Taiwan's Frontier Border
Transcript of Taiwan's Frontier Border
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Savage Border
The guard line along Taiwan’s aboriginal
territory under Liu Ming-chuan and Kodama
Gentaro: 1884-1906
Author: Tim Hogan
Date: November 24, 2008
Course: Taiwanese History
Instructor: Professor Chou Whei-ming
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Research questions
• What was the guard line?• What was its purpose?• How did it function?
• How effective was it?
• Methodology – Focus my examination of the
guard line in one particular area,northern Taiwan, and over twodifferent periods of time, the first,from 1884 to1891, and thesecond from 1898-1906
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Rationale for methodology
• Northern Taiwan – Chinese settlement occurred relatively later than in parts of central and southern
Taiwan – The camphor industry played a key role in the economy in the north – The unpacified indigenous groups living in the north, particularly the Atayal, were
considered among the “fiercest” of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, thus the border
was a greater imperative in this area than farther south• 1884-1891 and 1898-1906
– The first period spans the administration of Taiwan by Liu Ming-chuan, an officialof the Qing Court
– The second encompasses the years that Kodama Gentaro served as theGovernor-general of Formosa (Taiwan) during the Japanese colonialadministration of the island
• Advantages – Illuminates the guard line’s significance during both the Chinese and Japanese
administrations of Taiwan – Facilitates an evaluation of the effectiveness of the border policies
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Liu Ming-chuan
• Military career – Exposure to western weapons and
military tactics
• Assignment to Taiwan – Oust the French from Keelung
• Challenges faced – Reform the government – Increase public revenue
• Key figures in administration – Liu Ao (relieved of duties as tao-
tai)
– Lin Ch’ao-tung / Lin Wei-yuan(headed Pacification andReclamation offices)
– Shao Yu-lien (Assistant andsuccessor)
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Kodama Gentaro
• Military career – Exposure to western weapons
and military tactics
• Assignment to Taiwan
– Take over administration• Challenges faced
– Put down rebel uprisings – Reform administration
– Develop economy• Key figure in administration
– Goto Shinpei
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The guard line under Liu
• 1884
– Limited coverage and
fragmented
– Poor coordination of public
and private forces
– Personnel lacking, untrained,
undependable
• Developments – Reforming the guards men
into regional militias• Ai-ting to ai-yung
• Tun-ting to fan-yung
– Encouraging developmentalong the frontier
– Extending/advancing the line
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Factors influencing
Liu’s border policy• Economy
– Camphor production unstable due toattacks on camphor workers
• 1881: 2,000,000 pounds• 1885: 399 pounds• 1890: 1,000,000 pounds• 1891: 2,000,000 pounds
• Public safety – Camphor workers needed protection from
aborigines
• Public financing – Limited finances for guarding the border – Priority given to other development
projects• Administration – Comprehensive land reform – System of land use fees and tax farming
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Advancing the guard line under Liu
• Extend control into aborigines’ territory• More than forty campaigns in total• Often led by Liu personally• Many defeats
– 1889 campaign in Ilan
• death of 273 soldiers, including Liu’s nephew – Total of one-third of all troops injured or killedduring Liu’s administration
• Used best troops, cannons, rockets, land mines,modern warships – No match for aborigines’
• Spirit of resistance
• Fighting ability• Crude but effective village defenses• Blamed “Chinese scoundrels” for inciting the aborigines
in the border regions – May have simply been that Liu was unable to give
enough personal attention to the issue due to thewide range of projects he oversaw
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Liu’s 1891 Departure
• Liu’s request for retirement over health concernsapproved by Court
• Criticized by Qing Court for various problems withadministration, especially the railroad and the coalindustry
• Liu’s vice-governor Shao Yu-lien becomes governor • Border guard system collapses to pre-Liu state
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The guard line under Kodama
• 1898 – Defensive – Incomplete – Poorly sited
– Understaffed – Offering sanctuary to
rebel groups
• Developments
– Extending the line – Building guard houses – Reforming the guards men – Centralizing administration – Restricting access
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Factors influencing
Kodama’s border policy
• Economy – Introduction of Camphor monopoly in 1899 – Guarantee supply of camphor
• Public safety – Protect camphor workers from attack
– Restrict trade in weapons and ammunition – Chinese rebel groups escaping into
aboriginal territory – Chinese inciting aborigines to rebel against
Japanese – Aborigines reacting against oppressive
Japanese policies
• Public finance – Sufficient financial support for activities
• Administration – Centralization of government, especially
the police
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Transforming the
camphor economy• Changed “Bureau of Pacification and Reclamation” to
Office of Pacification and Reclamation – Abolished the General Bureau of Camphor
Affairs• Issued “Regulations for the Managementof
Government Forests and the Camphor Industry” in1895 – All mountain forests and wastelands become
property of the state unless Qing-era recordscan be produced – No camphor production without Qing permits – Gradual implementation of laws
• Taiwan Camphor Bureau and state monopolyestablished in 1899 – Camphor offices established in camphor districts – Support price levels to encourage investment
– Improved refinement methods – Buying stations to ensure quality – Existing permits discontinued – Phasing out of mountain fees to aborigines
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The Nan-zhuang Incident in 1902
• Termination of mountain fees byJapanese camphor businessmen
• Appearance of survey markers onreclaimed land
• Attack on guard posts and camphor stills led by Ri Aguai (ethnic Chineseleader of aboriginal group)
• Army campaign to capture Ri and hisfollowers
• The guard line became an offensivestrategy to oust Ri from his mountainrefuge
• Chinese and aborigines hostile to Rito man the guard line
• Ri and group submits to police, mostexecuted, Ri escapes
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Policies toward aborigines
• Gradual development – Primarily used with the aborigines
in the south – Sharing of seeds and agriculture
implements – Building of schools
– Encouraging migration outside theborder
– Trade in game, forest products for salt and other necessities (noweapons or ammunition
• Pacification
– Especially against northerngroups – Withholding of barter opportunities – Restriction of communication – Military campaigns
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Details of 1904 campaign
• Connecting guard line in southeastern TaipeiCounty with line in I-lan
• Length: 33 miles• Time required: 99 days; July to November
1904• Labor requirements
– 7 inspectors – 8 asst. inspectors
– 90 policemen – 9 asst. policemen – 600 guardsmen – 1 interpreter – 112 workmen – 109 porters – 35 aborigine laborers
• Cost: 51,474 yen
• Buildings constructed – 6 superintendent stations – 54 branch superintendent stations – 193 guard houses
• Casualties: 2 wounded guardsmen• (Bureau of Aboriginal Affairs 1911)
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Advancing the guard line
• Conciliatory advancement of the guard line – Negotiating with aborigines
– Moving forward unopposed
• Aggressive advancement of the border – Surveying a route
– Using mountain ridges or streams
– Bombard strategic locations – Proceed by force of arms
• 1903-1908: over 70advancements
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Kodama’s Departure
• Appointed to lead Japanesearmy in the Russo-JapaneseWar in 1904, died of a cerebralhemorrhage in 1907
• Succeeded as Governor-general by Sakuma Samata,who participated in the 1874expedition to Taiwan and tooka much firmer policy with theaborigines
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Evaluating guard line policy
• Liu put a lower priority onthe guard line than Kodamadid, thus was less effectivein managing the frontier
• Kodama was moresystematic in developing
the guard line, centralizingauthority with the police
• Both integrated the guardline into overall policygoals, but Kodama did thismore effectively
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Later development of the guard line
• Comprehensive network of police stations throughoutaborigine territory
• Resettlement of manyaborigines in lowland villages
• Maintenance of restrictedaccess to aborigine territory
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Contemporary significance
of the guard line• Almost invisible
– Few physical remains – Rarely noted in signage – Often in remote, rugged terrain
• Distant memory for most – Few people with direct experience
alive – Part of a painful history
• Incorporated into administrativeborders – Township and county borders
overlaid
• Insight into the social forces and
political policies that shaped modernTaiwan – Influenced cultural identity – Supported the creation of
“reservations” inhabited byaborigines
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Bibliography
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Image Credits
• Vintage Formosa http://taipics.com/
• Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
• Taiwan History http://members.shaw.ca/leksu/index.htm
• The Takao Club http://www.takaoclub.com/index.htm
• Formosa (Reed College)http://academic.reed.edu/formosa/formosa_index_page/Formosa_index.h
• Formosasavage on flicker.com• http://flickr.com/photos/formosasavage/sets/72157603878677140/
• Findtarget• http://reference.findtarget.com/search/Qing%20Dynasty/