| dc.description.abstract | Learning from Taiwan: A Discussion on the Field Observation of Taiwan in Japanese Colonial Period Made by Chinese Government Officials and Civilians
Abstract
In the Japanese Colonial Period, many Chinese government officials, intellectuals, and agricultural school teachers and students composed numerous “Reports on the Field Trips in Taiwan” and “Taiwan Travel Notes” to manifest what they had learned from their field trips in
Taiwan. According to their writings, their field trips focused on the modernized establishments such as economic achievements made in the Japanese Colonial Period. Their
writings also revealed their observations and comments on the tangible measures taken by the Government of Taiwan in the exclusive trade in opium, police affairs, and colonial education. Moreover, the fieldworkers had composed various poems and essays while they were in
Taiwan, revealed their historical and cultural emotion as they witnessed the rise and fall of their nation. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze Chinese government officials and civilians’ understanding, impression, and evaluations of Taiwan in Japanese Colonial Period based on the fieldworkers’ Taiwan experience and their reflections on China’s reforms.
This paper comprises three chapters in addition to the introduction and conclusions. In Chapter 1, the cause of the field trips was analyzed with a brief introduction of the fieldworkers’ writings and the summary of various writings, using tables to categorize the highlights of field trips, to examine the relationship between fieldworkers and their activities, and to study the modernized establishments observed by the fieldworkers. Chapter 2 focused on the modernized establishments such as health and medical service, education and culture,
infrastructure, agricultural research institutes, iconic industries such as rice and sugar, produceiii
exhibitions and large exhibitions related to economic development so as to discuss the modernized industries observed by the fieldworkers and to examine the fieldworkers’ reflections on the current situations in China. In Chapter 3, the author discussed the image of
colonial ruling which was constructed by the fieldworkers’ writings along with the fieldworkers’ recollections of historical events and cultural exchange which were revealed through their field trips. Last but not least, fieldworkers’ overall evaluation of Taiwan under Japanese domination and their reflection on China were summarized, followed by the analysis and discussion of their field trips in Taiwan along with the positive significance and epochal limitations of their writings.
Keywords: Reports on the Field Trips in Taiwan, Taiwan Travel Notes, Modernization, Colonial Domination, Cultural Emotions | en_US |