A historic tomb in Pingtung County discovered during a grave relocation project earlier this year should be preserved after a cultural assets review, county officials said on Sunday.
The tomb in Changzhi Township (長治) dates to the period of the Battle of Huoshaozhuang (火燒庄戰役), which took place in 1895 as Japanese troops moved to take control of Taiwan following the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
“The relocation of graves at the Second Public Cemetery and the subsequent discovery of this tomb have drawn renewed local attention to the preservation of this historic burial site,” Changzhi Township Mayor Wu Liang-ching (吳亮慶) said.
Photo courtesy of the Dawupu Zhongyong Gong Management Committee
Wu, together with the Dawupu Zhongyong Gong Management Committee and a group of experts and academics, has called for the site to be preserved in situ and for further historical research to be conducted.
The tomb is the final resting place of more than 200 Hakka fighters who were killed during the battle. The volunteers were led by Liudui Hakka leader Chiu Feng-yang (邱鳳揚), who fought on behalf of the short-lived Republic of Formosa.
The bodies were transported by cattle cart and buried in a mass grave at the township’s Second Public Cemetery, with Chiu’s descendants later assuming responsibility for commemorative rites. A tombstone bearing the inscription “Changxing Dawupu Joint Tomb” (長興大武埔合祀靈墓) was later erected. The location of the tomb had been unknown until it was uncovered during this year’s grave relocation work.
Proposals to relocate the remains of the volunteer fighters, or to cremate and scatter their ashes, have sparked local opposition, Dawupu Zhongyong Gong Management Committee chairman Huang Chi-hsiung (黃啟雄) said, adding that the committee has submitted an application for a cultural assets review to the county government.
Committee vice chairman Chiu Chan-hsin (邱展新), a descendant of Chiu Feng-yang, said the burial site is the largest cemetery for anti-
Japanese resistance fighters in Pingtung County.
A memorial park honoring
resistance fighters from the period has already been established in the county, he said, adding that the committee is compiling historical records and materials related to the battle to “fill in the missing pieces of this historical event.”
Lee Jung-feng (李榮豐), founder of the Haqi Drum and Cultural Arts Troupe, and cultural historian Lee Tian-lung (利天龍) said the joint burial site has significant historical value due to its scale and its close ties to local Hakka culture.
“We hope the county government will recognize the importance of this site and commit to preserving it,” Wu said. “It could serve as an important place for learning about Taiwan’s history.”
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