People in Taiwan seem to have a fascination with maps, which is odd considering that a vast majority of those published in Taiwan, be they tourist or transport maps, are incorrect and impossible to comprehend.
The population might be cartographically challenged, but this doesn't stop books focusing on old maps of Taiwan from becoming bestsellers, copies of the Council for Cultural Affairs' (CCA,
And the current Taiwan in Maps (
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NATIONAL TAIWAN MUSEUMN
Taiwan in Maps is one of the largest exhibitions to be hosted by the museum in recent years, and the extensive and fascinating displays are located in exhibition halls on all three floors of the museum.
Jointly organized by the CCA and the museum, the exhibition features dozens of original maps and an equal number of reproductions and copies, along with photographs and other artifacts related to cartography in Taiwan.
While those with a whim for cartography and/or Taiwan history will have already seen some of the better-known maps on display and in various publications, there are still plenty of maps in the exhibition that will stoke the interests of anyone with an eye for geography or history.
The exhibition is well-organized and covers every conceivable topic and theme, from the earliest maps of Taiwan hand drawn by Portuguese and Spanish explorers in the 15th century to explanations of cutting-edge satellite imagery used by cartographers now.
Along with the multitude of geographic and topographic maps, there are also plenty of demographic maps on display. These include maps that plot Taiwan's indigenous peoples, the nation's economic growth, Taiwan's farming production and its transportation networks.
Although the maps are far too numerous to give a detailed account of all those on display, a couple of the most eye-catching charts include a simplified military map from 1958 showing the possible flight paths of military aircraft in the event of war with China, and a highly detailed map of Taiwan drawn by members of the Royal Geographic Society in 1864.
Taiwan in Maps is comprehensive and gives visitors insight into the history of cartography in Taiwan, but it is not without its flaws. As is all too often the case with exhibitions in Taiwan, be they at national or regional level, the lack of English-language information is big disappointment. Considering President Chen Shui-bian (
language material is in this instance best described as deplorable.
In addition to the exhibition, the museum has also published a comprehensive guidebook, which features a myriad of glossy photographs and explanations of many of the maps on display. Like the explanations that accompany the exhibits, the Taiwan in Maps guidebook is only available in Chinese.
Event Information:
What: Taiwan in Maps (
Where: National Taiwan Museum (
When: Through Sept. 18
In the next few months tough decisions will need to be made by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and their pan-blue allies in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). It will reveal just how real their alliance is with actual power at stake. Party founder Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) faced these tough questions, which we explored in part one of this series, “Ko Wen-je, the KMT’s prickly ally,” (Aug. 16, page 12). Ko was open to cooperation, but on his terms. He openly fretted about being “swallowed up” by the KMT, and was keenly aware of the experience of the People’s First Party
Aug. 25 to Aug. 31 Although Mr. Lin (林) had been married to his Japanese wife for a decade, their union was never legally recognized — and even their daughter was officially deemed illegitimate. During the first half of Japanese rule in Taiwan, only marriages between Japanese men and Taiwanese women were valid, unless the Taiwanese husband formally joined a Japanese household. In 1920, Lin took his frustrations directly to the Ministry of Home Affairs: “Since Japan took possession of Taiwan, we have obeyed the government’s directives and committed ourselves to breaking old Qing-era customs. Yet ... our marriages remain unrecognized,
Not long into Mistress Dispeller, a quietly jaw-dropping new documentary from director Elizabeth Lo, the film’s eponymous character lays out her thesis for ridding marriages of troublesome extra lovers. “When someone becomes a mistress,” she says, “it’s because they feel they don’t deserve complete love. She’s the one who needs our help the most.” Wang Zhenxi, a mistress dispeller based in north-central China’s Henan province, is one of a growing number of self-styled professionals who earn a living by intervening in people’s marriages — to “dispel” them of intruders. “I was looking for a love story set in China,” says Lo,
During the Metal Ages, prior to the arrival of the Dutch and Chinese, a great shift took place in indigenous material culture. Glass and agate beads, introduced after 400BC, completely replaced Taiwanese nephrite (jade) as the ornamental materials of choice, anthropologist Liu Jiun-Yu (劉俊昱) of the University of Washington wrote in a 2023 article. He added of the island’s modern indigenous peoples: “They are the descendants of prehistoric Formosans but have no nephrite-using cultures.” Moderns squint at that dynamic era of trade and cultural change through the mutually supporting lenses of later settler-colonialism and imperial power, which treated the indigenous as