台灣幸福百事 "100 Fortunate Things in Taiwan"

The following list/timeline was taken from "100 Fortunate Things in Taiwan" 台灣幸福百事.  This book was written by Chen Rao-jin 陳柔縉, and was published by Jiou Jing 究竟 in 2011.

This book does not include an entry for every year of Taiwan's long history.  Even so, I think it offers a more fun and interesting take on how modern Taiwan came to be.*

 台灣幸福百事 "100 Fortunate Things in Taiwan"

1874 - Taiwan's first Western wedding.  The ceremony was performed by Reverend Mackay 馬偕牧師, for whom the hospitals are named.

1891 - Taiwan's first railway began operating.  At this time there were six stations, all in north Taiwan.

1895 - Taiwan's first court of law was established during the interim period between Ching 清 sovereignty and the Japanese occupation.

1896 - Taiwan's first billiards competition.  This game was brought to Taiwan by the Japanese.

1897 - Taiwan's first coffee shop opened in Taipei.

1898 - Taiwan's first phone network established.  The first assigned number, "1," was for the Taipei County Hall  台北縣廳.

1899 - Taiwan's first city park was created in Yuan Shan 圓山 in Taipei. 

1900 - The first four bicycles arrived in Taipei.

1901 - Taiwan's first public library opened in Danshui 淡水.

1902 - An X-ray machine was used for the first time in Taiwan.

1905 - Red bean bread was sold for the first time in Taiwan.  Prior to this it had become very popular in Japan.

1906 - Electric fans became available for the first time.

1908 - Taiwan's first Western-style hotel, the Taiwan Railway Hotel 台灣鐵道旅館 opened its doors.  This hotel sold its own brand of cola, and was equipped with one of Taiwan's first elevators.  It was located where the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi 新光三越 department store now stands, right across from the Taipei Main Station 台北車站.

1910 - Shortbread cakes 長崎蛋糕 were sold in Taiwan for the first time.

1911 - Some of Taiwan's first graduates from foreign (Japanese) universities returned from abroad.

1912 - The first automobile arrived in Taiwan.

1913 - The first switchboard was used in Taiwan.  At that time, there were only 999 phone numbers in all of Taipei.

1914 - A group of Hakka singers were taken to Tokyo, and several traditional songs were recorded.  This was the first time Taiwanese music was put on record.

1915 - Taiwan produced its first vending machine.

1916 - Two British doctors brought the sport of soccer into Taiwan for the first time, and thereafter several teams were established.

1918 - The first golf course was built in Danshui 淡水.

1921 - Taiwan got its first swimming pool, located in a Taipei Y.M.C.A.

1922 - Hospitals in Taiwan began using a new "car style" 汽車式 ambulance.

1923 - The first underground pedestrian tunnel was completed in Ba Du Station 八堵火車站.

1924 - The first driving school was opened in Taichung 台中.

1925 - The first motion picture (V8) cameras appeared on the market.

1926 - The first electric refrigerators were sold.

1927 - Taiwan's first horse racing track was opened in Taipei.

1929 - Mickey Mouse began appearing on Taiwanese products.  His likeness even appeared on a local beer!

1930 - The first neon signs began appearing on storefronts.

1931 - The first ballrooms were opened.

1932 - Taiwan's first department store opened in Taipei.

1933 - A building in Taipei was the first to use air-conditioning.

1935 - Taiwan held its first election, in which representatives of many cities, townships, and villages were elected.

1935 - The first televisions were sold.

1936 - The first airplane tickets were sold.

1946 - Automobiles were required by law to keep to the right side of the road.

1947 - The first I.D. card was issued.

1957 - The Taiwan Sugar Corporation 台糖 became the first Taiwanese company to buy a computer.  The computer purchased was an IBM 1400, which was the size of a (very) large refrigerator and had less computing power than your cell phone.

1958 - The first crosswalk appeared in Taipei.

1959 - The first escalator was installed in Da Shin Department Store 大新百貨 in Kaohsiung 高雄. 

1962 - The first cooking show appeared on Taiwanese television.

1964 - The Jung Shan Freeway 中山高速公路 was opened to traffic.

1967 - A cable car began operation in Wulai 烏來.

1968 - Taiwanese companies began producing instant noodles.  The Wei Li 維力 Company was the first on the market.

1969 - The first supermarket opened.

1973 - Taiwanese credit card companies began issuing credit cards.

1977 -  The Youth Convenience Store 青年商店, Taiwan's first convenience store, opened in Taipei.  Taiwan's first 7-11 would open not long after.  You can still visit this 7-11 on Chang An East Road 長安東路 First Section 一段 Lane 53 (53巷) in Taipei City.

1984 - McDonald's came to Taiwan.  You can still visit Taiwan's first McDonald's on Min Sheng East Road 民生東路 Section 3 三段 in Taipei.

1996 - Taipei's first MRT line began operation.

2007 - Taiwan's High Speed Rail (HSR) 高鐵 began operation.

2016 - I thumb my way through a copy of "100 Fortunate Things in Taiwan," and type all of the above.  Now it's history! 

*I didn't include ALL of the 100 "Fortunate Things" from this book.  What you see above is about half of them.

"Conventional Industries" (3)

For a (weird) introduction to this topic, refer to "Conventional Industries" (1).

This will be the last of the "Conventional Industries" entries, as the Mining and Crafts sections bring me to the end of the book.


IV. Mining 礦業

Mining isn't that significant in the overall history of Taiwan.  Taiwan is a very small country, its geography doesn't vary that much, and the groups that migrated here never put much importance on mining.  In the earliest times it was either fishing or farming, a little later it was lumber, and later still came the crafts for which Taiwan is justifiably famous.  Large-scale mining arrives relatively late in Taiwan's history, and has never been important to the island's economy.*

   A. A History of Taiwanese Coal 煤礦

      1. Most of Taiwan's exploited coal fields lie in a band that stretches from Jhunan 竹南 in Miaoli County 苗栗縣 to Keelung 基隆.  There are unexploited coal reserves south of Jhunan, along the west coastal plain.

      2. Coal was used by prehistoric peoples to smelt iron.  There are records of the Spanish trading with Taiwanese aborigines for coal in the early 1600s.

      3. In the 1870s, during the Ching Dynasty 清朝, there were over 90 coal mines in north Taiwan.  Despite superstitions regarding mining, the Ching court later allowed British engineers to modernize some of these mines, and to make them more profitable.

      4. Transport of coal was improved by development of the railways under the Japanese Imperial Administration.

      5. Coal production in Taiwan reached its peak in 1964.  Thereafter the cost of importing petroleum adversely affected the market, and the use of coal declined.

      6. The implementation of new safety regulations in 1984 was a further blow to the industry, as most coal mines were by that time antiquated and badly managed.

      7. Taiwan's last coal mine closed in 2001.

   B. The Story of Taiwanese Gold

      1. Europeans came looking for gold in Taiwan as early as the 1500s.

      2. The gold deposits in Jiou Fen 九份 were discovered in 1894.

      3. Gold mining on a large scale wasn't begun until Taiwan was under Japanese Imperial administration.  The gold mine they set up in Jiou Fen was operated until 1987 by the Taiwan Gold Company 台灣金屬業公司, long after the Japanese had lost possession of Taiwan. 

      4. The town of Ruei Fang 瑞芳 in New Taipei City owes much of its existence to the Jiou Fen gold mine and the miners who worked there.

   C. A Tour of Mining Areas

      1. Many of the old gold mines can still be visited, and even explored to some degree.  Jiou Fen is of course the easiest to reach.  Most of the other mines are in very remote areas.

      2. There is a gold museum 黃金博物館 in Ruei Fang, New Taipei City.

   D. The History of the Taiwanese Salt Industry 鹽業

      1. Just after its establishment, the Dutch colony in Tainan 台南imported salt.  Later a salt mine was opened, but the salt from this mine was very bitter, and not very profitable.

      2. Koxinga 鄭成功 and his successors strove to improve Taiwan's salt supply after the Ching court 清廷 imposed an embargo on all exports to Taiwan.  The discovery and excavation of new salt mines in the 1600s was part of this strategy.  The Yan Cheng ("salt repository") district 鹽程區 in Kaohsiung City 高雄市 had its own salt mine during this time.

      3. Even after the colonial era, Japan remained one of the biggest importers of Taiwanese salt.

      4. In 1967 Taiwan ceased exporting salt, and thereafter the industry went into decline.  Facing increasing competition from imports, Taiwan's last salt mine shut down in 2002.

      5. There is a salt museum 台灣鹽業博物館 in Chi Gu 七股, Tainan County 台南縣.**

V. Crafts 工藝

   A. Ceramics/Pottery 陶瓷

      1. Ceramics is a complex subject, and several areas within Taiwan specialize in their own types of ceramics.  Going into all the different types of ceramics and how they are produced would take up a lot of space, and to be honest I'm not up to the task right now.  Those interested in Taiwanese ceramics would probably do well to start at the ceramics museum in Yingge 鶯歌陶瓷博物館, New Taipei City.

   B. Metalwork 金工工藝

      1. Tainan 台南, Jia Yi 嘉義, and Lu Gang 鹿港 all have long traditions of fashioning gold into both ceremonial objects and jewelry.  Many of these traditions were brought here during the Ching Dynasty.

      2. Shr Lin 士林, in Taipei City, produces the "Shr Lin Knife" 士林名刀, which dates back to 1870.

      3. Knives have both practical and symbolic functions within many Taiwanese aboriginal cultures.  Tong Men Village 銅門村, located in Shiou Lin Township 秀林鄉, Hualien County 花蓮縣 produces a distinctive knife used by aboriginals.

   C. Glasswork 玻璃產業

      1. Hsinchu 新竹 was an important glass production center between 1961 and 1981.  They made a lot of Christmas lights for Western markets. 

      2. The Paiwan tribe 排灣族 is known for the glass beads it still produces.

      3. There is a glass museum 玻璃工藝館 in Hsinchu.***

   D. Basketry and Weaving 編織工藝

      1. Methods of making baskets on the west coast of Taiwan predate Chinese settlement of those areas.  Da Jia 大甲, Yuan Li 苑裡, and Tong Shiao 通霄 in central Taiwan all have traditions of basketry that can be traced back to the "plains aborigines" 平埔族 and the Kas tribe 卡斯族.

      2. Many other Taiwanese aboriginal tribes have their own traditions of basketry and weaving.

      3. Examples of local basketry can be viewed in the bamboo products museum 竹藝博物館, located in Jhushan 竹山, Nantou County 南投縣.

   E. Other Crafts

      1. Da Shi 大溪 in Taoyuan 桃園 has a tradition of furniture making.  San Yi 三義 in Taichung 台中 is known for wood carving.  Tainan has a tradition of temple painting.  Meinong 美濃 in Kaohsiung is known for its paper umbrellas.  Other places are known for other things - cloth stitching, drums, or even blankets.  But most of these "other things" are so obscure that you'd have a hard time finding them, much less finding the place they came from!

And this, my friends, brings to an end my discussion of "Conventional Industries."  Hoped you learned something?  I know I did!

*In the book there follows a long list of Taiwan's mineral resources.  I was tempted to include it here, but I'm not sure how widely these resources are exploited.  The sections of the book included here discuss minerals I have read or heard about, and minerals that seemed more relevant to the history of Taiwan. 

For that matter, what about concrete?  Is concrete "mined"?  Might be worth looking into.  It's a big industry in Taiwan, where all the houses are made it!

**I've been to this museum.  It's really not worth visiting.

***This is not in the "Conventional Industries" book, but I I used to live down the street from it!

"Conventional Industries" (2)

For a (weird) introduction to this topic, refer to Conventional Industries (1).

This section is about fishing and aquaculture, which is - as you might imagine - a huge industry in Taiwan.  Many Taiwanese people eat fish, many Taiwanese people catch fish, and both fishing and aquaculture have a long history in Taiwan. 

III. Fishing 漁業

For this section I also consulted Taiwan's Fishing Industry 台灣的漁業 and Taiwan's Aquaculture Industry 台灣的養殖漁業, both written by Hu Shing-hua 胡興華 and part of Walker Cultural's 遠足文化 Taiwan Geographical Encyclopedia 台灣地理百科.

      1. Waters around Taiwan provide habitat for 2500 species of invertebrate, 300 species of crab, 270 species of shrimp, and 2600 species of fish.

      2. Six types of fishing are done in Taiwan.  These are: (a) coastal 沿岸, (b) offshore 近海, (c) deep sea 遠洋, (d) ocean aquaculture 海面養殖, (e) inland aquaculture 內陸養殖, and inland fishing 內陸漁撈.  The last of these, inland fishing, is of little economic importance.

         a. Coastal fishing is defined as either fishing done within 12 nautical miles 浬 of shore, or as the distance a boat can travel to and from port in a single day.

         b. Offshore fishing is defined as fishing done between 12 and 200 nautical miles from shore.

         c. Deep sea fishing is defined as fishing done more than 200 nautical miles from shore.  This is Taiwan's most important type of fishing, and accounts for 46% of the total catch.

         d. Taiwan's ocean aquaculture can be divided into two types: shallow and deep.  The shallow type is done in the intertidal zone, and primarily involves the production of oysters and clams.  The deep type is done beyond the low-water line (or mark)*, and tends to involve fish raised in cages.

         e. Inland aquaculture can be divided into the freshwater and saltwater types.  This type of "fishing" accounts for 31% of the total catch.  Eels and shrimp are often the product of freshwater aquaculture, while milkfish 虱目魚 is the most commonly seen product of the saltwater type.

   A. Fishing Tools/Equipment 漁業器具
    
      1. Deep sea fishing wasn't an important industry until after the government built Kaohsiung's Chien Jen Port 高雄前鎮漁港 in 1967.  

      2. Commonly seen fishing methods/equipment include: single boat trawling 單船拖網, "tent netting" 叉手網, "stone fish weirs" 石滬, gillnetting 流刺網, individual fishing/angling 一支釣, longline fishing 延繩釣, "coral cutting" 摃灘, "hand dredging" 耙網, seine netting 低竿網, drift netting 巾著網, pair trawling 雙船拖網, swordfish spearfishing 鏢旗魚, and squid fishing 魷釣.**

   B. Fishing Ports 漁港

I also discussed this topic in the Fishing Ports of Taiwan entry.
 
      1. There are four types of fishing port in Taiwan, defined by size and number of facilities/services.  The first type is the best, and includes Kaohsiung's Chien Jen Port 高雄前鎮漁港, Keelung City's Ba Dou Dze Port 基隆市八斗子漁港, Yilan County's Nan Fang Ao Port 宜蘭縣南方澳漁港, and Penghu County's Magong Port 澎湖縣馬公漁港.  Most ports in Taiwan are of the second, third, and fourth types.

   C. Aquaculture in Taiwan 養殖魚

      1. Aquaculture has been practiced in Taiwan for over 300 years, since the Dutch founded a colony in Tainan 台南.

      2. During the Japanese Imperial Administration, before deep sea fishing was viable, aquaculture accounted for as much as 40% of Taiwan's total catch.

      3. Taiwan's "aquaculture revolution" from 1961 onwards had an enormous effect on aquaculture in Southeast Asia and Mainland China.  During this revolution, new fertilization techniques were discovered, and new species of fish were cultivated.

   D. How the Mullet 烏魚 Attracted the Chinese to Taiwan

      1. Fisherman from Mainland China first came to Taiwan's main island from Penghu 澎湖.  At that time, they were drawn here by the spawning cycle of the mullet 烏魚, which migrates from south to north Taiwan (and back again) around the winter solstice.  Eventually these fishermen settled down in Taiwan to take better advantage of the catch.

      2. After 1976, it became possible to farm mullet, and this type of aquaculture steadily diminished the percentage of mullet caught offshore.

   E. Southern Taiwan's Household Fish - The Milkfish 虱目魚

      1. The milkfish is Taiwan's most-farmed fish.  Cultivation of this fish began in An Ping District 安平區, Tainan 台南, and from there spread outward to other parts of Taiwan.

      2. Taiwan was the first country to develop a method for milkfish reproduction within aquaculture pools.  This was one of the big events marking the "aquaculture revolution" from 1971 onwards.  Before this development, those raising milkfish were dependent on eggs harvested from the wild.

      3. The "growing season" for milkfish in Taiwan begins around April and ends in October.  The milkfish are very sensitive to changes in temperature, and if the temperature drops below 8 Celsius they begin to die.  For this reason they are not raised during the coldest months.

      4. There are two methods of raising milkfish.  The traditional, or "shallow flat" method 淺坪式, and the "deep water" method 深水式, which relies upon more artificial feed and machinery.  The "deep water" method produces a larger catch, but is more expensive to do.

   F. Shrimp 蝦

      1. Farmers in Taiwan primarily raise four kinds of shrimp.  These are: the grass shrimp 草蝦, prawns 斑節蝦, the Pacific white shrimp白蝦,***, and the "freshwater long-armed shrimp" 淡水長臂蝦 or "Thailand shrimp" 泰國蝦.

      2. Some varieties of shrimp are even more sensitive to temperature changes, so they are not cultivated year-round.

   G. Abalone, Clams, and Oysters 貝養殖

      1. Chinese people have been raising shellfish since the Neolithic.

      2. Shellfish grow best in estuaries, and river pollution has forced many former shellfish farmers into inland aquaculture.

      3. Abalone 九孔 is a shellfish primarily grown on Taiwan's east coast.  It can be raised inland in pools.

   H. The Beginning of Squid Fishing Under Japanese Rule

      1. In 1913 the Governor of Taiwan 台灣總督府 sent an expeditionary crew to fish for squid in north Taiwan.  This expedition proved that the squid fishery could be profitable.

      2. Until the Second World War disrupted fishing, crews working under the Japanese Imperial Government from 1932 onwards left ports in Kaohsiung 高雄地區 to fish for squid in the Philippines, Malaysia, and New Guinea.

      3. Squid are caught using a the 美式圍網 "American fence" method, developed in the U.S.  A net is suspended between a larger boat and a smaller boat, and the smaller boat steers a circular path from one end of the larger boat to the other.  The squid are thus trapped within the net.  This is also done with three boats - one large and two small, with the two smaller boats pulling different nets and steering in half circles.

      4. Taiwanese squid boats ply the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, and more than 1000 Taiwanese fishing craft are engaged in the squid fishing industry.  It's a HUGE business, employing thousands.

   I. Squid and Other Cephalopods 頭足 as Seafood

      1. Squid fishing began in earnest in the 1970s.  Before that point, most squid consumed in Taiwan were imported.  One of the most important fishing grounds for Taiwanese squid boats is the area between Argentina and the Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic.

   J. Coral "Fishing"/Harvesting 珊瑚漁業

I also wrote about this topic in the Coral entry.

      1. Coral sculpture came to Taiwan from Japan in the 1920s.  The art of coral sculpture reached a high point in the early 1980s, and has declined since then.  Taiwan was once referred to as "The Coral Kingdom" 珊瑚王國.****

      2. Coral is dredged from the ocean floor using long nets.  8-12 people man each coral boat, using a netting method first developed in the Philippines.*****

   K. Whale Hunting in Taiwan

      1. Taiwan's first (known) whale hunt was attempted off the coast of south Taiwan in 1920, again under the direction of the Governor of Taiwan, who was working under the Japanese.  They used both Norwegian boats and a method of whale hunting done in Norway.

      2. World War Two brought an end to large scale whale hunting in Taiwan, though it was revived on a smaller scale after the Kuomintang took over.  In 1981, the Department of Economics 經濟部, in part due to pressure from the Americans, declared whale hunting illegal.******

      3. In 1990 whales were declared a "protected species" 保育動物, and in 1996 the first whale watching society was established.

*This "low-water line" (or "low-water mark") can also be defined as a distance of 12 nautical miles from a country's coastline.  As the boundary of the intertidal zone, it is the dividing line between coastal and ocean waters.

**I was unable to find adequate English terms for the types of fishing in quotation marks.  The "tent netting" listed is done with a tent-shaped net that is held in the hands.  "Stone fish weirs" are the rock structures commonly seen in pictures of Penghu 澎湖.  "Coral cutting" is now illegal in Taiwan.  It involved dredging up a piece of coral and removing the shellfish from it.  "Hand dredging" involves a kind of metal scoop operated manually.  "Fishing Techniques" is a HUGE topic, and English speakers who want more info should probably start with the Wikipedia article.

***I'm assuming it's the Pacific white shrimp, since this makes sense geographically.  There are several kinds of white shrimp! 

****By whom?  The book doesn't say! 

*****[Dear Government of Taiwan: coral dredging should be illegal.  I don't care what kind of restrictions you THINK are being enforced, or what kind of "quotas" you think the coral companies are observing!]

******The Chinese here says: "公告禁止捕鯨" which I translated as "declared whale hunting illegal."  "Restricted" would be a better translation of "禁止," especially since we are talking about the Department of Economics, and not a law enforcement agency.  But what would it matter if the Department of Economics "restricted" something?  What powers of enforcement does it have?  Since I don't know the ins and outs of this particular part of the Taiwanese government, I found it less confusing to translate "禁止" as "declared illegal."

"Conventional Industries" (1)

I was thinking about translating another article from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Conventional Industries (一看就懂台灣博覽), but then I started to think that a) I probably don't have enough time to do it, and b) it would probably bore you.

Of course I realize that some of the things that interest me about Taiwan are completely boring to other people.  Take that article about Taiwan's pineapple industry, for instance.  I seriously thought it was fascinating, but when I talked to friends and coworkers about it all I got were comments like "Wow, that's really boring," or "Great, but I'm not interested in that."

So yeah, I know my interest in agriculture, metallurgy, and other local industries isn't everyone's cup of tea.  It's not even most people's cup of tea.  Oh, and while we're on the subject of tea, I read this other article... 

But no, I won't go there.  At least not today.  Discussions of where tea is grown, how tea leaves are processed, and the Taiwanese tea market can await another time.  As for today, let me just offer some facts that I thought were interesting from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Conventional Industries.

I. Agriculture 農業

   A. Rice 稻米

      1. There is a "Rice Agriculture Museum" 大甲稻米產業文化館 in Da Jia District 大甲區, Taichung City 台中市.

      2. Because farmers of organic rice do not use pesticides, ducks are often used to protect the rice plants from harmful insects.

   B. Tea 茶

      1. The first tea plants grown in Taiwan were brought over from Fujian Province 福建省, in Mainland China.

      2. The earliest records of tea production in Taiwan date back to the 1700s, in Nantou 南投.

      3. Areas with a temperature range between 16 and 22 C, and with a yearly rainfall between 2000 and 2500 cc are ideal for growing tea.

      4. There is a Tea Museum 坪林茶業博物館 in Pinglin, not far from one of the Makong Gondola 貓空纜車 stops. 

   C. Pineapple 鳳梨

      1. Jang Ching-jin 張清勤, a farmer in Jiayi County 嘉義縣, is known as "The Father of Fresh Pineapples" 台灣鮮食鳳梨之父 for his contributions to Taiwan's pineapple industry.

      2. There are 11 types of pineapple commonly seen in Taiwan.

   D. Tobacco 菸

      1. Tobacco was introduced to Taiwan over 400 years ago, during the Ming Dynasty, though it wasn't harvested on a large scale until the 1800s.

      2. Japanese efforts to cultivate tobacco on the east coast of Taiwan were part of their strategy to settle the area.

      3. The domestic market for Taiwanese tobacco shrank dramatically after Taiwan ratified the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1987.

      4. Before the GATT deluged the domestic market with cheaper American cigarettes, Hualien 花蓮, Pingtung 屏東, Taichung 台中, Jiayi 嘉義, and Yilan 宜蘭 were prominent tobacco-producing areas.

   E. Coffee 咖啡

      1. It was the Japanese who first introduced coffee to Taiwan.  It was first grown in Hengchun 恆春, where the "Hengchun Tropical Garden" 恆春熱帶植物園 now stands.

      2. Following the liberation of Taiwan from Japanese occupation, coffee was first cultivated in Pingtung 屏東 and Taitung 台東 Counties.  It was later introduced to other areas. 

      3. The opening of the Gu Keng Instant Coffee 古坑咖啡 plant in Yunlin County 雲林縣 was a major impetus for the expansion of Taiwan's coffee industry.

     4. In 2003 the Yunlin County Government 雲林縣政府 and Janfusan Fancy World 劍湖山世界 began sponsoring the Taiwan Coffee Festival 台灣咖啡節 in that part of Taiwan.

   F. Sugar 糖

      1. The "red" variety of sugar cane was also brought to Taiwan by the Japanese.  In this case the seeds were imported from New Guinea.  The "white" variety of sugar cane was present in Taiwan much earlier.

      2. Sugar was a major industry during the Japanese occupation, and well into the early years of the Chinese Republic.  The development of sugar refineries in many parts of Taiwan also spurred the development of the rail system on the west coast.

      3. The Taiwan Sugar Corporation 台灣糖業公司 (台糖) , was heir to the system of plantations, refineries, and transport that the Japanese created.  It remains a major business interest on the island.

      4. Many of the old sugar refineries built by the Japanese are now run as tourist attractions. 

   G. Wine/Liquor/Beer 酒

      1. According to written records, the earliest type of wine drunk in Taiwan was fermented sugar cane juice.

      2. Up until 2002, the Taiwanese government owned a monopoly over the production of alcoholic beverages in Taiwan.  Taiwan's inclusion into the WTO brought an end to this monopoly.

      3. The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL) 台灣菸酒股份有限公司, which once enjoyed the above-mentioned monopoly, dates back to 1947.

      4. After the 9-21 Earthquake, Taichung 台中, Miaoli 苗栗, and Nantou Counties 南投縣 created the Da Hu Liquor Village 大湖酒莊 and 9 other "agricultural liquor villages" 休閒酒莊 for the promotion and sale of local liquors.

      5. The distillery in Puli 埔里, Nantou County 南投縣 dates back to 1917.  It was almost closed down in the 1990s, but has been revived as a tourist attraction.

      6. Taiwan's first brewery (建國啤酒廠) was built in 1920.  The remains of this brewery are to be found in the Taipei Beer Factory 台北啤酒工廠. 

      7. The brewery in Jhunan 竹南, Miaoli County 苗栗縣 was once the largest in Southeast Asia.

II.Forestry 林業

      1. Logging was outlawed in Taiwan in 1971.

      2. Until the end of the Ching Dynasty 清朝 deer hides were an important trade item.  The importance of this trade is reflected in the use of the word "deer" (鹿) in many place names.  Luye 鹿野 in Taitung County 臺東縣 and Lu Gang 鹿港 in Chang Hua County 彰化縣 are two prominent examples.

      3. The camphor 樟腦 trees which once grew all over Taiwan were a prized commodity.  The wood from these trees was used to build ships, make soap, and their oil can be used as a mosquito repellent.  Since logging was illegal in most of Japan, harvesting of this and other kinds of trees was a major industry during the Japanese Imperial Administration.

      4. The timber industry around Alishan 阿里山 was one of the reasons a rail line was built in that part of Taiwan.

台灣鳳梨的歷史 A History of Taiwanese Pineapples

The Chinese text below was taken from "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Conventional Industries" 一看就懂台灣博覽, published by Walkers Cultural 遠足文化事業股份有限公司 in 2013.  The Chinese text was written by 呂理政and吳連賞, and the English text was written by me.  下面的中文文章是出自一看就懂台灣博覽這本書.  這本書是遠足文化事業股份有限公司2013的作品. 中文的部分是呂理政跟吳連賞寫的.  英文的部分是我從中文翻譯的.

鳳梨是典型熱帶水果, 含有鳳梨酵素(Bromelin)*等各種營養, 可幫助人體消化動物蛋白質.  鳳梨的果實像鳳尾, 俗名"旺來"外型跟波羅蜜也很相似, 所以也叫波羅, 是台灣民俗上表示吉祥的水果.  台灣的鳳梨罐頭產量曾經是世界第一, 堪稱是最具台灣特色的水果之一.  The pineapple is a fruit typically found in the tropics.  It contains bromelain and is very nutritious.  It helps the body digest animal proteins.  Pineapple has a vinelike appendage, and this jackfruit-shaped fruit is often referred to as "Kwang Lai" or "Prosperity's Arrival."  For this reason it is also called "polo," [a Chinese word resembling the word for jackfruit].  In Taiwanese culture it is viewed as an auspicious fruit.  Once Taiwan's canned pineapple production became first worldwide, the pineapple was also referred to as one of Taiwan's most characteristic fruits.

台灣鳳梨產業起源於鳳山 The Taiwanese Pineapple Industry Begins in Feng Shan

根據"諸羅縣誌"及"淡水廳誌", 清康熙中期台灣南部已有鳳梨栽植的記錄.  但日治時代初期, 台灣的鳳梨才發展為經濟產業.  日本明治三十六年(1903), 日商岡村庄太郎在鳳山設立台灣第一家鳳梨工廠, 開啟了台灣鳳梨產業的序幕.  As recorded in both the Jhu Luo County Annal and the Danshui Record, pineapple was harvested in south Taiwan as early as the middle of Ching Kang-shi's reign.  After the Japanese occupation, Taiwan's pineapple industry was developed and made more economical.  During the 36th year of Emperor Meiji's rule (1903), the businessman Okamura Shotaro set up Taiwan's first pineapple cannery in Feng Shan, and this marked the beginning of Taiwan's pineapple industry.

Feng Shan's Pineapple Cannery at the Height of Production

鳳山, 員林曾是鳳梨罐頭中心 Feng Shan and Yuan Lin Become Pineapple Canning Centers

岡村在鳳山設立鳳梨工廠後, 日本明治四十一年(1908)日本罐頭業權威濱口富三郎也在彰化設立鳳梨工廠, 隨後將工廠遷到員林, 當時鳳山與員林成為台灣的鳳梨罐頭業中心.  當時年產量約兩萬箱.  After Okamura Shotaru set up his pineapple cannery in Feng Shan, during the 41st year of the Emperor Meiji's rule (1908), the Japanese canning concern Hamaguchi established a pineapple cannery in Chang Hua.  This cannery was later moved to Yuanlin.  At this time Feng Shan and Yuanlin became centers of pineapple canning, and their output was around 20,000 boxes a year.

日本在台灣實施鳳梨外銷補貼 The Japanese Implement Export Subsidies in Taiwan

日本大正十四年(1925), 日本人引進開英種鳳梨, 開始在屏東內埔從事大規模栽培, 隨後其他農場也陸續種植鳳梨.  日本昭和四年(1929)更在台灣實施三年鳳梨外銷補貼政策, 促使台灣鳳梨外銷蓬勃發展.  During the 14th year of Emperor Yoshihito's reign (1925), the Japanese introduced the "British"** type of pineapple to Taiwan.  Large-scale cultivation was also begun in Pingtung's Neipu area during this time, and many other agricultural areas began to grow pineapples.  In the 4th year of Emperor Hirohito's reign (1929), three more years of export subsidies were implemented for pineapples in Taiwan, and Taiwan's pineapple exports were promoted vigorously.

二次大戰前台灣年產鳳梨世界第三 Before the Second World War, Taiwan's Yearly Production of Pineapples Was Third Worldwide

日本昭和十三年時(1938), 台灣年產鳳梨167萬箱, 是日治時代的最高記錄, 在當時全球市場占有率僅次於夏威夷和馬來西亞, 居世界第三.  招和十六年(1941)太平洋戰爭爆發, 因裝罐材料及肥料供應中斷, 工廠也遭到盟軍炸毀, 鳳梨產業大幅蕭條萎縮.  In the 13th year of Emperor Hirohito's reign (1938), Taiwan's yearly production of pineapples exceeded 1,670,000 boxes.  This was the highest output during the Japanese Imperial Administration.  At this time Taiwan's share of the global market was second only to Hawaii and Malaysia, and Taiwan was third worldwide.  During the 16th year of Emperor Hirohito's reign (1941), the Second World War erupted, and canning equipment and fertilizers were in short supply.  Canneries were also the targets of Allied bombs, and the pineapple industry experienced a dramatic downturn.

Feng Shan's Pineapple Cannery Today

光復後民營鳳梨加工業蓬勃發展 After Liberation, Taiwan's Pineapple Industry Experiences a Boom

台灣光復後, 政府成立台灣鳳梨有限公司, 將日治時代留下的鳳梨產業合併, 民國四十年起, 鳳梨產業復興五年計畫帶動了工廠陸續復工.  民國四十四年政府實施耕者有其田, 將鳳梨有限公司出售民營, 成立了"台灣鳳梨股份有限公司", 自此鳳梨加工成為蓬勃的事業.  After Taiwan was liberated [from the Japanese], the government established the Taiwan Pineapple Company, Ltd.  This company consolidated the holdings left behind by the Japanese.  In the 40th year of the new government [1951], production was resumed at the canneries ***, with the implementation of a five-year plan.  In the 44th year of the new government [1955], plans were made to continue tilling the fields, but to privatize the company.  The Taiwan Pineapple Company was then established, and [from that point] the Taiwanese pineapple industry experienced a boom.

台灣鳳梨罐頭產量曾經位居世界第一 Taiwan's Pineapple Canning Industry Becomes First Worldwide

民國四十七年, 台灣西部22家鳳梨工廠取得協調, 將鳳梨原料委由台灣省罐頭工業同業公會統一收購分配, 穩定了鳳梨產裝銷的秩序.  到民國五十二年台灣鳳梨罐頭輸出量達23萬箱.  民國六十年代, 台灣鳳梨罐頭產量曾經居世界第一位, 年產量達到410萬箱, 其後因為不敵其他熱帶開發中國家的低成本加工, 台灣鳳梨外銷逐年衰退, 逐漸轉型為國內鮮果供市場.  In the 47th year of the R.O.C. calendar [1958], 22 pineapple canneries on the west coast of the island formed an association, in which the Canned Pineapple Association of Taiwan Province agreed upon a purchase agreement for the acquisition of raw pineapple.  [This agreement] stabilized the production of canned pineapple.  In the 52nd year of the R.O.C. calendar [1963], the output of canned pineapple amounted to 230,000 boxes.  In the 60th year of the R.O.C. calendar [1971], Taiwan's canned pineapple production became first worldwide, with a yearly output of 4,100,000 boxes.  From this point, Taiwan's pineapple industry experienced a yearly decline, due to competition from other developing tropical countries where the cost of processing was lower.  The industry then gradually turned to domestic markets.

Map of Pineapple Production During the Japanese Occupation

*"Bromelin" is a misspelling of bromelain.

**"British" in what way?  I have no idea.  I only know that 1) pineapples wouldn't grow well in Britain, and 2) there's a picture of it here.

***Not sure if they mean "cannery" or "canneries" here.  Was production restarted at both the Feng Shan AND the Yuanlin cannery?  Or only the Feng Shan cannery?