Yu Yonghe () was a traveler from China whose adventures are recorded in '' Small Sea Travel Diaries'' (裨海紀遊). The book contributes significantly to the research on the historical development of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

) in the seventeenth century.

Biography

Yu Yonghe was born before 1650 in the city of Renhe,

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

province. Modern scholars regard Yu as a unique figure of his time because of several factors. For instance, although traveling was not uncommon at his time, Yu was known to have travelled to every corner of

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern 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 capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

and to Taiwan. Furthermore, in his accounts of the

Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * of or related to Taiwan **Culture of Taiwan **Geography of Taiwan ** Taiwanese cuisine *Languages of Taiwan ** Formosan languages ** Taiwanese Hokkien, also known as the Taiwanese language * Taiwanese people, residents of ...

and Zheng family (entitled 番境補遺, 偽鄭逸事, respectively), he shows his knowledge of those people and lands were extraordinary for his era. Under the consent of the Fujian officials, Yu travelled to Taiwan following the explosion of the

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

gunpowder stores in 1696 to mine sulfur. Yu's voyage began at the coast to

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

, crossing the

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a strait separating the island of Taiwan and the Asian continent. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. Names Former names of the Tai ...

and coming to a halt in

Penghu The Penghu ( , Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, about west of the main island of Taiwan across the Penghu Ch ...

before arriving in

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the "Taiwan Prefecture, ...

. Yu then journeyed northward to

Tamsui Tamsui District () is a seaside district in New Taipei City, Taiwan adjacent to the Tamsui River and overlooking the Taiwan Strait. The name of the district means "fresh water" in Chinese. Although modest in size (population 189,271), Tamsui ...

and

Beitou Beitou District is the northernmost of the twelve districts of Taipei City, Taiwan. The historical spelling of the district is Peitou. The name originates from the Ketagalan word ''Kipatauw'', meaning witch. Beitou is the most mountainous and ...

where he bought amorphous sulfur from local Aborigines for the making of pure sulfur. The expedition lasted ten months. Eventually Yu returned to Fuzhou with a memoir of his ten month journey. The memoir chronicles Yu's life in

Taiwan under Qing rule Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of Chi ...

where he was introduced to the unique culture of the island. It subsequently became ''Small Sea Travel Diaries'' (sometimes translated ''The Small Sea Travel Records'' or ''Small Sea Travelogue''). As Yu was on a mission collecting sulfur, his book is also referred to as the ''Sulfur Extraction Diaries'' (採硫日記). When Yu arrived in Taiwan, the island had been under the administration of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

for 13 years. Yu not only recorded the developments of the era, he also took into account the administrative structures passed down by the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

and Zheng dynasty.

References

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External links

Yu Yonghe
- Oxford Reference * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Yonghe Historians of Taiwan Historians from Zhejiang 1640s births Writers from Hangzhou Qing dynasty historians Year of death unknown Sulfur mining

Biography

See also

References

External links