Maddog sent me these two beautiful 19th century maps of Formosa, showing clearly the line of Qing control as it was understood at the time. If you click on the maps, you’ll be taken to the Flickr page where you can view them in various sizes.
These two maps are taken from the Reed collection, a wonderful collection of resources and maps about Taiwan. Here’s the 19th century stuff.
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August 17th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Hi, I think the first map shown is actually made after the Japanese colonization as the city names are in Japanese (romanji). The second one is indeed from the Qing dynasty. For example, note the “Manga” (wanhua) in the Taipei area.
August 17th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Yes, but it does show what the Qing didn’t control.
August 19th, 2007 at 3:47 am
I don’t mean to question your interpretation because all I’ve sen is the map, but it does appear that Anonymous has a point. The map seems to have been made by the Japanese and not the Qing. The Romanized names are Romanized Japanese. If in fact it is a demonstration of political control, it is a claim made by the Japanese.
But in fact, it appears from the title that it is an anthropological map, not a political map.
August 19th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Yes, but it does show what the Qing didn’t control — especially in conjunction with the other maps.
Also, the map legend indicates what territory is what — clearly demarcating the territory as savage.
“”
But in fact, it appears from the title that it is an anthropological map, not a political map.
Didn’t say it was a political map, Scott. Didn’t think it would require lengthy explanations for readers to understand that 19th century maps of all types show that the area in question was not under Qing control.
Michael
August 19th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
I’m not sure why anon and Scott are both having trouble with the maps, especially the first one. Yes, it’s an anthropological map of Formosa made by the Japanese after they assumed control. But it clearly shows the demarcation between areas settled by Han Chinese (and therefore the land under Qing control) and the aboriginal territories.
It’s interesting to read the Japanese romaji for place names in Taiwan. According to the Rough Guide to Taiwan, “Manka” (or “Bangka”) is the original Taiwanese name for the area in Taipei. The Japanese changed the name in 1920, with characters that also read “Manka” in Japanese 萬華, but “Wanhua” in Mandarin.
August 20th, 2007 at 4:38 am
Everybody, the ethnological map is from 1911 and was made by the “Government of Formosa.”
I would suggest looking at these two maps instead. The first one is from 1874, and it shows a line marked “Chinese boundary.” The second is from 1894, and it marks the same boundary with the words “Limite de la domination chinoise” (French for “Chinese boundary”). (Note: the reason they don’t match exactly is because I had difficulty following the line in a couple of areas, but I think you’ll get the general idea.)
In other words, the Manchus (Qing Dynasty rulers) never controlled all of Taiwan.
If that’s not clear enough, my modifications of those two maps attempt to render the area the Manchus didn’t control more easily visible.
Bonus test of observational skills: What kinds of Romanization do you see on those two maps?
Tim Maddog