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Listening to the World Locally – The Homecoming Tour of Taiwanese Musicians
Listening to the World Locally – The Homecoming Tour of Taiwanese Musicians

Publication date: 20 Aug 2024
Author: Lee Yi-ling, Wang Li-Chiao | Staff member at the Archives of Institute of Taiwan History

Ninety years ago, in August 1934, a group of young Taiwanese musicians embarked on the first Western music concert tour in Taiwan’s history. The Homecoming Concert Tour began with great fanfare during the scorching summer of the South Island, kicking off at the Taipei Medical School Auditorium. With a packed itinerary, the tour traveled southward, stopping at public assembly halls in Hsinchu, Taichung, Changhua, Chiayi, and Tainan, before culminating in a final performance at the Kaohsiung Youth Hall. Despite the demanding schedule, the musicians delivered exquisite piano melodies and harmonies to audiences across Taiwan, sparking widespread acclaim.

This article focuses on Taiwan’s first “Homecoming Concert Tour,” which was rapidly organized in just over a month. The program primarily featured Western musical compositions. During the scorching summer of the South Island, this grand musical feast unfolded with enthusiasm, traveling from north to south with seven performances. It offered audiences across Taiwan an auditory delight, broadened their horizons, and brought Western music closer to the local population. This tour marked the beginning of Taiwan’s musical diversity and led to Taiwan’s music being recognized on the Olympic stage, where Taiwanese music shone brightly on the global scene.

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The Taiwan Shinminpo News Special – Opening of Hualien Port, 1939
The Taiwan Shinminpo News Special – Opening of Hualien Port, 1939

Publication date: 11 Oct 2023
Author: Chu Fengchung, Kawashima Naoko |Staff member at the Archives of Institute of Taiwan History

The Taiwan Shinminpo and its related newspaper series were the only newspapers published by the Taiwanese during the Japanese colonial era. Compared with the official stance of Taiwan Nichi Nichi Shinpo (Taiwan Daily News), the contents of The Taiwan Shinminpo represented the voice of the Taiwanese. The many and diverse issues covered sparked multi-faceted topics for further exploration.

The Taiwan Minpao Among the contents, in-depth special reports on places, events and people are very important historical materials for studies on family histories and local regions. The Institute of Taiwan History has collected almost a hundred local news specials, covering topics such as economy and industry, infrastructure, cultural history, and school education. The issues presented include banana production and industrial economic trends, major infrastructure completion and current political situation, upgrade of towns and villages, rail service resumption and local development. The Taiwan Shinminpo carried what might not be described or documented in regular publications, such as local cultural characteristics and industrial histories, which were precious records for understanding our homeland.

With the reference to the news special “Commemorative Special on Opening of Hualien Port” published in The Taiwan Shinminpo on October 1-2, 1939 and other archival collections of Institute of Taiwan History, this article focuses on the completion and opening of Hualien Port in 1939, detailing the construction process and its impact during the Japanese colonial era.
Development of Hualien under Early Japanese Rule ›

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