long Shu Keng area and Li Zi Xi Kan area. It was not until the Shihmen Reservoir was built had the irrigation problems been solved. However, the building of the Shihmen Reservoir resulted in forced relocation of roughly 3,000 residents. The ancestors of these residents spent centuries to move from the coast to the hills, but then the residents were then forced to moved back to the coasts, where the lands were barren and people left in despair. Therefore, my ethnography follows the water to highlight the interconnectedness of history of immigration and land cultivation, irrigation development, armed conflicts, immigration policies, Hakka culture, language evolution, and Hokkien-speaking Hakka phenomenon.
The Central University Lake, also known as the Old Hillside Pond, happens to locate in the middle of all the locations investigated in the study. Sitting by the side of the lake with breeze blowing from the present and water running from the past, I cannot help but ponder on the sentimental history that calls for introspection. Hence, the publication is fittingly titled “The breeze from the Old Hillside Pond.”
The findings of the ethnography were presented in 13 literary genres in Hakka language, including novel, youth literature, poetry, folklore, prose, non-fiction novel. The chapters are arranged from emotional to rational, from fictitious to factual to contemplate historical scars and social issues. | en_US |