NCKU Associate Professor Te-Cheng Lin Compiled Chronicle of Residents in 13-Volume Chronicle of Chiayi County
Tainan, Taiwan, June 22nd, 2010
Associate Professor Te-Cheng Lin of History at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan, has cooperated with Chiayi County Government to compile a book entitled Chronicle of Residents, a record of the historical images of Chiayi County local residents, in the 13-volume Chronicle of Chiayi County.
The Chronicle of Residents details the information of residents from the period of Dutch Governance (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) in the 17th century to the Year 2007, including population, ethnicity and life rituals, thus opening a new historical perspective of Chiayi County, leaving a complete resident context for local chronicles and providing a new basis for Taiwanese historical research.
The chronicle has 519 pages and 3 chapters in total. The first chapter is population, the second chapter is ethnicity and the third chapter is life rituals. The chapter on population includes the population distribution and change of Qing Dynasty, period of Japanese rule and post-war era, gender ratio and marital status, age composition, elderly population, foreign and mainland spouses, provincial population and agriculture and fishery population. The second chapter on ethnicity includes Hakka people and aboriginals in Chiayi County, the number of surnames and the distribution of surnames and clans. The third chapter on life rituals includes living habits, seasonal festivals, life rituals and taboos such as diet, costumes, residence, transportation, birth, naming, marriage, birthday, funeral, adoption and profession.
Associate Professor Te-Cheng Lin expressed, “The chronicle is based on the resident information from the period of Dutch Governance, Ming-Cheng Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, Japanese Governance, post-war era to the Year 2007. It’s a complete data of the population constitution in Chiayi County. To make the data more complete and fruitful, the content involves files, documents, genealogies, statistics, local histories, papers, journals, collected works, memoirs and oral interview records in both Chinese and Japanese. Among them, the oral interview records have featured more than one hundred interviewees.”
Associate Professor Lin said, “The acquisition of information was the most difficult and challenging part of the compilation process. It took me four years. I’ve never stopped supplementing and researching data to acquire the most accurate and detailed information. Apart from teaching and researching, I’ve spent most of my time in Academia Historica, Archives of Chiayi County Government and private libraries of hidden alleys. I’ve also traveled back and forth between Tainan, Chiayi and Taipei. The collection of data and information was time-consuming, but there was many data beyond historical information which required field research.”
In order to acquire the most fruitful information, the selected interviewees are all elders, with the youngest being in the 70s and the eldest being 96-year-old. They are the living proofs of Taiwan’s history. Some of them have even witnessed and experienced World War II.
Associate Professor Te-Cheng Lin also mentioned, “In addition to offer the accurate data of population statistics, the chronicle also describes and explores the indigenous groups, including Minnan, Hakka and Tsou. It even focuses on the 50 most popular surnames and clans in Chiayi County and details the process of surnames distribution migration.”
Associate Professor Lin further explained, “Local history is easily neglected. However, it is the foundation of a nation. The emphasis on local history will lead to the accuracy of national history. Local chronicle is an excellent tradition in China. However, for the past one or two hundred years, it has been ignored. As a local in Chiayi County, I have the ability and responsibility to participate in the compilation of a local chronicle of Chiayi County. I hope local chronicle can arouse the nostalgic feelings of people.”
The Chronicle of Chiayi County, published by Chiayi County Government, is the newest local chronicle in Taiwan. It took dozens of scholars and experts to compile the books. The chronicle has 13 volumes and approximately 4 million words. Its topics covered Preface, Chronicle of History, Chronicle of Geology, Chronicle of Politics, Chronicle of Residents, Chronicle of Society, Chronicle of Agriculture, Chronicle of Economics, Chronicle of Religion, Chronicle of Literature, Chronicle of Arts, Chronicle of Education and Chronicle of People, each consisting of 300,000 words.
The Chronicle of Chiayi County, available on the website of Chiayi County’s Cultural Affairs Department, is written in vernaculars, trying to choose simple and obvious words to reduce the unfamiliarity of the readers.
Associate Professor Te-Cheng Lin of History at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan, has cooperated with Chiayi County Government to compile a book entitled Chronicle of Residents, a record of the historical images of Chiayi County local residents, in the 13-volume Chronicle of Chiayi County.
The Chronicle of Residents details the information of residents from the period of Dutch Governance (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) in the 17th century to the Year 2007, including population, ethnicity and life rituals, thus opening a new historical perspective of Chiayi County, leaving a complete resident context for local chronicles and providing a new basis for Taiwanese historical research.
The chronicle has 519 pages and 3 chapters in total. The first chapter is population, the second chapter is ethnicity and the third chapter is life rituals. The chapter on population includes the population distribution and change of Qing Dynasty, period of Japanese rule and post-war era, gender ratio and marital status, age composition, elderly population, foreign and mainland spouses, provincial population and agriculture and fishery population. The second chapter on ethnicity includes Hakka people and aboriginals in Chiayi County, the number of surnames and the distribution of surnames and clans. The third chapter on life rituals includes living habits, seasonal festivals, life rituals and taboos such as diet, costumes, residence, transportation, birth, naming, marriage, birthday, funeral, adoption and profession.
Associate Professor Te-Cheng Lin expressed, “The chronicle is based on the resident information from the period of Dutch Governance, Ming-Cheng Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, Japanese Governance, post-war era to the Year 2007. It’s a complete data of the population constitution in Chiayi County. To make the data more complete and fruitful, the content involves files, documents, genealogies, statistics, local histories, papers, journals, collected works, memoirs and oral interview records in both Chinese and Japanese. Among them, the oral interview records have featured more than one hundred interviewees.”
Associate Professor Lin said, “The acquisition of information was the most difficult and challenging part of the compilation process. It took me four years. I’ve never stopped supplementing and researching data to acquire the most accurate and detailed information. Apart from teaching and researching, I’ve spent most of my time in Academia Historica, Archives of Chiayi County Government and private libraries of hidden alleys. I’ve also traveled back and forth between Tainan, Chiayi and Taipei. The collection of data and information was time-consuming, but there was many data beyond historical information which required field research.”
In order to acquire the most fruitful information, the selected interviewees are all elders, with the youngest being in the 70s and the eldest being 96-year-old. They are the living proofs of Taiwan’s history. Some of them have even witnessed and experienced World War II.
Associate Professor Te-Cheng Lin also mentioned, “In addition to offer the accurate data of population statistics, the chronicle also describes and explores the indigenous groups, including Minnan, Hakka and Tsou. It even focuses on the 50 most popular surnames and clans in Chiayi County and details the process of surnames distribution migration.”
Associate Professor Lin further explained, “Local history is easily neglected. However, it is the foundation of a nation. The emphasis on local history will lead to the accuracy of national history. Local chronicle is an excellent tradition in China. However, for the past one or two hundred years, it has been ignored. As a local in Chiayi County, I have the ability and responsibility to participate in the compilation of a local chronicle of Chiayi County. I hope local chronicle can arouse the nostalgic feelings of people.”
The Chronicle of Chiayi County, published by Chiayi County Government, is the newest local chronicle in Taiwan. It took dozens of scholars and experts to compile the books. The chronicle has 13 volumes and approximately 4 million words. Its topics covered Preface, Chronicle of History, Chronicle of Geology, Chronicle of Politics, Chronicle of Residents, Chronicle of Society, Chronicle of Agriculture, Chronicle of Economics, Chronicle of Religion, Chronicle of Literature, Chronicle of Arts, Chronicle of Education and Chronicle of People, each consisting of 300,000 words.
The Chronicle of Chiayi County, available on the website of Chiayi County’s Cultural Affairs Department, is written in vernaculars, trying to choose simple and obvious words to reduce the unfamiliarity of the readers.
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