Taiwan cypress plaques bearing the names and addresses of now-deceased individuals stored in antiques collector Hsiao Shang-pi’s (蕭上筆) warehouse could have served to distinguish status among Taiwanese during the Japanese colonial era.
Hsiao, an experienced collector with a sizeable collection, said he obtained the plaques when he began dabbling in the industry.
“I did not know what they were, as the plaques only had the names and addresses of people who are now deceased,” Hsiao said.
Many years later when he was purchasing a deceased estate in Yunlin County’s Sihu Township (四湖) he saw the same type of plaque in a house.
Hsiao said he asked the family of the deceased what the plaque was for and what it meant, and a family member said: “It is an identification plaque.”
Hsiao said he has visited many families nationwide to purchase deceased estates, but not every family has had such plaques and they are usually found among the belongings of families with distinct status in a township, such as landowners or successful families.
Hsiao said he refers to the plaques as the “plaques of the dead.”
Hsiao has surmised that the plaques were made to emulate the Japanese style.
People who owned the plaques were thought to be well off, and it is possible they had visited Japan and had them made as a form of social distinction, Hsiao said.
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