A Journey Through Historical Documents

Sazum is located around the present-day Sun Moon Lake area and was the collective term used to refer to the entire central mountainous region of Taiwan. In the 19th century, the lands of the western plains in Taiwan were mostly populated by plains indigenous, living in scattered communities. This persisted until the reign of Daoguang (1821-1850), which saw the arrival of large numbers of Han settlers, thereby causing the plains indigenous to migrate into the inner mountains. The indigenous lands of the Six Shé of Sazum, originally verboten for Han settlers, were gradually encroached upon, and this generated friction and conflict between the mountain indigenous, plains indigenous, and Han settlers. In the 26th year of the reign of Daoguang (1846), the Qing imperial court learned that indigenous from the Six Shé of Sazum sought to make a show of loyalty by offering a gift of land and requesting the establishment of a government office to oversee land development and cultivation. Considering that Sazum was located on the fringes of empire, with little information regarding the actual situation, and that the request itself concerned imperial land policy, the Daoguang Emperor issued a special edict appointing the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang Provinces, Liu Yunke, to conduct an inspection of the area and establish the basis for future development.

This Exhibition begins with Qing official files in the Museum collections, using the Memorial in Accordance with the Edict to Survey Indigenous Lands of the Six Shé of Sazum, Gain an Understanding of the Indigenous Situation at Each Shé, and Investigate Unauthorized Land Development by Subjects and Indigenous to build a picture of Taiwan as seen from the eyes of the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang Provinces, Liu Yunke, as based upon the descriptions in his memorial. The Exhibition proceeds to discuss the image of Taiwan in the eyes of the Qing imperial court during the first phase of Qing rule (1683-1874). This exhibition consists of four sections: Crossing the Sea, Entering the Mountains, Enjoying the Scenery, and Short of Success, including the vessels used by court officials in the sea crossing to Taiwan, records of Taiwanese geography as depicted in old maps from the Museum collections, and the customs, traditions, and natural scenery witnessed by Liu Yunke and his entourage as they entered the Sazum area, as well as the policy recommendations made after the survey.