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Travel Literature: Travel Writing during Wartime (1938 - 1944)

Publication date: 27 Oct 2022
Author: Lee Yi-ling, Chu Feng-chung |Staff member of the Archives of Institute of Taiwan History

The Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica, in the years past unearthed a precious collection of the published works in 1938 – 1944 of “Taiwan Shin Min Pao” and its successor “Shing Nan News”, the only newspapers launched by the Taiwanese during the colonial rule of Japan. This piece goes through a selection of the accounts of travel that are of interest and, with the descriptions given by travelers from Taiwan and Japan to be complemented by such colorful collections as photographs, travel tickets, old papers, postcards and others, it invites you to read through the tracks of the travelers in question over tens of thousands of miles across Beijing, Manchukuo, the United States, Germany, Burma and Vietnam and discover the landscapes around a turbulent world in the midst of war from nearly a hundred years ago and the heart-felt worldviews of the travelers.

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III. Lin’s Footsteps in Denmark

On October 27, Lin Xian-tang visited Copenhagen, Denmark. That day was a drizzling day. Lin and his sons toured all over the Langelinie Park. In the park, there is a bronze statue featuring a large-scale group of animal figures being driven by the Norse goddess Gefjon, which shows the importance of agriculture for Denmark. Because of the Gefjon Fountain, Lin Xian-tang figured out the reasons why the industrial development was not thriving in Denmark. That was because Denmark did not produce needed resources, which were coal and iron, for its industrial development. Many countries developing their manufacturing industry well had fewer agricultural resources; while Denmark’s agricultural exports were enough to support a country. Even though Denmark was a small country, people were able to be self-sufficient. As a result, people in Denmark did not have to join the competition in the international market. They were just happily being themselves. In addition, Lin also saw the famous little mermaid statue on the rock, which colored the beauty of the scenery by the seaside. (see Figure 5)

Figure 5: The Diary of Mr. Guan-yuan on October 27, 1927.
(Source: The Diary of Mr. Guan-yuan, the digital archives of the Archives of Institution of Taiwan History)


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