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Taiwan in the Eyes of a Western Traveler--John Thomson’s Footprints in Formosa
Taiwan in the Eyes of a Western Traveler--John Thomson’s Footprints in Formosa

Publication date: 2013
Author: Li Pin-huei |Staff member of the Archives of Institute of Taiwan History

John Thomson（1837-1921）is regarded as a pioneering photographer in the 19th century. He traveled to Far East, documenting the portraits, landscapes and eastern cultures profoundly through his lens and these photographs have become precious historical records. Although John Thomson only stayed in Taiwan for a few days, the images and notes he left are valuable historical materials for the research into Taiwan in the 1870s.His story could be comparable to Shen Bao-zhen, one of the figures in 「Traveling in Time」Exhibition. They were the travelers who came to Taiwan in the same time period. Through their stories, we can learn how they interpret Formosa in the 19th century.
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Related Collections and References

I. The Archives of Institute of Taiwan History

  1. Map of Damage from the 1935 Hsinchu-Taichung Earthquake, Taiwan Great Earthquake Part 1, Part 3, Photos Related to the Taiwan Earthquake of 1935 Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Commemorative Pictorial of the Taiwan Great Earthquake of 1935, Post-Earthquake Hygiene Guidelines, Yang Zhao-jia Collection (LJK).

  2. 1935 Diary of Huang Wangcheng, Huang Wang-cheng and Huang Ji-tu Papers (T0765).

  3. Historical Photos of June 1935, Collection of documents related to Taiwan by Yuji Mita (T1083).

  4. Clippings from concerts involving Gao Ci-mei, Commemorative Gathering of the Earthquake Charity Concert Tour in Caotun, Program and Admission Tickets for the "Hsinchu-Taichung Earthquake Charity Concert, Commemorative Photo Album of the Charity Concert, Gao Ci-mei Papers (3GCM).

  5. Taiwan Transport Route Map, Da'an River, View from the Third Tunnel to the Fourth through Seventh Tunnels, Michael H. Finnegan Collection (T0203).

  6. Taiwan Shinminpo No. 2673 (1938-07-14) and No. 2674 (1938-07-15), Records of The Taiwan Shinminpo (T1119).

  7. Personal and Family Photos, Miyoshi Tokusaburo Papers (T0875).

II. Taiwan Diary Knowledge Bank

  1. Diary of Lin Hsien-tang, 1935.

  2. Diary of Chang Li-jun, 1935.

  3. Memoir of Miyoshi Tokusaburo, 1938.

III. References

  1. Government-General of Taiwan, Taiwan Earthquake Record of 1935, Taipei: Government-General of Taiwan, 1936.

  2. Taichung Earthquake Recovery Office, The Taiwan Railway Earthquake Record of 1935, Taichung: Taichung Earthquake Recovery Office, 1939.

  3. Sen Hsuan-hsiung, Wu Jui-Yun, The Great Taiwan Earthquake - Documentary of the 1935 Central Taiwan Earthquake, Taipei: Yuan-Liou, 1996.

  4. Chen Yi-Hung, Communities on the Earthquake Belt - Taiwan-Japan Earthquakes in History, Tainan: National Museum of Taiwan History, 2017.

  5. Li Yu-lan, “Descriptions of Earthquakes in Diaries - A Case Study of the 1935 Hsinchu-Taichung Earthquake”, Feng Chia Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 44 (June 2022): 83-122.

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