Yu's records offer an abundance of first hand information. In fact, these diaries reflect the multicultural characteristics of early Taiwan. Other primary records of the seventeenth century are limited to those of conquerors and administrators, such as the Dutch and the Ching dynasty officials. The Zhengs left very little behind in the way of records.
Although Yu traveled to Taiwan on assignment, he was not an official, and his book is the observation of a compassionate literati rather than a government report. Yu expresses the injustice done to the Aborigines, even if he cannot escape the prejudices of his time. Yet the problem of how to study the Aborigines so called "uncivilized" ways is something contemporary scholars are still grappling with, and we cannot place too high an expectation on Yu.
Yu's diaries have a sort of eclectic discussion of events past, and although Keliher follows Yu's narrative and historical commentary,?Out of China ?is not a simple translation. Keliher uses Yu's diaries as a base to construct a history of Taiwan in the seventeenth century. Here we can read of Koxinga, Shi Lang (施郎), the Ching empire and Taiwan's historical development, as well as the Dutch and the Spanish, of whom Yu knew very little.
Although The Small Sea Travel Records is fascinating for the adventure tale alone, the dangers of the island are perhaps overstated. After years of Dutch, Spanish and Zheng family repression and exploitation, Taiwan was not exactly a hostile hell. The feeling Yu gives of a horrible and savage land is perhaps a bit overdone. Keliher has been able to compensate by drawing on other source materials, making the record more historical.
The text of the original diary is not easy to wade through nor understand, but Keliher's translation and treatment of it is quite suitable. He has handled its subtly and preserved its meaning. His reorganization and value-added history has created a unique picture of seventeenth-century Taiwan. His historical insights and exploration of other source materials draws out the content of Yu's narrative, making Out of China a must read for Taiwanese wanting to know their own history or for foreigners hoping to understand it.
Tu Cheng-sheng (
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