Early musicians of Danshui

(Left: Mr Chen Sizhi 陳泗治, 1911-1992)

A frequent commentator of this blog Mr Cowsill has expressed interests in Danshui-ren's contribution to literature. The contribution, to us, is actually multifaceted. We'll start by re-visiting the musical scene based on Mr Anonymous's recent comment on piano teachers - two are mentioned, Mr 陳泗治 and 德姑娘 (Miss Isabel Taylor - TeGoNiu). The latter was seen around town usually on a bike. They are also remembered in the following:

In 1872 the Canadian Presbyterian mission settled in the north of the island, in Danshui (also written Tamshui, nearby Taibei). In their schools, music was considered as a subject matter worth of being taught as all the others. Obviously, as for Dutch and Spanish two century before, they were aware of the importance of music as a tool for evangelization; so it’s no wonder that, in those years from 1859-60 to 1895 (the beginning of the Japanese occupied period) teaching western music still meant to empathize mainly the religious aspect especially for gospels and psalms. In this period, amongst those who received these rudiments of music there were not only aborigines but also a great deal of Chinese (hanren漢人) emigrated from the mainland, Hakka and other Chinese minorities. In the English Presbyterian mission [in the south], those who had the responsibility of teaching music were Rev. David Smith (Shi Dapi mushi 施大闢牧師), Miss Sabine Elizabeth Mackintosh (Du Xueyun gu-niang 杜雪雲姑娘), Mrs. Montgomery (Man Xiongcai mushi-niang 滿雄才牧師娘) and L. Singleton (Shenyiguo xuan jiaoshi 沈毅郭宣教師). In the Canadian Presbyterian mission, the greatest contribute in music education was due to the efforts of Rev. George Leslie Mackay (Ma xie mushi 馬偕牧師, Miss Hannah Connell (Gao Hana gu-niang 高哈拿姑娘), Mrs. Margaret Mellis Gauld (Wu Weilian mushiniang 吳威廉牧師娘) and Miss Isabel Taylor (De Mingli gu-niang 德明利姑娘). Looking from the perspective of piano music teaching, the latter two held certainly the most important role. Mrs. Margaret Gauld [1867 - 1960], on the basis of the accounts of her students, was an extraordinary musician and teacher with a wide cultural background. She arrived in Taiwan in 1892 and remained there for 31 years, supporting Taiwan’s first generation most talented musicians and composers. When she arrived in Taiwan, there was neither a person who had seen a “piano” before, so in this sense, she’s considered the pioneer of piano teaching in Taiwan. Miss Isabel Taylor [1909 - 1992] arrived in Taiwan in 1931 and continued on the same way of Mrs. Gauld. Miss Taylor was, in all intents and purposes, a pianist: she was born in Scotland but her family soon emigrated to Canada. In 1931, after the graduation at the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music, she immediately decided to go to Taiwan where she started teaching music in the Danshui Girls’ School. After a short while in which she went to the States to attend advanced courses at the Westminster College, she came back to Taiwan where she remained until 1973. Amongst her students, there were the composer Chen Sizhi 陳泗治, the pianist Ms. Wu Shulian 吳淑蓮 (soloist of the YMCA Oratorio Society), the musicians Lin Shuqing 林淑卿, Chen Ren’ai 陳仁愛, Chen Xinzhen 陳信貞 and more.

[Note: The Chinese names of the missionaries shown above are in Mandarin pronunciation - quoted verbatim from the original report. In real life, the missionaries would've been addressed in Taiwanese when they lived and worked in Taiwan.]

[Mr Chen Sizhi composed the following:]

• 幻想曲 - 淡水 (Fantasia - Danshui), 1938
• 台灣素描 (Taiwan Sketches), 1939
• 爹地與我 (Daddy and I), 1945
• 回憶 (Memories), 1947
• 夜曲 (Nocturne), 1950
• 降D大調練習曲 (Etude in D flat major), 1958
• 龍舞 (Dragon Dance), 1958
• 幽谷 - 阿美狂想曲 (Deep Valley - Amei Rhapsody), 1978

[Source: "Taiwanese composers and piano works in the XX Century: Traditional Chinese culture and the Taiwan Xin Yinyue" by Luca Pisano, in Kervan Rivista Internazionale di studii afroasiatici n. 1 – gennaio 2005.]

Memories of 濱栗 and more...

The following is a comment posted recently under "Climate in Danshui 1885" by a Mr Anonymous who is obviously from Danshui and has lived there for a long time. His description of life in Danshui, probably in the early 1950s, is so interesting, we thought it a good idea to re-post it here:

Never heard of anybody swimming across the [Danshui] river successfully but we did swim often to the delta, which was shown on the US military map of WWII but since disappeared.
Ref. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/formosa_city_plans/txu-oclc-6594794.jpg

[The map site is still active, click the above link, see also below:]

(Map of Danshui 1944-5. Locations are in Japanese pronunciation and military targets are in English. Click to enlarge.)

The best time to get to the delta is at the low tide and the best spot is behind the public market. By the way, living in Tamsui we need not to have a tide table since noontime is always high tide upon the first and fifteenth of the lunar months. The salt-water fish arrived with the tide and the biting only lasts about half an hour. For catching the fresh water fish, like striped bass, you have to go upstream as far as to Kan-Tou 関渡, at the red arch bridge designed by Prof. T.Y. Lin 林同棪of the University of California at Berkeley.

The delta, we call 浮線 (Pu-Swaah, close enough, EyeDoc?) is merely 100 yards away at low tide but the river flow is fast, so aim upstream diagonally and start swimming with full speed, hope you will reach the other side within several hundred yards downstream. There is nothing on the delta except a single tomb, built by sailors for an orphan. Sailors adopted him but he drowned in the river later.

Navy has a small ship similar to U-Boat parked behind the Police Department, probably 100 yards from the shore. Swimming over and board on the ship time to time, soon we make friend with the sailors. We learn later that the boat is there for a sole purpose, waiting, in case high-ranking offices need fast escape from island. The duty of the sailors is simple just turn on the engine key once every day and make sure the boat will start. Not a high-ranking officer but a VIP, madam Chiang visits Tamsui often, especially near the sunset, probably for enjoying the famous scene.

Ah that clam, it is Hama-Guri in Japanese, (濱栗) means the chestnut of the beach [see picture on the upper left]. There is a native kind; sharp edged more like a wedge, however, the familiar kind is new immigrant from Japan and it can grow up to 4 inches size though they are harvested prematurely nowadays. The common method of clamming is using a rake on the sandy beach that showed up at low tide. For the big ones, we call 老蛤 (Rao-Gyou, close enough, EyeDoc?) we have to dive to get them. Once upon a time, at the lowest tide of the year, I dive into the ship channel, probably ten feet deep and grope with both hands. There are many gravel-sized clams partially embedded into the riverbed every few inches apart. They are the big ones. I have collected almost 20 pounds of big clam that day.

Boil and season with ginger and onion is the best way to make clam soup. For the big ones, we can simply bake it on the fire. It is ready to eat when the shell pops open. Japanese like to add few drops of Sake but I do not. I have discovered a big worm, couple of inches long inside the clam once. It must be a parasite, I guess.

[Note: The Romanized Taiwanese names are perfect - EyeDoc.]

Map of Taiwan 1896

This map is from the Scottish Geographical Magazine. Published by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and edited by James Geikie and W.A. Taylor. Volume XII, 1896.

The geographic names are in Romanized Hoklo (Hokkien, Taiwanese, 福佬話, 河洛語, 台語). The Romanization was started by early Presbyterian missionaries who had successfully translated the Bible into readable Taiwanese. The Presbyterian church began in 1865 with the work of English missionaries in the south and Canadian missionaries in the north (i.e., Dr George Leslie Mackay in Danshui) in 1872.

You can click on the map to get an enlarged view. In the north, Tamsui (Danshui, 淡水), Ta-Tun Shan (大屯山), Bang-ka (Manka, 艋胛 - now Wanhua, 萬華), Twa-du-tia (DaDaoChen, 大稻埕 - the famed 大稻埕碼頭 is now outside Gate #5 of the Danshui River levee), Taibak (Taipei, 台北), Ke-Lang (Keelung, 雞籠, now 基隆), Sin Tek (Hsin-chu, 新竹), Gi-lan (Ilan, 宜蘭), and Saw-o (Suao, 蘇澳) are clearly marked.

Also, the Spanish influence in the early 1600s can still be seen today: 三貂角 ("Samtiau", eastern-most cape on the map) was derived from San Diego. In Taipei-Danshui area, the MRT-Danshui line has a 關渡 (GuanDu) station, 關渡 (some claimed it was 甘豆 GamDao in 台語, although the locals pronounce it GanDao, it seems to have been 江頭 for a while) probably originated from Casidor (i.e., the cape). And another station 唭哩岸 (Qilian) was probably named after a Spanish colony in the Philipines, Bahia-Irigan (meaning the Bahia "bay" in Tagalog - which is similar to 平埔Pin-Pu's "kil-lrigan", also the "bay").

The etymology of Hoklo-Taiwanese can now be traced to the Fujian (Min, 閩) language, Japanese, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, locally developed terms (and a slightly different accent between northern and southern Taiwanese), and aboriginal languages. English is of course a newcomer, relatively speaking. At least 10,000 is still 一萬; it has already become 十千 in Singapore.

孫開華提督 - 漁人碼頭之戰的英雄

(There are no photo records of 孫開華Sun Kai-Hua提督; the above is often mis-labeled as Sun when in fact it was 馮子材, another prominent general during the Sino-French war, posturing with a French saber)

The counterpart of Lespes, the Chinese commander was Sun Kai-Hua. He was the highest-ranking military officer (提督) in Taiwan during the Sino-French war.

Commander Sun Kai-Hua (1838-93) was from Hunan province who joined the Hsiang Army (湘軍) in his youth and had risen through the ranks fighting in many battles against many different insurgent groups in China. During the Guan-Xu (光緒) era, he was deployed to Taipei and subsequently fought in the War of Fisherman's Wharf. Legend has it that he actually led the attacks and personally grabbed the flags off the hands of the French standard bearer, thereby boosting the fighting morale of his troops. A much more credible description, from two different sources, was that General Sun was seen having lunch and sipping champagne in the shade of a tree during the French bombardment.

According to many contemporary Chinese reports, the French either lost 2,000 or 300 men and either 2,000 or 25 (or 14) of them lost their heads. These maybe a bit over-stated because the French Infantry Marines totaled about 600. The more conservative estimates were 17 dead and 49 wounded. The severed heads (including Lieutenant Fontaine of La Galissonnière and two other infantry marines) were displayed in town and the corpses mutilated [by the Aboriginal warriors] prompting the protests from the then British consulate, Mr Frater, and Captain Boteler of the trapped British warship, the Cokshaffer. The heads were then turned over to the two gentlemen and given a Christian burial.

The French Government sends an emissary every year to Danshui to pay respects.

孫開華提督："湖南慈利人。咸丰中从军，镇压太平军、捻军。转战江西、湖北、安徽、江苏、广东诸省间，赐号“擢勇巴图鲁”；累官至提督。光绪初，历任福建漳州镇总兵，署陆路提督。募勇成捷胜军，治厦门、台北防务，曾用兵后山地区。中法战争时，驻守台湾沪尾，大败法国侵略军，歼敌二千余。封世职，帮办台湾军务。光绪十九年卒。"

以下錄自http://www.taiwanus.net/history/3/80.htm

"[1884年] 十月二日清晨，八艘法艦對滬尾 (淡水) 展開猛烈的砲轟，摧毀了河口三座砲台。十月八日天氣晴朗，上午九時在法艦砲火掩護下，八百名陸戰隊由滬尾沙崙 (今日 的淡水海水浴場一帶)搶灘登陸，然後兵分三路，欲佔領滬尾砲台及對港口掃雷，以便長驅直入。但為守軍孫開華等分途截擊。此時士勇張李成率眾五百人增援，攻擊法軍後方，在滬尾軍民合作下，加上雞籠來的援兵，利用地形夾攻，經四小時的肉搏戰，終將法軍趕下海，獲得大捷。此役戰勝計斬首有二十五級 (另一說十四 級)，擊斃法兵三百餘人，尚有不少法兵落海溺斃。滬尾之捷，是保住台北的關鍵戰役，否則滬尾一旦失陷，法軍即可沿著淡水河深入內部，直叩台北府城，當時軍裝糧餉全在台北，法軍得逞，後果就不堪設想了。"

至於法軍的傷亡，也有清方報導稱 ". . .自夜至午。馘首2,000余，法人遁. . ."，這可說是誇大了點，因為全法軍僅600戰鬥人員。比較保守的說法是49傷17亡。法人的首級 (包括 La Galissonnière 戰艦的 Fontaine 中尉及兩名陸戰隊員) 被示眾。還有原住民兵毀屍之舉。當時駐淡水英國領事Frater及滯留淡水港的英艦Cokshaffer艦長Boteler見景向孫提督提出抗議，認為清方對死者大不敬，所以首級遺體交給了這兩位英方人仕，妥為埋葬。

法政府每年派員到淡水致悼。

Sébastien Lespès (1828-1897)

Rear Adm Sébastien Lespès was no Adm Anatole-Amédée-Prosper Courbet. He arrived in Hongkong on March 4, 1884 to assume the command of the Far East Division. His flagship was the ironclad La Galissonnière. By July, this Division (including also warships Triomphante, d'Estaing, Duguay-Trouin, and Volta, and gunboat Lutin) was combined with the Tonkin Coasts Division in July, and in August, Adm Courbet took total command.

Lespès did succeed in attacking even occupying Keelung on Aug 5. The Chinese counter-attacked on the next day, and Lespès retreated.

On Aug 25, Lespès was to enter Min River to support Courbet's fleet which had just destroyed the Chinese Nan-Yang Fleet upstream in Fuchow but Lespès was forced back after his ship received several hits.

In the War of Fisherman's Wharf, Lespès's performance was less than stellar. In fact, France suffered a most embarrassing defeat. From this point on, Lespès was never to receive any more battle assignments except for blockading the ports of Taiwan.

In the Campaign of the Pescadores, Adm Courbet was in command who died on June 11, 1885. Lespès did deliver a moving eulogy.

Sébastien Lespès海軍少將在1884年3月4日抵香港就任法國遠東海軍支隊司令.他的旗艦就是鐵甲戰艦La Galissonnière號.到7月時,孤拔統領遠東及東京海岸兩支隊,8月合為遠東艦隊.

Lespès並無孤拔之才.8月5日攻打基隆時,雖然摧毀了幾個要塞,而且佔領了基隆,但次日清軍大事反擊,Lespès無法應付,只有退兵一途.

8月29日,孤拔在福州之役大勝後[偷襲大清南洋艦隊],順著閩江出海,Lespès入閩江支援,但在江口遇襲,旗艦中彈數發,只好倉皇撤退.

10月8日的淡水漁人碼頭之戰,在Lespès統領下,鎩羽而歸,灰頭灰臉的,從此孤拔不再交付任何戰事,後來只被指派封鎖台灣港口.

澎湖之戰孤拔就親自督戰.1885年6月11日孤拔病死,13日的追思禮拜中,據聞Lespès的追悼辭甚為感人.

Lespès的座艦La Galissonnière號吃水4,585噸(見下圖).其他的遠東支隊艦隻包括了Triomphante, d'Estaing, Duguay-Trouin, Volta, 及砲艇Lutin.

(Lespès's flagship, La Galissonnière, tonnage = 4,585 tons)

東郷平八郎 Tōgō Heihachirō 來"觀察"漁人碼頭之戰

The battle of Fisherman's Wharf had attracted the attention of Japan:

[Left: The Amagi]

During the Sino-French war (1884-1885), Tōgō Heihachirō (1848-1934), Lord Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, then the commander of battleship Amagi [天城], which was anchored outside of the mouth of Danshui River, closely followed the actions of the French fleet under Admiral Courbet.

Tōgō also observed the ground combat of the French forces against the Chinese, under the guidance of Joseph Joffre, future Commander-in-Chief of French forces during World War I.

Adm Tōgō was best known for defeating the Russian Navy at Tsushima Straits in the Russo-Japanese war of 1905.

東郷平八郎是位日本海軍英雄.曾留學英國.他的戰績包括了:
1894年9月17日,中日甲午海戰中,指揮浪速艦作戰;
1894年日本侵占澎湖時,指揮第一游擊隊以火力支援步兵登陸;
1905年在對馬海峽海戰中率領日本海軍擊敗俄國海軍.

在1884年的漁人碼頭之戰,東郷居然坐鎮在停泊於淡水河口的座艦"天城"號觀戰.現場研習法將孤拔的海軍戰術.並由法人Joseph Joffre解說中法兩軍的陸戰. Joffre是後來第一次世界大戰時的法軍總司令.

Climate in Danshui 1885

下文是1885年記載: 淡水的氣候既冷又濕,不適合洋人生存.

淡水人的經驗: 淡水冬季的冷,全國聞名,但也沒文中形容的那麼慘.文中的north-easters (東北風) 應是冬天從西伯利亞來的西北風之誤.此時淡水人圍爐取暖,順便烤烤年糕魷魚,樂在其中.夏天的颱風則與各地受災機率相同,當然有大屯觀音兩山保護,可能還佔些便宜.

Colquhoun, A.R., and J.H. Stewart-Lockhart. "A sketch of Formosa." The China Review 13 (1885): 161-207.

The climate in the Tamsui district is not healthy even for Chinese, far less for Europeans. From the latter end of November to early in May is the rainy season. The dampness of the air makes it cold, and chills are frequent, although the thermometer shows a high register as compared with the same latitude on the coast of China. The rainfall of Formosa is doubtless responsible in a large measure for the continued and almost cloudless sunshine experienced on the China coast between Foochow and Canton, during the N.E. monsoon. The constant rain in north Formosa is due to its propinquity to the Japanese Gulf-stream (the Kuro Shiwo, the Black current of the Japanese), over whose heated waters the north-east wind blows. The wind, coming into contact with the lofty mountain ranges of Formosa, precipitates its surcharge of moisture on the island, and about twelve miles west to seaward. The wind then passes to the South China coast, relieved of by far the greater part of its moisture, and China thus escapes, at the expense of Northern Formosa, the very trying and depressing winter weather. The summer heat is tropical, and the changes sudden. Tamsui is occasionally visited by violent storms. In the dense tropical forests of the interior highlands, where the sun, owing to the thick foliage, rarely penetrates, dangerous fevers are frequent among the aborigines, while to the Chinese settlers they are deadly. Few Europeans have yet tested the forest climate. The rain falls about half the number of days in the year, the rain-fall being about 120 inches. For two-thirds of the wet season the sun is completely obscured, the mountains being hid, and the ground saturated. It is, however, [p. 198] the continuous character of the rain which tells, resembling closely our 'Scotch mist,' or mountain rain. The aspect of North Formosa is dreary and cheerless beyond description during the regular 'north-easters.' Typhoons are frequent between June and October, their occurrence being very irregular. Sometimes these are of singular violence and do a large amount of damage to life and property.

艾倫的徒步旅行 由淡水到台南 1875

1875年 ( 同治11年 ) 11月， 英國駐淡水領事館員艾倫 ( Allen Curtis ) ， 接獲調職令， 即將赴福州上任。 艾倫趁職務交接前夕， 隨同李庥牧師， 馬偕師生等22人及狗兒普林斯， 徒步南下， 欲參加台南傳教師講習會。 艾倫將此行當作是離任前的畢業旅行， 因此撰寫 ( 自淡水穿越福爾摩沙到台灣府旅行 ) 以玆紀念。 艾倫說：

11月10日， 自淡水古堡 (紅毛城 ) 出發 ，渡船依八里分出入， 憑望觀音山盤旋入海， 復繞西麓沿林口台地南下。 午後抵海岸， 傍晚在桃園小村落和馬偕博士等會合用餐。 趁月色明亮， 栧開大步， 飛也似的行走約10哩路， 夜抵中壢住宿。
11月11日早晨， 空氣清新， 自中壢而下， 睹望山村廬舍， 禽聲嚶鳴， 此地客家移民依山墾地。 栽植稻米， 甘蔗， 行遠駕牛以運， 無非荷蘭人引進， 人省永日之功， 牛無酷熱之苦。 沿途不時看見由兩頭黑牛曳挽負軛， 一起拖拉， 那種牛車輪甚大， 外覆鐵皮， 縱橫衢市， 往來甚便， 車轍之聲 遠近相連。
距離竹塹8哩路， 抵鳳山崎， 兀立層巅， 向西遠眺， 忽訝雪浪雲濤， 俯瞰 ( 鳳山溪 ) 河流蜿延縈于， 山迴靜趣。 對岸城鎮 ( 新竹市 ) 碧宵隱蔽， 黛竹參差。 下到山腳， 溪流湍急， 行渋不易。 搭乘結竹排渡， 船伕拉扯藤繩， 牽繫兩岸木樁， 蕩舟入港。 然遊歷淡水廳首府， 官員形迹不定， 徒具虛名， 致城市商機匱乏， 當晚夜宿竹塹。
艾倫和馬偕在竹塹想拜訪淡水廳同知陳星聚卻未遇。 ( 淡水廳管轄新竹以北的北台灣， 同知是最高長官， 半年駐竹塹， 半年駐艋舺， 當時陳星聚視察轄地， 不在衙門，是否在艋舺不得而知 )
11月12日， 離開竹塹， 沿著西海岸南下， 香山海岸， 沙灘寬長， 迴水潦漲， 由北而西， 綿延至海。 我們渋渡濱海而行， 海上風濤難測 ，附近除了中式戎克船接駁載貨， 外船誤踐漾流則有頃刻危險。 沙灘上有兩艘英國遇風帆船， 斷木廢板， 殘跡尚存。 香山沙灘上擱淺的兩艘英國船， 都是該年10月失事， 亞歷山大號 ( Alexandra ) 二桅帆船在竹塹失事， 英格蘭號 ( England ) 三樯船在台中大安港遇難。 飯店 ( 美山村 ) 牆面張貼台北府軍隊副指揮官公告， 地方船隻失事， 應如何設法保護， 庶使商賈不得受其害， 村民不致重現於罪。 這張告示是署台灣北路游擊樂文祥發布的。
告示上約略說明 自荷治以迄清領， 每遇外海有商船遭風撞礁擱淺， 沿海鄉愚無不視為奇貨， 輒群趨前往。 船隻已沉者， 泅水撈摸漂流物， 情猶可原。 船隻未沉或僅擱淺， 竟誘稱代搬， 或乘危搶奪， 或冒險拾撈， 甚至連船板都悉數拆去， 貨盡船毀， 滅其形跡。 船隻飄洋失事， 不思援手反而劫掠， 豈是尚有人心。 今訂救護章程， 沿海劃分地段， 責成地方頭人， 繪圖造冊通告， 各自負責管轄海岸。 今後凡遇中外船隻遭風擱淺， 由就近營汛居民實力救助， 事後通報點驗會勘。
艾倫對新竹地方當局勸誡鄉民， 不得掠奪擅取失事船舶漂流物， 較以往積極， 表示肯定。 當天， 艾倫、 馬偕等， 共穿越20哩濱海沙地， 由香山經中港， 漂沙黏壤， 村居鱗疊， 鯨波漸盪， 胥收眼底。 橫越新月形沙崙 ( 後龍 ) 到對岸 桅牆林立 朝山區走 即抵新港平埔番社。 馬偕在此建立教堂， 招募信徒， 住民多數接受基督信仰。、，

砲轟淡水 The bombardment of Danshui

Oct 2, 1884: The bombardment of Danshui. In this picture, the French battleships are situated at the mouth of the Danshui River, to the left is Danshui (with Mt Da-Tuen in the background) and to the right is Ba-Li (with Mt Guan-Yin in the background). You can click on the picture to enlarge it. The captions from left to right: landing beach area of the French infantry marines, Chinese military camps, Chinese gun fortress, the Town of Danshui, New Fort, area of Fort San Domingo and British Consulate, White Fort, British warship the Cokshaffer, and the dam line (where the ships were deliberately sunk by the Chinese defenders to block the entry).

1884年10月2日,法國艦隊砲轟淡水的情景.艦隊位於淡水河口,左前為淡水,其後為大屯山,右為八里及觀音山. 可點擊上圖放大. 標示自左至右為: 法軍登陸海灘,清軍營, 沙崙砲台,淡水鎮,新砲臺,紅毛城一帶,白砲臺,英戰艦 Cokshaffer,及清方沉船海防線.

滬尾砲台—北門鎖鑰

滬尾砲台在淡水忠烈祠旁，老淡水高爾夫球場 (淡水鎮中正路一段6巷32號) 入口側面 。中法戰爭前，淡水原有三個砲台，沙崙砲台距海最近。中崙砲台又稱白砲台，在河口燈塔旁。油車口砲台又稱新砲台，在山崗上，距今的滬尾砲台不遠，海面上不易看到。
1884年10月1日清晨，法國艦隊開到淡水河口，主力是蒸汽機動力的鐵甲戰艦七艘。ㄧ個月前，這個艦隊殲滅了大清帝國的南洋艦隊，摧毀了基隆砲台，來勢洶洶，銳不可擋。艦隊碇泊在河口，與白砲台保持2500公尺的距離，與新砲台距離3400公尺，並以旗語通知港內的英國軍艦COCKSHAFER號〝明日砲轟淡水，中立國人士先行走避〞。而岸上的守軍則是忙碌地用起重機架設大砲與構築工事。 10月2日清晨6點30分法艦開砲，守軍立刻還擊。當天是中秋節的前ㄧ天，天氣晴朗，法艦射擊朝東，正好被日出東方正面照過來的陽光妨礙。清晨的薄霧蓋住市街和砲台也使法軍砲手難以觀測，只能依賴岸上發砲瞬間的火光來測出大略位置。7點30分晨霧消散，災難就開始了，岸上砲台先後被毀，法艦轉向射擊淡水街上其他目標，並保持間隔若干時間，向岸上已被摧毀的砲台發射數砲，防止守軍修復。
當時的法艦大砲可以由漁人碼頭的海面輕易地打中淡水老街上的目標。悲天憫人的馬偕博士，不理會法軍的警告，不願去避難。砲轟之後，斷瓦殘垣內留下了許多未爆彈。馬偕博士有這樣的記載：「有ㄧ個砲彈打毀了牛津學堂的ㄧ部份，另ㄧ個打毀了女學堂的ㄧ角，又另ㄧ個打中了我們前面的ㄧ塊大石頭，把它拋到空中散成無數細末，揚起了雲一般的灰塵和砂石。炮火停止之後，門外百呎之處有六個尚未爆炸的彈頭，各重50磅，我們叫人很謹慎地把它搬到河邊，放在一艘小船上，沉入河中。」
砲轟之後幾天的登陸戰，守軍沒有大砲的掩護，靠著無比勇氣，最後「血戰血勝」。法軍戰敗之後也沒有退走，依然停留在淡水河口，封鎖著淡水港，偶而向岸上砲擊，守軍沒有砲台，對他們束手無策。
戰後劉銘傳重修滬尾砲台，聘洋人鮑恩士督造，並請大砲製造廠派人實地勘驗。安裝英國阿姆斯壯30公分大砲一尊，砲長八公尺，重46噸，如圖，十足龐然巨砲。另有25公分阿姆斯壯大砲一尊和20公分德國克虜伯大砲二尊。大砲如今已不在，但是要塞，營房，彈藥庫歷時ㄧ百多年，仍然完好，足證當年施工品質，現已開放，值得ㄧ看。

為國犧牲的淡水港

法國遠東艦隊旗艦BAYARD號

1884年中法戰爭前夕，劉銘傳命人測量淡水河河口水深；滿潮3丈4尺（7.5公尺），於是購入商船四艘，舊炮船六艘，載石九千擔（540噸），橫列港門，破船底，沉塞於河道，預定日後再調器械船打撈。淡水英國領事館曾在收到知會後表示反對，但是無效。沉船之後再測量河道仍然相當深，於是又購大商船十艘，再沉於港門，確定『敵船斷難入港』。
港口又埋伏水雷十枚，用電線與水雷局連結，由士兵駐守觀測，準備在適當的時候遙控引爆。當時停泊在淡水港的英國軍艦「COCKSHAFER」和大清軍艦「萬年清號」也暫時出不去了。
同時，淡水港唯一領港員CAROZZI（英國人），私自投效法軍，帶去了淡水詳細地圖、航道、砲台、填石塞港、埋伏水雷的重要情報。他擅離職守跑到香港的法國領事館，毛遂自薦為法國軍鑑效勞，立刻得到年薪五萬法郎的價碼。（約合白銀7000兩）
法軍評估：「他所提供的情報是那樣正確，我們可以確信擔任封閉河口的工作，即是他本人，放在障礙物前的水雷，也是他指揮鋪設的。這個英國人為台灣服務之後，又來向我們出賣他的情報，他認為在兩個槽中取食是有利的。」
九月三日法國炮艦LUTIN號開到淡水河口，偵察淡水河口已有障礙物沒在水中，也看到英艦COCKSHAFER號，LUTIN號以旗語試圖和英艦艦長聯絡，英艦艦長表示他不能回答任何問題，以免違反中立。
九月二十六日法國炮艦VIPÉRE號（水蛇號）阻止了一艘英國輪船進入淡水港，令他原路折返。十月一日凌晨，法國的遠東艦隊開到淡水河口，司令官李是卑斯少將（LESPÉS）命人發出旗語信號「明日砲轟淡水，中立國人士先行走避。」
十月二日法軍砲轟淡水，成功的摧毀了岸上的三座砲台，現在已經沒有任何事物可以威脅到法國艦隊了。晚上，水路技師RENAUD在皎潔的月光下（當天是中秋節前一天）坐小艇偵測水路障礙物，評估能否開出一個缺口，讓法艦進入淡水河。工作持續到第二天，小艇前面突然發生猛烈爆炸，水雷引爆太早，沒有炸到小艇，看來這個水雷哨非佔領不可。
隨後的登陸戰的軍事目標，就是佔領水雷哨和砲台，結果法軍陸戰隊敗的灰頭土臉，逃回船上，可是法國艦隊並沒有撤走。提督孫開華為防法軍進入淡水港，繼續用竹籠裝石填水河口，直到隔年戰爭結束。
戰爭結束後，沉船沒有打撈。淡水港經過這一次填石塞港的政策，河道快速淤積，從此就光榮地位國犧牲了。

American consulate in Danshui

設在淡水的美國領事館 (繪於1871 年)

Illustrated London News

(The re-built Presbyterian Church in 新店, ca 1885)

中法之戰前夕,有些從艋舺(今萬華)來的民間人仕,淡水鎮史稱之為市井之徒,不分青紅皂白的反外.把馬偕博士辛苦建立的一些教堂付之一炬.包括上圖的教堂前身在內.馬偕家人只好避難香港.馬偕本人留在淡水,並參加救治傷兵(在"偕醫館"內,原址尚存,為觀光景點之一).

紐約時報1885年1月2日版有登署名GL MacKay自香港的投書,陳述因臺灣港口被封鎖,無法回淡水,但知道教會情況不佳,心急如焚.大約是漁人碼頭戰爭結束,馬偕博士立即赴香港與家人團聚.但滯留香港一小段時間後才終於返臺.

當時的"圖說倫敦新聞"報導了法國人攻擊臺灣:

The French attack on Formosa [1884:340; October 11, 1884]

The French squadron commanded by Admiral Courbet last week again attacked Kelung, the Chinese town and port on the north coast of the island of Formosa, which was bombarded, on Aug. 5, by a part of the naval force under Rear-Admiral L'espès. The Chinese forts, of which there are four, two on the east side of the bay, and two on the west side, the former armed with eight Krupp guns, were on the first occasion silenced by the fire of the French ship, but a small landing party was repulsed in an attempt to capture these forts. In the second attack, on Wednesday week [sic], the western forts were taken after some fighting, four or five of the French being killed, and about a dozen wounded. Kelung is a place of little commercial importance, but has some trade with the opposite coast of China, about Foochow. There are coal-mines at a short distance from the town, which are worked by the Chinese, but the coal is unsuitable for steamers. Sulphur also is found in a neighbouring valley. Not far south-west of Kelung is the port of Tamsui, which the French have now occupied. Its harbour is better than the others at the northern extremity of the island, and it has a larger export trade of rice, tea, hemp and jute, and grass-cloth fibre, sent to the nearest Chinese ports. There is an old Dutch fort on the hill, long since deserted.

Danshui - 12 years after the Sino-French War

From http://academic.reed.edu/formosa/gallery/Map_Pages/Locality_Maps
/Clark_Tamsui_Port.html

Plan of the Port of Danshui (dated 1896)

This was 12 years after the Sino-French War (1884-5). The numbers indicated along the river are probably depths in feet. You can see the sand bars had already formed along the southern shore. Not long before the French war ships arrived, bamboo cages filled with rocks were dumped at the mouth of the harbor to block their entry. The port was initially based on the southern shore (八里) later moved across the river to Danshui for the same sediment problem long before the blockade. By this time in 1896, there was only a narrow passage for the commercial ships to navigate and dock. One hundred and thirteen years later in 1997, with the Danshui line of the Taipei Metro open, the commerce of Danshui is finally revived. The town, however, is no longer the international trade center of the past.

中法之戰之時,故意沉在淡水河口的船隻及石頭,在戰後並沒有打撈清除.淤沙問題愈來愈嚴重(見上圖). 到1895年日人侵佔臺灣時,北部的海運重心己轉到了基隆港. 113年後 (1997年) 臺北捷運通車到淡水,才算又給淡水帶來了商机.但己不再是當年的國際貿易港了.

George Leslie Mackay's journey from Danshui to Tainan

Map of Tawian (1875) from
http://academic.reed.edu/formosa/gallery/Map_Pages/Island_Maps/Bax_B.html

On a Journey Through Formosa from Tamsui to Taiwanfu, The Geographical Magazine 4 (1877): 135-6

[P. 135] At the invitation of Mr. Mackay [馬偕博士], of the Canadian Presbyterian Mission in the north, and Mr. Ritchie of the English Presbyterians in South Formosa, to accompany them on a tour to their respective stations, Mr. Allen started in November, 1875, from the old Dutch fort at Tamsui [Danshui, 淡水]. Crossing the harbour near its entrance, and skirting the western side of the Kuanyui Hill [Kuanyin Mountain, 觀音山], 1720 feet above the sea, they gained the table-land which stretches some 30 miles down from the coast. The plain was covered with paddy and sugar-cane crops, and heavy four-wheeled carts, generally drawn by a buffalo, with two of the ordinary black cattle on each side were constantly met with [strange, usually it’s 黃牛拉車,水牛耕田]. About 8 miles from Tekcham [竹塹城], which is the capital of Tamsui [淡水廳], they reached Table Hill [?], or Windmill Slope, the termination of the plateau, and got a good view of the sea to the westward, and, descending, crossed the river in a flat-bottomed boat. Passing through the large towns of Heongsan [香山] and Tiongkong [中港?], and leaving the large town of Oulan [後龍] on their right, they came to Suikang [瑞港?], which is the last of Mr. MackayÕs stations, where they were warmly received by the catachist of the chapel. Most of the converts in Suikang are Pepohuans [平埔番], are found generally established in small colonies between their Chinese conquerors and their brothers, the wild aborigines of the interior, and are a simple minded and quiet people. Leaving Suikang, and making a midday halt at Tunglowan [銅鑼灣?], they travelled up a long and very pretty valley, then over a small range of hills, and next came to the colony of Laisia [?], the population of which is entirely Christian and numbers about 200. Passing through the village of Suitiam [?], and travelling along the base of the hills, over a plain some miles wide, strewed with rocks and boulders, Mr. Allen and his companions arrived at Toasia [頭杜]. Proceeding S.S.E. for 13 miles over a fertile plain, cultivated with sugarcane, tobacco, ground nut, sweet potatoes, &c., they gradually approached the range of hills which lay to their left. At the head of the gorge due east of the district town of Changhua [彰化], they were met by a party of about forty Pepohuans who were to act as their body-guard through the mountains. The gorge wound a good deal, with a thick jungle on both sides, which the Pepohuans occasionally set on fire. As they proceeded the pass became narrower, until they reached a point where a big camphor tree almost blocked it up, the width being only five feet. Mr. Allen described the scenery as magnificent, the mountains rising 2000 or 3000 feet [鐵砧山?], almost perpendicularly on each side, were covered with camphor and other forest trees. One or two veins of coal were noticed on the rocks, and a stratum of conglomerate pebbles in the clay, 600 feet above their heads. At the end of the gorge the ranges of hills opened out, and although they occasionally had to cut their way through the jungle, travelling was much easier. A small edible, acid fruit, resembling a raspberry was found here, as well as a sweet smelling fern, which the natives called Tanpa; but no savages were met with. The fertile, and well-watered plain of Posia [?], with a population of 5000, was next reached, and here they remained five days. Mr. Allen was shown an electro-plated silver cup, about two inches long, which an old man assured him had been an heirloom in his family for 200 years; but from some marks on it, he believed it to be an old Dutch matchbox.

Resuming their journey through another pass to the south they came to the beautiful lake of Tsui-sia-hia [?], or lake of the Water Savages, a distinct tribe who live on its banks. They are a degraded race, and are employed as slaves by the Chinese; they tattoo their faces in bands across the nose, are tall, and would be well-proportioned but for a pernicious habit they indulge in of tying cloths tightly round their waists, which deforms them very much. Travelling in a south-westerly direction over the hills, their next halting-place was Chipchip [集集], which is entirely Chinese, and is the headquarters of a mandarin. A number of villages were passed, one of which, Limkepo [?], is said to have a population of 3000. The valley through which they travelled wound about a good deal, and it was dusk before Toulak [?], their next resting-place was reached. The main road was struck at Tapona [?], and passing a few villages, the largest of which was Tamao [?], they arrived at the Mission Chapel at Kajee [嘉義?], and being within two daysÕ journey of Taiwanfu [台灣府 - 台南], Mr. Allen bade adieu to his [p. 136] companions, and on the nineteenth day, after a journey of 220 miles, reached Taiwanfu.

中法戰爭 Sino-French War 1884

This is a map of the battle at Danshui during the Sino-French war in 1884.

The map was probably based on one of several sold by Danshui harbor pilot, a Brit by the name of Carozzi, to the French in Hongkong, for which he received a blood money of 50,000 francs (as an annual stipend, not a lump sum payment).

The map was entitled: Entry to the port of Tamsui, Combat (Battle) of Oct 8, 1884. Let us now take you through the battle:

At the bottom of the map, you can see the River of Tamsui and immediately there is a “Barrage (i.e., dam)” line, this was where the old ships were sunk on purpose, and later reinforced by filling this location in with stones. To the right, there is the “FORT BLANC (白砲臺)” and further inland, the red markers are FORT ROGUE (紅毛城), the British Consulate, residences of Europeans, and other buildings. Then the town of Tamsui or Hobe (滬尾) itself. Near the town, the Cookshaefer was a British gun ship trapped inside the harbor. Also trapped was a Chinese transport ship 萬年清艦 (not depicted). Notice the depths are in meters, the deepest point was 7.3 m at high tide. Sandy sediments are clearly seen on the south shore.

The captions in French are quite straightforward. The names of the seven French warships need no translation. Rear Admiral Lespes, the fleet commander, was onboard flagship La Galissonniere. On active patrol was the gunship Vipere, shown in two positions; it prevented other foreign ships from entering Tamsui River. In the early morning of Oct 1, 1884, the warships moved into position, and Lespes, through flag signals, warned European residents in Danshui of the impending canon bombardment. On Oct 2, the bombardment started that destroyed three major Chinese artillery encampments. The Chinese artillery returned fire. In the thick fog, the French suffered some losses and ceased action. This was one day before 中秋節. So under the moonlight, French engineers probed the defense at the mouth of Danshui river when a mine was set off by the Chinese defense force. The French then beat a quick retreat. The battle finally started on Oct 8, first with heavy bombardments from French warships. Local commander 提督孫開華 was in charge with eight battalions of defense forces plus 100 artillery men. At 10AM, five companies of French marines (indicated by 5 small rectangles on the map) landed on the beach (see Point de debarquement – disembarking point - on the map). Captain Dehorter of the 2nd Company was hit in the chest by Chinese sniper fire and wounded (who was evacuated to Viet Nam and died there from the wounds). The French advanced through thick forests and bushes to the red line indicated on the map (line of French fire) facing the black line (the line of Chinese fire) – the Chinese positions are shown as Camp Retranche. To the north, there is another line of Chinese fire. In other words, the French forces were trapped. Chinese forces then advanced and attacked. All French companies moved to the left flank. And near a house at the converging point of the two Chinese firing lines, Lieutenant Fontaine’s company (the 1st Company) began to retreat. Others followed - shown in a zigzag line (the ligne de retraile – the line of retreat) retreating back to the beach. By that time, it was high tide, so the French must wade in seawater neck deep to re-board the landing vessels. A severely wounded Lieutenant Fontaine of La Galissonnière was escorted by two other marines and the group was lagging behind. All three were captured on the beach by Chinese soldiers and were beheaded on the spot. In all, 17 French marines were killed and 49 wounded in hand-to-hand combats. The loss on the Chinese side was 80 dead and around 200 wounded. The latter were tended to at Dr George Leslie Mackay’s Clinic (because of the hostility shown by some Taiwanese towards anything foreign, Dr Mackay's family and later himself were force to retreat to Hongkong). It was a hard-won victory and Danshui, to this day, is still grateful for the sacrifice of the Chinese soldiers.

The French then changed strategy by blockading all ports of Taiwan.

前言 Welcome

Most visitors regard Danshui (or Tamsui, Huwei) as one of the final stops of the Taipei Metro, a tourists' spot, and home to many higher learning institutions. However, very few know that it has a long and rich history, from the invasion of the Spaniards, the Dutch, through the Koxinga and the Qing rules, to the colonization by the Japanese, the historical lineage has never been interrupted. So as not to let the memories fade and the records forgotten, we who were born and raised in Danshui now start this blog to let others learn more about Danshui's history. We invite those interested readers to participate in posting comments. Together, we can keep the historical records of Danshui long-lasting and make them known to the entire world.

淡水,舊名滬尾,在一般人的觀念中是台北捷運的終站之一,是個旅遊勝地,也是幾所高等學府所在地.但是極少人知道淡水有豐富的歷史.從西班牙人和荷蘭人入侵,明鄭,清廷統治,到日本佔領都有一線相連未曾中斷的史實.為了不讓淡水的歷史消失,被人遺忘,我們生於斯長於斯的淡水人成立這個部落格,讓大家也能在玩樂休閒之餘增加一點見聞.還希望有共同興趣的朋友也能加入陣容,發表意見,讓淡水的歷史永遠存留.

(淡水風景 - 請點擊左端箭頭啟動視頻[音樂:久石讓,菊次郎の夏])