The map clearly identifies the new prefectures set up by Liu, all framed in double-bordered squares. This marked shift in Taiwan’s political status resulted in a drastic update in its cartographic representation, as evidenced by this rare copy of Taiwan neishan fanshe diyu quantu 臺灣內山番社地輿全圖 (Complete Map of Taiwan including the indigenous regions in the mountains), published in 1888, one year after Taiwan became a province. The eastern coast was designated to be a separated administrative department, Taidong 臺東. Liu consequently initiated the process of modernizing the island’s infrastructure and economy, and changed the island’s administrative structure, establishing three major prefectures: Tainan 臺南, Taiwan 臺灣, and Taipei 臺北. This was prompted by the French naval blockade of 1884–1885, in response to which the Qing government dispatched Liu Mingchuan 劉銘傳, a Chinese official, who successfully warded off the French threat and proclaimed victory. It wasn’t until 1885–87 that Sinicization fully came into force, when the imperial court granted the island full status as a province of China. ![]() Xia’s map embodies the results of that policy, by showing the Central Mountain range no longer as an obstacle between two halves of the island, and providing a new spatial image of Taiwan as a unified terrain.Īt the time, Taiwan was not yet a province, but only a prefecture under Fujian province. This policy legalized the entry of Han Chinese settlers into the remaining indigenous territory of Taiwan. It was prompted by a policy implemented by the Qing in 1875, namely “Open the Mountains and Pacify the Savages” (kaishan fufan 開山撫番). The first map to finally project a detailed image of eastern Taiwan was published in 1879 by Xia Xianlun 夏獻綸 in his Taiwan yutu bingshuo 臺灣輿圖並說 (Atlas of Taiwan with explanations). Therefore, their survey depicts only the major landmarks on the western coastal plain, with the remainder fading off into empty space and leaving the eastern half of Taiwan a cartographic blank. ![]() The Jesuits, however, still could not survey beyond the Central Mountain Range. Employing European cartographic technology, and consulting Chinese geographic sources, three Jesuits travelled from the northern tip of Taiwan to the south in order to map the whole island. This survey was part of the overall survey of the Qing empire carried out by French Jesuits at the behest of the Kangxi emperor. In 1714–15, the Jesuits constructed the first attempt at a map of the entire island. Taiwan was not officially recognised and incorporated into the imperial geography until the spring of 1684, during the reign of Emperor Kangxi. This is because the Central Mountain Range that divides the island is notoriously difficult to cross, effectively cutting off the eastern half of Taiwan. However, Qing maps of Taiwan made before 1879 depict only the western side of the island, while about three quarters of the island is dismissed. In particular, the middle band of map shows densely packed mountain forms, representing the renowned ‘Central Mountain Range’, the principal mountain range which runs from the north to the south of the island.Īs explained in the legend beneath the title to the far right of the map, place names are framed in different shapes to signify different governmental levels: Fu 府 (prefectures) and xian 縣 (districts) are represented in double-bordered squares wenwu fenfang 文武分防 (literary and military bureaus) are shown in double-circle rings fukenju 撫墾局 (local bureaus) and fanshe 番社 (villages) are represented by large and small circles respectively.Īs the Qing Empire expanded, geographical knowledge about Taiwan, as one of its newly acquired lands, was crucial for strategic and administrative purposes. Relief is represented in elevation across the map, reflecting Taiwan’s mountainous terrain. The island is labelled with toponyms in Chinese. ![]() The map is oriented to the East, extending north to south (left to right on the map) from Taipei fucheng 臺北府城(Taipei provincial capital) to Hengchun xiancheng 恆春縣城 (Hengchun Township), and east to west from Hualiangang 花蓮港 (Port of Hualian) to Lugang 鹿港 (Lukang Township). It is the first map to show the entire island with a high degree of accuracy and comprehensive geographical information a feat that had never before been achieved. An extremely rare map of Taiwan made in 1888 at the culmination of two centuries of the Qing Dynasty (1684–1895).
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