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Propagating Political Views to the Public – From New People’s Society to The Taiwan Shinminpo
Propagating Political Views to the Public – From New People’s Society to The Taiwan Shinminpo

Publication date: 29 Oct 2021
Author: Lee Yi-ling, Hsieh Min-ro |Staff member of the Archives of Institute of Taiwan History

Yang Zhao-jia, one of the leading figures of the New Cultural Movement in Taiwan under Japanese rule, once said, “Newspaper and parliament are the two major driving forces for the promotion of civilization and social development.” Hence, the two core missions of the Taiwanese Cultural Association were running a newspaper and petitioning for the establishment of a Taiwanese parliament, which embodied their stand of unarmed resistance against colonial racism and had far-reaching impact on the enlightenment of Taiwan’s national consciousness.
2021 marked the centenary of the founding of the Taiwanese Cultural Association. In commemoration, the Archives organized a feature exhibition on The Taiwan Shinminpo, the only private Taiwanese-run newspaper during the Japanese colonial era. Selected collections of historical materials including personal documents, image data, diaries and passports were displayed and reviewed to illustrate that The Taiwan Shinminpo served to awaken and enlighten the people, boost national morale and propagate their political views to the public. Echoing the founding goal of the Taiwanese Cultural Association, The Taiwan Shinminpo opened a new page for Taiwanese to strive for democracy and freedom with a foothold in Taiwan and eyes looking at the world!

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II. Merchant Guilds in Lugang

A Brief History of Lugang

In 1784, the Qing government allowed a trade route to be formed between Lugang and Quanzhou. Since Lugang is nearer to China’s shore, it became a prosperous port city and rapidly developed. Quan Guild, a trade organization that mainly conducted business with Quanzhou, had more than one hundred members at its peak. However, Lugang fell into decline due to sedimentation and the fact that the longitudinal railway built by the Japanese colonial government did not stop there.

鹿港不見天街
鹿港不見天街
Figure 6: A street called “Bu jian tian” (pedestrian can’t see the sky because roofs are too tight) in Lugang.
Source: Identifier: A0167_00_00, Taiwan Rare Book Collections

A Brief Journey through Lugang

Although Lugang was no longer prosperous, many of its precious historic buildings have been preserved due to the city’s economic position in history. As the second official open port, it also left abundant historical materials created by companies in the city.

Take the Hsu family in Lugang as an example. This family came from Quanzhou, Fujian during the Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty. Hsu Zhi-hu (1841-1901) was part of the first generation to settle down in Niuxutou, Lugang. Niuxutou was a center for agricultural products such as “Lugang rice.” In the 1870s, Hsu Zhi-hu conducted rice trading and managed Qian-he hao and Chun-cheng hao. At the beginning of Japanese colonization in 1895, the Hsu family temporarily evacuated to Quanzhou. In 1897, the year that Taiwanese had to decide their nationality, Hsu Zhi-hu went back to Taiwan to continue his business. In the early colonial period, Qian-he hao had become one of the six largest companies in Lugang. Its business partners distributed throughout Taipei, Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Xiamen.

1896年11月17日，泉州東益號給鹿港春盛號貨單和貨批
Figure 7: The transaction list sent from Dong-yi hao to Chun-cheng hao on November 17, 1896.
Source: Identifier: T0366D0302_03_0002, Hsu Zhi-hu Family Papers in Lugang, Taiwan Archival Information System
1896年乙未割臺之際，泉州許經烟給鹿港母親黃井的家書
Figure 8: The letter sent from Hsu Jing-yan, who lived in Quanzhou, to his mother Huang Jing, who lived in Lugang, in 1896.
Source: Identifier: T0366D0302_01_0014, Hsu Zhi-hu Family Papers in Lugang, Taiwan Archival Information System
1896年8月3日，順發號給謙和號的碼子單
Figure 9: The transaction list sent from Shun-fa hao to Chun-cheng hao on August 3, 1896.
Source: Identifier: T0366D0302_03_0013, Hsu Zhi-hu Family Papers in Lugang, Taiwan Archival Information System
 
‹ I. Tainanfu: The Qing Official to Tainan up III. Merchant Guilds in Bangkah ›

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