In the Japanese era, roads in Keelung were called “ding.” After World War II ended, roads were named after the “eight virtues,” namely zhong (loyalty), xiao (filial piety), ren (benevolence), ai (love), xin (honesty), yi (righteousness), he (peace) and ping (equality). Roads that were named after love ranged from Ai First Road to Ai Ninth Road, and roads named after righteousness ranged from Yi First Road to Yi Tenth Road.
However, Keelung’s Renai District today only has Ai Seventh Road and Ai Ninth Road but no Ai Eighth Road, because it has been replaced by Lau-ming-thuan Road. There is no Yi Eighth Road either, because it was replaced by Zhongxing Road. Huang Jen-hsiang, a man in his eighties and a retired director-general of the department of social affairs of the Keelung City Government, recounted the history and revealed the secret when he took part in the city government’s 70th anniversary of establishment on Nov. 3.
As it turns out, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) fled to Taiwan in 1949, it was particularly sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Eighth Route Army and so ordered that Keelung must not have any “eighth road.” As a consequence, on May 1950, Ai Eighth Road was renamed to Lau-ming-thuan Road, while Yi Eighth Road was renamed to Zhongxing Road. The young generation today think it is odd it, but they do not know the history.
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Liberty Times
照片： 自由時報記者盧賢秀攝
Huang said that he started working in the Keelung City Government in 1962. He then heard senior colleagues say that the director of the department of civil affairs at the time, surnamed Lin, who was in charge of naming the roads, was given a demerit and was transferred because of it, which they thought was really unfair.
Li Cheng-jen, a Keelung historian, said he heard older people say “Ai Eighth Road” quite frequently; even after it was renamed, they were still used to call it that by that name. However, not only roads should avoid being having the word “eighth” in their name, there also could not be any bus route no 8. (Liberty Times, translated by Ethan Zhan)
基隆市街道日治時代都稱「町」，二次戰後，街道才改名，以「八德」的忠、孝、仁、愛、信、義、和、平來命名。其中愛字路從愛一路編到愛九路，義字路則從義一路編到義十路。
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者盧賢秀攝
但是現在仁愛區只有愛七路、愛九路，沒有愛八路，因為被改成劉銘傳路；也沒有義八路，因為被改成中興路。年屆八旬的基隆市政府退休社會處長黃仁祥十一月三日參加基隆市政府七十周年府慶時「講古」揭密。
原來民國三十八年時國民黨退守台灣，對中國共產黨「八路軍」很敏感，要求基隆不能有「八路」，於是民國三十九年五月愛八路就改為劉銘傳路，義八路就改為中興路。現代年輕人只覺得很奇怪，卻不知有這段歷史。
黃仁祥說，他民國五十一年到基隆市政府工作，還聽市府前輩說，承辦編定路名的民政課林姓股長，還因此被記過調職，市府的前輩為他抱不平。
基隆文史工作者李正仁說，常聽長輩說「愛八路」，即使改名之後，還是習慣稱愛八路。然而，不僅路名避用「八路」，連公車也不能有「八路」。
（自由時報記者盧賢秀／基隆報導）
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