History of Kaohsiung
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The written history of Kaohsiung can be traced back to the early 17th century, though archeological studies have found signs of human activity in the region from as long as 7000 years ago. Prior to the 17th century, the region was inhabited by the Makatau clan of the Siraya aboriginal tribe, who settled on what they named ''Ta-kau Isle'' (translated to 打狗嶼 by Ming Chinese explorers); "Takau" meaning "bamboo forest" in the aboriginal language.
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
settlers colonizing Taiwan in 1624 referred to the region as ''Tankoya'' and named the harbor ''Tancoia''. The first Chinese records of the region were written in 1603 by Chen Di, a member of Ming admiral Shen You-rong's expedition to rid the waters around
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
and Penghu of
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
s. In his report on the "Eastern Barbarian Lands" (Dong Fan Ji), Chen Di referred to a Ta-kau Isle: Various later historical documents of both the
Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...
and Qing Dynasties referred to Kaohsiung as either "Ta-kau" (打狗) or "Ta-ku" (打鼓). The modern name of 高雄 (pronounced "Takao" in
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
and "Kaohsiung" in
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
) was not adopted until the Japanese colonial period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


Early history

The earliest evidence of human activity in the Kaohsiung area dates back to roughly 4700–5200 years ago. Most of the discovered remnants were located in the hills surrounding Kaohsiung Harbor, and include artifacts found at 壽山遺址, Longquan Temple ruins, 桃子園遺址、左營舊城遺址、左營遺址、後勁遺址、覆鼎金遺址、Fengbitou. The prehistoric Dapenkeng, 牛稠子, Dahu, and Niasong civilizations were known to inhabit the region. Studies of the prehistoric ruins at Longquan Temple have shown that that civilization occurred at roughly the same times as the beginnings of the aboriginal Makatau civilization, suggesting a possible origin for the latter. Unlike some other archeological sites in the area, the Longquan Temple ruins are relatively well preserved. Prehistoric artifacts discovered have suggested that the ancient Kaohsiung Harbor was originally a lagoon, with early civilizations functioning primarily as hunter-gatherer societies. Some agricultural tools have also been discovered, suggesting that some agricultural activity was also present. Signs of more recent
Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...
settlement have been found near the old city of Tsoying, and is one of the largest finds of recent Han Chinese cultural artifacts to date. Artifacts discovered have included various types of ceramics and pottery believed to be of Chinese origin dating to the early
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
, about 400 years ago.


Fengbitou ruins (2000–6000 years ago)

The Fengbitou civilization is representative of
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
civilizations found in the Taiwan area and shows significant influences from mainland cultures. The civilization is believed to have persisted for a very long period (2000–6000 years ago), with archeological digs finding artifacts buried in multiple layers. Remains have been found throughout the southern and central portions of Taiwan's western seaboard, with the ruins found at Fengbitou near
Linyuan District Linyuan District () is a suburban district of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It has 70,423 inhabitants in 2016. It is the southernmost district of the city. History The prehistory era of the district can be traced back to the artifacts found at the Fengbitou ...
representative of the civilization in general. Fengbitou was originally submerged, with the modern coastline formed by falling sea levels and the accretion of a
river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more ra ...
. The ruins were discovered during the Japanese colonial period, along with those of other civilizations, and is one of the most important archeological sites in Taiwan. The site has three major layers: # Dapenkeng culture, marked by the appearance of characteristic pottery containing fine grains of sand, existed from 4700 to 5200 years ago. # Niuchouzi (牛裯子) culture: 以繩紋紅陶為主,並有部份夾砂紅、灰陶和泥質紅陶,其年代距今約3500年前。由出土文物中可以推測是一個此一文化層為農、漁、獵並重的生活型態。 # Fengbitou culture: 以出現貝塚和紅褐素面夾砂陶為主要特色。其年代大致在3500~2000年前。生業型態表現出對農業依賴,聚落型態和前期大致一樣,但從大量增加的陶器,可判定人口密度增加。


Taochiyuan ruins (3000–4500 years ago)

Taochiyuan (桃子園)
shell mound A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecof ...
is located in the northwestern part of the North Chaishan (北柴山). It is one of the earliest ruins discovered in Kaohsiung.
Pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...
, stone tools, and evidents of human burials were found in the region. This society belongs to the 牛稠子文化層, and later the 大湖文化層. Its economy was based on agriculture, fishery, and
hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
.


Tsoying Old City ruins (400–1300 years ago)


Longquan Temple ruins (400–2000 years ago)


Makatau Clan period (prior to 1624)


Pirate records


Lin Daoqian

One of the most famous folk characters of the pre-Dutch Takau region was the pirate
Lin Daoqian Lin Daoqian (, Malay: Tok Kayan, th, ลิ้มโต๊ะเคี่ยม), also written as Lim Toh Khiam and Vintoquián, was a Chinese pirate of Teochew origin active in the 16th century. He led pirate attacks along the coast of Guangd ...
(林道乾), reputed to have been active in robbing ships of their treasure during the reign of the Ming
Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu Youyuan (1476–1519), Prince of Xing, w ...
(1522–1566). Folklore holds that while anchored at Takau in 1563, Lin placed his treasure into eighteen and a half bamboo baskets, hiding them in the surrounding hills. During this time, Lin was told by a feng shui master named Wu Ban-hsien (吳半仙) that if he were to bury his deceased father in a "dragon cave" near modern-day Jiali, leave an offering of an arrow upon the altar , and sleep while holding one hundred grains of white rice in his mouth for one hundred days, before firing three arrows towards the imperial capital in the northwest on the dawn of the last day, he would be able to conquer all the lands under heaven. Shortly after hearing this, Lin discovered a "divine rooster" while hunting in the hills, whose call could be heard for over 300 '' li'' and would cause all other roosters to call at the same time. Upon capturing the divine rooster, Lin handed it to his sister Jin-lien (金蓮) to care for, while he prepared to fire the arrows towards the imperial capital at the crack of dawn on the one hundredth day. On the final night, Jin-lien was unable to sleep, sitting awake under a lamp with the divine rooster. At the hour of midnight, Jin-lien touched the rooster to pet it, but inadvertently startled the rooster, causing it to call. Upon hearing the rooster calling, Lin awoke and mistakenly thought that dawn had arrived, immediately firing off three divine arrows with his name towards the imperial capital in the northwest. Thinking he had succeeded, Lin went back to sleep dreaming that he had become emperor. The three arrows flew into the imperial palace, unerringly striking the dragon throne. However, as it was midnight, the throne was empty. The next morning, the emperor found the three arrows with Lin's name on them stuck in his throne. Realizing that Lin had attempted to kill him, the emperor became enraged and ordered his troops to arrest Lin. With imperial troops closing in, Lin attempted to flee, but was delayed by his sister who refused to leave without their eighteen and a half baskets of treasure. In a fit of panic, Lin killed his own sister before fighting his way out of the sieging forces. In the process, Lin struck the side of the valley between Takou Mountain and Chi-hou Mountain, breaking a hole through which seawater poured in. Lin and his men escaped by sea from this hole, according to legend.


Wokou

During the Ming dynasty, the seas surrounding Taiwan were lawless waters, infested by pirates. The imperial court launched three separate naval campaigns against Wokou pirates operating in the waters surrounding Taiwan (in 1574, 1603, and 1617). It was during the 1603 campaign that Chen Di penned the first records referring to a Takou Isle in his book "Eastern Barbarian Lands" (東蕃記), which also contained the first descriptions of the early residents of Taiwan.


Recent settlement and development


Dutch colonial period (1624–1661)

Taiwan became a
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
colony in 1624, after the
Dutch East Indies Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock co ...
was ejected from Penghu by Ming forces. At the time, Takau was already one of the most important fishing ports in southern Taiwan. The Dutch named Takau Tankoya, and the harbor Tancoia. In 1726, the Dutch missionary
François Valentijn François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...
(華倫泰因/潘連單) named Takau Mountain "Apen Berg" (猿山), a name which would find its way onto European navigational charts well into the 18th century. During this time, Taiwan was divided into five administrative districts, with Takau belonging to the southernmost district. In 1630, the first large scale immigration of Han Chinese to Taiwan began due to famine in
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
, with merchants and traders from China seeking to purchase hunting licenses from the Dutch or hide out in aboriginal villages to escape authorities in China.


Kingdom of Tungning (1661–1683)


Qing dynasty rule (1683–1895)


Kangxi period


Administrative divisions


Local development


Takau Harbor


Ki-au Region

Ki-au written in Chinese as 旗後 or 旗后 ()


Japanese colonial period (1895–1945)


Early colonial period (1895–1919)


Takao Prefecture (1920–1945)

In 1920, the eighth
governor-general of Taiwan The governor-general of Taiwan ( ja, 臺灣總督, Taiwan Sōtoku) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945. The ...
,
Den Kenjiro Den may refer to: * Den (room), a small room in a house * Maternity den, a lair where an animal gives birth Media and entertainment * ''Den'' (album), 2012, by Kreidler * Den (''Battle Angel Alita''), a character in the ''Battle Angel Alita' ...
, modified the political divisions of Taiwan. He abolished the ''chō'' (廳) system and instituted a prefecture system similar to that of
mainland Japan is a term to distinguish the area of Japan from its outlying territories. It was an official term in the pre-war period, distinguishing Japan and its colonies in the Far East. After the end of World War II, the term became uncommon, but stil ...
.
Takao Prefecture was one of the administrative divisions of Taiwan during the Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County. Population Administrative divisions Cities and districts In 1945 ( Shōwa 20), the ...
consisted of modern-day
Kaohsiung City Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohs ...
and Pingtung County.


City of Takao (1924)

Takao was upgraded to a city in 1924.


Postwar period (After 1945)

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in October 1945, Kaohsiung City was established as a provincial city consisting of eleven districts. Around the same time, Kaohsiung County was established to be part of
Taiwan Province Taiwan Province (; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a nominal administrative division of the Republic of China (ROC). Its definition has remained part of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but the province is no lo ...
on 6 December 1945. Kaohsiung City was upgraded from provincial city to special municipality on 1 July 1979. On 25 December 2010, Kaohsiung City was merged with Kaohsiung County to form a larger Kaohsiung special municipality. Prior to the merging, the population of Kaohsiung City was around 1.5 million people. On 31 July 2014, a series of gas explosions occurred in the Cianjhen and
Lingya District Lingya District () is a district of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The 85 Sky Tower and the Kaohsiung City Hall are located here. Lingya District is the administrative center of Kaohsiung City along with Fongshan District. Its population is around 162 ...
s at midnight after initial
gas leaks Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or co ...
were reported earlier that day at 8:46 p.m. local time. The explosions left 31 dead and 309 injured.


Politics


Uprisings during Dutch rule


Uprisings during Qing dynasty rule


Anti-Japanese activity


February 28 incident (1947)


Kaohsiung Incident (1979)


Local factions in Kaohsiung County


Economy


Pottery


Salt


Fisheries


Agriculture


Sugar


Rice


Tobacco


Bananas

Bananas were originally imported from
mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
until the Japanese colonial period. The Japanese government planted bananas mostly in southern Taiwan, the production of the 旗山 area was especially abundant. As a result, it has an honorable name of "Banana Kingdom."


Commerce


Shinkuchan Business District


Underground Mall


賊仔市


President and New Shinkuchan Business Districts


三鳳中 Street


Industry


Cement


Shipbuilding


Shipbreaking and Steelworks


Petrochemical industry and environmentalism


Export business and foreign laborers


Fertilizer


Cultural and artistic development

In early times, there were few cultural activities in the Kaohsiung region, so residents' opportunities to participate in such activities were likely small as well. As a result, Kaohsiung was called a "cultural desert" in early times. However, the efforts of the Kaohsiung government and artistic organizations turned the region into a center of Chinese culture beginning in the 1980s. An art museum has been established, as well as a science and technology exhibit and other large-scale exhibitions.


Literature


Art


Music


Crafts


Paper umbrellas


籮筐會


See also


References


Bibliography

* {{refend