Tamsui WELL

Source: https://www.facebook.com/2014awei

A message from Mayor of Tamsui, Dr Tsai Yeh-Wei, "淡海蔚城計畫，其實就是Well Town的概念，什麼是WELL town 即Work (新興產業，在地工作) Eco (環保生態社區) Leisure (休閒生活環境)及 Lrt (環保交通工具)"

Future city plans for Greater Tamsui will be based on WELL, i.e., Work, Ecology, Leisure, and Local environmentally friendly transport. 

Tamsui is the perpetual hometown to many, not only those born and bred here and those relocated elsewhere even overseas. It is open to newcomers as WELL.

Italians in Tamsui 1925

Of the 55,000-km route, 40,000 km was flown along the coastlines, 
8,000 was on the open sea and 7,000 over land 

Reader Yosh3 has called our attention to the map above. According to Mr 曾令毅 [here], it was an exploratory inter-continental flight piloted by Italian Air Force Commander Francesco de Pinedo and accompanying machinist NCO Ernesto Companelli. They arrived in Tamsui from the Philippines on September 18, 1925, on the Savoia S-16, and after re-fueling and some maintenance work, departed on the 21st for Shanghai and then Kagoshima. This 55,000-km journey started from Rome on April 21 that eventually covered India, Australia, China, and Japan.

The seaplane arriving in Sydney

For more on this epic flight, see Yosh3's comments here: http://danshuihistory.blogspot.com/2014/08/rising-sun-petroleum.html#comment-form

Sweetfish 香魚

Sweetfish 香魚 (aka 桀魚) may have a connection with Tamsui. Read on.

Once aplenty in 碧潭Bi-tan, the fish went extinct in 1980. Those available now are farmed from Japanese stock. The extinction has always been blamed on over-fishing, which is only partially true, because it was really owing to the disruption of the life cycle of sweetfish.

We now know, in the not too distant past, sweetfish traveled from the sea up to a special brook in 瑞芳 and went upstream to spawn at the very source of the water, 桀魚坑. Just like salmon, when the adult fish reached sexual maturity, they would return from the ocean to spawn in their ancestral fresh-water habitat. The ones in 碧潭 would have started their journey from Tamsui by entering through the mouth of Tamsui River from Taiwan Strait and went all the way up 新店溪XinDian River to 碧潭 and beyond. For a time, the fish was often caught in Tamsui River (see here) and appeared in 瑠公圳; the latter an aqueduct built in 1753, channeling water from 新店溪 to SongShan area before it became an open sewer in 1934 (now covered up, sandwiched between the in- and out-bound lanes of 新生南路). In 1922, small estuaries were actually constructed along 新店溪 to facilitate spawning of the fish; the efforts did not continue, however.

This photo (and the map below, both) kindly provided by 洪惠文 shows her father Dr Hong Tsu-Pei imitating the Aboriginal spear-fishing the sweetfish in 碧潭, taken during an outing in 1946. This indicates that the fish was still plentiful at that time:

In fact, the 1951 map (above) also shows 桀魚 (fish symbol below pink 台北市 among noted product of Taiwan. Around 1955, to maintain the water level of 碧潭 so the water supply to surrounding areas and boating activities for tourists could be sustained, a low-tech stone-dam using 竹蛇籠 (grapefruit-sized stones packed into long cylindrical bamboo cages) was built downstream from the suspension bridge (below). Without any fish ladders in place, this dam effectively cut off the home-coming path of sweetfish. Worse, the fish upstream were trapped and every single last one was caught and eaten (hence the urban legend of over-fishing).

Source: http://taipics.com/taipei_bitan.php

Google maps show a newer dam immediately downstream from Route 110 Bridge (秀朗堰, built in year 2000). Also, 直潭壩 upstreams constructed in 1973-78 as a drinking-water reservoir for the Greater Taipei. Fish ladders were never in the plans. Even if any, it'll no longer be relevant as the original red-finned 桀魚 is long gone.

John Dodd 陶德

Finally, more information on John Dodd, father of oolong tea and long-time resident of Tamsui, provided by Niki JP Alsford, author of "The Witnessed Account of British Resident John Dodd at Tamsui" (2010) in a discussion thread in Katy Biggs's facebook posts.
終於找到有關陶德，台灣烏龍茶之父和長期的淡水住民，的訊息了。資料是轉載自Katy Biggs 【洪惠文 - 淡水第一任街長洪以南曾孫女】臉書的相關評論線，主要是基於Niki JP Alsford所詮釋的陶德原著【Journal of a blockaded resident in North Formosa during the Franco-Chinese War, 1884-5】，以及Asford本人的意見和看法。

(1) First, was John Dodd a Scot or an Englishman?
第一個問題是陶德是蘇格蘭人還是英格蘭人? 

The answer seems to be an Englishman if his birthplace is taken into account. Following Alsford's lead, Biggs has found the baptism record of John Dodd:
以出生地來說，他應該是英格蘭人，由Asford的資料，Biggs 找到陶德的受洗記錄：

Baptism: 11 Nov 1838 St John, Preston, Lancashire, England
John Dodd - [Child] of John Dodd & Nanny
Abode: Shambles
Occupation: Butcher
Baptised by: Charles Wagstaff Curate
Register: Baptisms 1838 - 1840, Page 56, Entry 444

Dodd's parents were therefore John Dodd (the senior) and Nanny Dodd* (*Or Nancy Dodd - see Alsford's book, footnote on p 5).
所以陶德是出生在英格蘭的藍卡郡，他的父親也叫John Dodd,母親是Nanny Dodd (或Nancy Dodd - Asford 著作第5頁註腳).

However, in the book by 陳政三 "泡茶走西仔反: 清法戰爭台灣外記" page 001, first phrase: "陶德 英國蘇格蘭人 [i.e., a Scot]".  The Tamsui Township History has only one sentence mentioning 陶德 as 英人 which can be either British or English.
不過陳政三編譯陶德原著的【泡茶走西仔反: 清法戰爭台灣外記】的第一頁第一句就說了，“陶德  英國蘇格蘭人”. 【淡水鎮志】則僅提“英人"陶德成立寶順洋行“，沒有注明是不列顛(包括蘇格蘭)還是英格蘭英人.

Alsford is of the opinion that (1) it is through John Dodd’s mother’s family (nee Atkinson) that a Scottish heritage exists. At present this is an educated guess based on his family connections and (2) I honestly believe that the Scots had (as in many ways they still do) a reputation as being men of valour – see Grant Simpson’s, 1992 book on The Scottish Soldier Abroad. It is not over-fanciful to imagine that both Dodd and Pickering [Pickering was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire on 9 June 1840 – and again is not Scottish] wanted to adopt such mannerism and may well have identified themselves as Scottish – alternatively, particularly in the case of Dodd, when asked where he was from he probably would have said close to ‘Scotland’ and this later stuck.
Alsford 認為陶德是蘇格蘭人的記錄或傳說的源由有兩個可能，(1) 他從研究結果推測陶德的蘇格蘭血統來自母親的娘家Atkinson家族，(2) 蘇格蘭人一向被認為是驍勇善戰的男子漢 （可參考Grant Simpson的1992 著作【The Scottish Soldier Abroad】）。所以像陶德及同時代的Pickering（註： William Pickering， 1840-1907，是英格蘭人，香港海關官員，來過台灣，著【Pioneering in Formosa】,後任新加坡華人保護官)，很可能都自稱蘇格蘭人，連行為習俗都也悉仿蘇格蘭人。也許當年有人問起陶德原籍，他的回答是蘇格蘭人，可能就是如此，沿傳迄今。

(2) Did John Dodd have a family while in Taiwan since it is believed that Dodd fathered two children Valentine and Elaine? 
陶德旅台期間有無成家，因為他當時似乎有子女各一，名為Valentine及Elaine?

According to Alsford, "John did father two children – though recent research (namely from family photos) seems to confirm that Taihee (wife of his children) was actually from Hong Kong. So Dodd was probably not a ‘father’ in the traditional sense whilst in Taiwan. General Victorian sensibilities towards cross-cultural marriage are well documented particularly the transnational histories of Eurasian children (of which both John Valentine and Elaine Dodd; as well as MacKay’s children were considered)."
據Alsford的研究，陶德是有子女Valentine和Elaine，其生母是香港人,名為Taihee.陶德應該只是生父，不是正式的父親·，因為維多利亞時代對這種跨文化婚姻一般並不十分認可，對跨國界的歐亞混血兒也不是完全包容（包括陶德和馬偕博士的子女在內）。

(3) What happened after Dodd left Tamsui？
陶德離開淡水後，生涯如何?

Again, Alsford: "Finally on his return to England he married Mary on 7 August 1893 in Atcham in Shropshire (a border country with Wales). Mary’s father was a cabinet maker from a town (Porthmadoc) not too far from where Dodd finally settles (Trefriw) in a house he names Glen Mair (or Mary’s Valley). As the census confirms Dodd was a man of independent means (‘retired merchant from China’) he more than likely decided to move closer to Mary’s ancestral home."
根據Alsford, 陶德返英後，在1893年8月7日與Mary結婚，地點是靠近與威爾士邊界相近的Shropshire郡Atcham鎮。Mary的父親是製作櫥櫃的木匠，來自Porthmadoc,和陶德最後定居的Trefriw鎮不遠。陶德命名他的住宅為Glen Mair (意為Mary's Valley瑪麗山谷）。當地的戶口調查列陶德為富人（“從中國退休的商人”）。陶德大約是最後決定定居在Mary的老家，沒有再回原籍。

Niki Alsford is currently at School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London,  
email: na29@soas.ac.uk 
We also wish to thank Jerome F Keating for pointing the way

Minnie Mackay (Part 2)

Outside of Tamsui, the life of Mrs George Leslie Mackay (Minnie Mackay, 1860-1925) remains relatively obscure. Here is a brief biography based on information gleaned from Tamsui Presbyterian Church publications and University of Aletheia archives:

Minnie Mackay
Source: http://catalog.digitalarchives.tw/item/00/08/36/a6.html

The Chinese name of Minnie Mackay was 張聰明, pronounced Tiu Chhang-min in Taiwanese. She was the first born of 張忠 (wife: 愛氏) of 五股坑 and was "adopted" by 陳烏 (wife: 張氏) to be the future wife of the latter's son. It was the 送做堆 custom at that time. This son unfortunately passed away from an illness when Minnie was 12 years old. The adoptive mother blamed Minne for bringing in bad luck that had caused her son's demise and proceeded to mistreat Minnie. Luckily, Minnie's adoptive grandmother 陳塔 was a kind-hearted woman who had shielded Minnie, whenever she could, from the verbal and physical abuses.

In 1873, Macky established a church in 五股坑 (now 五股, a town upstream from Tamsui), 陳塔 became the first Christian convert and brought in many more new converts including Minnie. The latter practically grew up in the church and was baptized on Feb 3, 1878. Mackay gave her a new name 聰明 replacing the original peasant name 蔥仔 [scallion] (聰 and 蔥 pronounced the same in Taiwanese). She had attracted Mackay's attention because of her demonstrated proficiency in learning Roman alphabets to read the Bible, even earning the first place and an award in her Bible class. Grandma 陳塔, realizing Mackay's life was as incomplete as Adam without Eve, had decided to arrange for Minne to marry Mackay. In the Taiwanese tradition, the match-making was done first, this through Mackay's student 陳雲騰. Mackay had accepted the proposition. To prepare for the wedding, the Chen family finally treated Minne well, like a daughter, for 6 months she remained indoors out from the sun, no more field duties. Apparently Mackay himself was pleased to be betrothed to a healthy and presentable Minnie. Plus, Minnie was also without bound feet, as she had refused to submit to this barbaric practice since childhood thus fulfilling Makay's absolute prerequisite. And both birth- and adoptive parents gave permission for her to marry Mackay, in writing and witnessed by a third party. These "contracts" are shown below:

Consent from the adoptive mother (adoptive father by then had already deceased)
Source: http://catalog.digitalarchives.tw/item/00/08/36/7b.html

Consent from birth parents
Source: http://catalog.digitalarchives.tw/item/00/08/36/7a.html

Most important, Minne herself willingly entered this marriage and declared in writing: "I, 張聰明, in the presence of all, solemnly announce that I am willing to marry Rev George Leslie Mackay to be united as a married couple. This is from my own free will, unhindered in any way. I wish you all now bear witness that I, 張聰明, marry George Leslie Mackay under the law for him to be my husband forever.":

http://catalog.digitalarchives.tw/item/00/08/36/7c.html

This was a blessed marriage. Minne Mackay went on to becoming a mother and a preacher in her own right who was able to reach the female population previously inaccessible to George Leslie Mackay. And because she was local, the messages of the Bible could be conveyed in full. Minnie continued to learn English and became the only female among the 6 teachers when Oxford College in Tamsui opened it doors to a new generation of students.

Minnie Mackay (Part 1)

As all expats in Taiwan who have married a Taiwanese, the upbringing of the offspring is influenced by two different cultures, often not equally. The George and Minnie Mackay marriage was no exception.

The Mackays were married on May 27, 1878. The wedding ceremony was officiated by British Consul Alexander Frater, conducted at the consulate. In attendance were Mr and Mrs Frater, Mr John Dodd (owner of Dodd & Co寶順洋行), Dr LE Ringer (a physician serving foreign-companies洋行 who often assisted Mackay in medical missions), and Mr and Mrs Lay.

The Scottish side of the Mackay family is recorded on this site: "George Leslie Mackay was born on March 21, 1884 in Zorra township near Woodstock, Oxford county, 100 miles west of Toronto, Canada. Mackay's father (also named George) and mother immigrated from Scotland to Canada in the 1830's. They were among the tenant farmers driven from the Scottish highlands to make way for large estates. Dispossessed of land in Scotland, they crossed the Atlantic to begin a new life county in the rich agricultural plains of SW Ontario."

Dressed in Victorian fashion with George William in traditional Scottish kilt

Minne, in addition to being a wife, had proven to be an important partner in George Leslie Mackay's missionary work. From another site: "Another example of Mackay’s “going native” was his marriage to a Pe-po-hoan, which caused considerable controversy in Canada and in the foreign community on Formosa. Noting that few native women attended mission services, Mackay hoped his marriage would open their hearts and homes. He never thought about marrying a Canadian, he wrote in defence of his actions, “I am thinking how I can do most for Jesus.” Minnie Mackay, as she was prosaically called, proved to be a power in the mission."

And indeed a power she was, except Minnie Mackay was not a Pe-po-hoan平埔番 (Plains Aborigine) but a Hokkien-Han. This family photo (above) with everyone dressed up in Qing clothing is a good illustration of their more accustomed daily lives. The Mackay children did speak both Taiwanese and English; they were later educated in a English language school in Japan and eventually back home in Canada as Canadian citizens.