Beethoven's Symphony No 9 in D-minor

EyeDoc's note: This is a supplement to Tsunami hit northeast Japan, originally posted here.

It is a well-known story: When his 9th (the Choral) Symphony premiered on May 7, 1824, in the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna, the audience went wild. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) by then, however, was totally deaf. Contralto soloist, Karoline Unger, had to help turn him around to face the cheering crowd. There were 5 ovations all together, the ultimate respect for a common man (the police stopped further ovations in deference to the royalties who customarily were accorded three). It must have been quite a moving sight.

Beethoven indeed had put all his heart and soul into this symphony. In fact, despite the common belief that the vocal part of the 4th movement, Ode to Joy, was a poem borrowed from Frederich Schiller (1759-1805), Beethoven himself actually wrote portions of it. For example, at the very beginning of the vocal part, i.e., the baritone solo starting on bar 216:

O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!

Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,

und freudenvollere.

Freude! Freude!

This symphony is of course remembered forever for its 4th movement. However, IMHO, the 3rd movement beginning with Adagio molto e cantabile is positively celestial that deserves even more attention.

Something about Beethoven's eyes? Ah, yes, we are just coming around to that.

The etiology of Beethoven's deafness has never been clear. Several possibilities have been put forth including otosclerosis, syphilis, noise trauma, Paget’s disease, sarcoidosis, and otitis media. None of them was conclusive, however.

It is known that Beethoven suffered from digestive diseases plus rheumatism, various skin abscesses and recurrent infections, ophthalmia, jaundice, and anemia. Ophthalmia? An old term for inflammation of the membranes/coats of the eye, i.e., iritis/uveitis. This, plus Beethoven's own admission of "constant belly aches, diarrhea and bloody stools" suggests that he might have a bad case of ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease - both of which are associated episodically with deafness.

So the best guess is then: Beethoven's deafness was an immunopathic manifestation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). And iritis/uveitis no doubt flared up from time to time. Unfortunately, after the autopsy, the coroner's report concentrated on the liver and the abdominal fluid, with nothing on the intestines. So we'll never know for sure.

There is a lesson here, though: Patients with IBD need to have their eyes (especially the retina) and ears (at least the hearing) examined regularly - particularly for musicians and composers.

The entire symphony is here:

Tamsui Peace Park (TPP) - update 3

A few years after the initial conceptualization, a sculpture in honor of those Tamsui-lang who perished during the Pacific War has actually be completed. It is located within Tamsui Peace Park.

The mother-holding-a-baby theme is based on the autobiography of Eyedoc's mother, who had  received an unexpected notification from Township Office to collect ashes of her husband Dr Tze-Chang Cheng, and in mourning, had gone to the shore of Tamsui River with her baby to look at Guanyin Mountain, in total shock, facing an unknown future at the same time...

In search of descendants of General Sun and Hunan Braves

A presentation entitled 台灣淡水在地看 清法戰爭 (a local perspective of the Battle of Fisherman's Wharf) was delivered by EyeDoc on March 2 at Harvard YenChing Library 燕京圖書館 to visiting scholars from China. It is hoped that the descendants from General Sun KaiHua孫開華提督 and/or Hunan Braves湖南勇 could be located, through publicity, so that their valiant efforts in defending Tamsui in the 1884 Sino-French War can be properly and officially honored.

Annual Clearwater Master procession

Beware of traffic control, bus lines will be re-routed or even canceled. If coming from Taipei, please do not drive, take the MRT instead. 

Have a great time in Tamsui!

Wrong mountain and river, 1938

A friend posted in facebook this 1938 postcard. Very nice photo indeed except it is not the mountain and river that we Tamsui-lang know of. Not only the mountain profile is entirely wrong, we have never seen corrosion of the mountain to this extent. Plus (1) on the far right, another mountain looms behind while no such mountain exists in Tamsui, (2) the river delta, a prominent landmark, is also gone, and (3) no small fishing sampans in Tamsui River were ever equipped with a sail (only transports with a mid-ship canopy and those from Foochow did).

Even though the caption reads Guyanyin Mountain and Tamsui River, this ain't it.

Tamsui 1960s

The three photos below were taken at the same location (source: Taipics.com) that must be viewed together. A close inspection reveals that they depict Chung-Jian Street 重建街of the 1960s:

Looking to the right with Guan-Yin Mountain looming in the background

Chung-Jian Street is on the left side, barely seen. In the middle of this photo is the Red Castle 紅樓with its flat roof.

Looking straight down Chung-Jian Street

Looking left

This is Chin-Shui Street 清水街, parallel to Chung-Jian Street. In the far background is the Guang-Du 關渡 Gorge, before construction of the Guang-Du Bridge that links Tamsui with Ba-li.

Chung-Jian means re-construction, even though this is the oldest street, once the center of commerce, of Tamsui.

Cheng Zhi-Long honored in Tainan

Source: here

Koxinga's father, Cheng Zhi-long 鄭芝龍 (1604-1661), finally is honored in 鎮門宮. This temple overlooks 鹿耳門 (Lakjemuyse), where Koxinga's fleet sailed through at high tide into Taibay and quickly surrounded Ft Provincia (1661). This tiny temple has two bare-footed Dutchmen as its gate keepers, or door-gods (see a previous post, here).

For almost four hundred years, 鄭芝龍 has been portrayed by historians as a pirate and a traitor, a one-sided erroneous description that has persisted to this day. Within the Cheng Clan, Koxinga's falling out with his father over the loyalty to Ming Emperor was also a factor. In fact, in Tainan, the seat of power of the Ming Cheng Kingdom, memorial to 鄭芝龍 is nowhere to be found.

We now know that 鄭芝龍 was forced to yield, not by the military might of the Qing, but by a great famine at that time when it was no longer possible to maintain a sizable force without confiscating foodstuff from the general public. Not wishing to do that and after a life-time of fighting enemies from within and without China, he was truly tired looking forward to a peaceful resolution. Only he himself was detained at a meeting with Qing officials. And three of his sons and daughter-in-laws were later ordered to Beijing. All were put to death in 1661. After learning the demise of his father and brothers, a crestfallen Koxinga passed away soon after.

In this temple in Tainan, the father finally took his rightful place with his son Konxiga and his wife Lady Weng.

Rennovation in Tamsui

MaZu Temple on Chung Cheng Road

Contributing reader ChoSun is wondering what the green cover over the MaZu Temple is for (above). Well, it is to prevent falling roof tiles from hitting the passersby. Behind the cover, a scaffolding has been erected for construction workers. The project involves resetting roof tiles and more important, straightening out the front part of the temple which is leaning towards the street, in danger of toppling over. This structural damage was from an unexploded 500-lb bomb dropped by an American F6F on Oct 12, 1944, and the impact had shifted the ground.

It also means MaZu herself has finally given the long-sought-for divine permission for the work to proceed.

Tamsui Aboriginals

Source: here

Our friend Dr Ken Hong shares this post 從「馬尼拉手稿」看16世紀的雞籠人與淡水人 by 陳宗仁. This「馬尼拉手稿(Manila Manuscript)」began by describing the journey from the Americas to Manila of Governor General of the Philippines, Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas and his son Luiz Pérez Dasmariñas. It also had a rich documentation of aborigines of East Asia. The stories of the manuscript ended in ca 1590.

The picture above, from the Manuscript, has a headline that reads Tamchuy 淡水. It is framed by local flora and fauna. And an aboriginal couple is depicted in astounding detail. Besides garments and weapon, the female is holding a golden skull, apparently her victim and prized possession, which, according to the Manuscript, commanded respect from tribesmen for her bravery.

Around 1630, Dominican Fr Jacinto Esquivel was preaching in Tamsui area, he noticed the continuing headhunting practice of a nearby tribe, the Kabalan 噶瑪蘭, even after other local tribes had made peace among themselves.

There is no surprise here as the Taiwanese are familiar with the aboriginal head hunting which last into early Japanese rule. What's interesting is the participation of females in beheading the enemies, apparently in battles.

Most intriguing is the town's name 淡水, pronounced Tamchuy in Hoklo. This tiny town of ours was apparently well-known to people in Hokkien even in ca 1590.

Cheng Zhi-Long in Taiwan 鄭芝龍在台灣

Chinese junks 戎克船

It is interesting, actually disturbing, to see the history of Taiwan constantly being re-written to cater to political needs. Some now claim 鄭芝龍Cheng Zhi-Long, Koxinga's father, had never set foot in Taiwan; therefore, Koxinga's staking a claim of his father's land in his communication with Coyet was illegitimate.

However, it is known that in his youth, Cheng was recruited by the Dutch and worked at Ft Zeelandia as a linguist specializing in Portuguese. During his stay, he apparently learned how the Dutch ruled over the Han and the Aborigines, administered the colony, and how they managed their privateering enterprise, especially in dealing with Min pirates. He then left Taiwan, reportedly without a formal resignation, to take upon the ocean-faring trade, in part imitating the Dutch East India Co ways, soon to command a fleet of 400 junks that sailed up and down the Western Pacific Ocean, from Japan, China, to SE Asia.

Source: Tonio Andrade, "Lost Colony", Princeton Univ Press (2011), pp 26-28

The surrender of Ming-Cheng Kingdom

The surrender of the Tung-Ning Kingdom was not as straightforward as commonly known, i.e., a simple capitulation announcement from Koxinga's grandson and heir 鄭克塽Cheng Ke-Shuang. As in Koxinga's negotiation with Coyett, Cheng Ke-Shuang must also deal with 施琅Shi Lang, the Ming-Cheng turncoat.

In Shi's report to the Qing Court, he stated,

"…查鄭克塽年尚幼樨，未諳大體，操縱指揮，權皆出于劉國軒、馮錫範二人。茲特令朱紹熙回台灣傳諭，果真心投誠，必須劉國軒、馮錫範來臣軍前面降，將人民土地悉入版圖。其偽官兵遵制削髮，移入內地，聽遵朝廷安輯。…（dated Aug 3, 1683, or 康熙Kang-xi 22nd year, double 6th month, 11th day)

In other words, Shi blamed everything on Liu Guo-shian and Feng Shi-feng, the true power behind Cheng. Both of them must therefore openly surrender. The Ming-Cheng people and land would be ruled under Qing. All officers and soldiers would shave their head in the Qing style and moved inland.

On Sept 17, 1683, Cheng issued the first report/announcement, namely,

招討大將軍延平王鄭克塽謹奏

"伏以論域中有常尊，歷代紹百王為得統。觀天意有攸屬，興朝宅九土以受符。誠五德之推移，為萬彙所瞻仰者也。伏念先世自矢愚忠，追懷前代之恩，未沾盛朝之澤。是以臣祖成功，篳路以闢東土，臣父經，靺韋而雜文身。寧敢負固重險，自擬夜郎；抑亦保全遺黎，孤栖海角而已。迨至先人弛擔，稚子承祧，常思畏天之恩，莫求縮地之術。茲蓋伏遇皇帝陛下高覆厚載、仁育義懷。底定中邦，如旭日升而普照；掃擴六宇，雖浮雲翳而乍消。苟修文德，以來遠人；寧事勝心，而焚海內。乃者舳艫西下，自揣履蹈之獲愆；念此氣血東來，無非霜露之所墜。顏行何敢再逆，革心以表後誠。昔也威未見德，無怪鳥骸於虞機；今者誤已知迷，敢後麟遊於仁圃。伏願視天地萬物為一體，合象胥寄棘為大同。遠柔而邇能，形民固無心於醉飽，貳討而服舍，依魚自適性於淵泓。夫且問黃□之海波，豈特誓丹誠以皦日為已哉。"

He professed young and ignorant having been raised by his grandfather and father, and conceded the heaven-mandated benevolent rule of the Qing emperor. And that he was really just a minion who would now pledged his most sincere loyalty to Qing.

Shi, however, was a practical man, on Sept 19, 1683, he again reported to the Qing Court, that

"…茲7月15日，鄭克塽復差偽兵官馮錫珪、偽工官陳夢煒，劉國軒遣胞弟偽副使劉國昌，馮錫範遣胞弟範偽副使馮錫韓，同曾斐、朱紹熙賚送降本稿前來澎湖軍前回話。…本月27日，偽藩鄭克塽復差馮錫珪、陳夢煒同吳啟爵、常在賚具降本一道，及繳延平王冊一副，印一顆，輔政公鄭聰印一顆，武平侯劉國軒印一顆，忠誠伯馮錫範印一顆，左武衛將軍何祐印一顆。…"

The seals (chops) of the Ming-Cheng officials including the Yan-Ping kingship had been received.

After this, on Oct 5, 1683, Cheng Ke-Shuang surrendered a second time:

招討大將軍延平王臣鄭克塽謹奏

為舉國內附、仰冀聖恩事。竊惟臣生自海邦，稚懵無識；謬繼創垂之緒，有乖傾向之誠。邇者，樓船西來，旌旗東指；簞壺緩迎於周旅，干羽煩舞於虞階。自省重愆，誠為莫贖；然思皇靈之赫濯，信知天命有攸歸。逆者亡、順者昌，迺覆載待物之廣大；貳而討、服而舍，諒聖王與人之甚寬。用遵往時之成命，爰邀此日之殊恩；冀守宗祧以勿失，永作屏翰於東方。業有修表具奏外，及接提督臣施琅來書，以復居故土，不敢主張。臣思既傾心而向化，何難納土以輸誠。茲特繕具本章，并延平王印一顆、冊一副及武平侯臣劉國軒印一顆、忠誠伯臣馮錫范印一顆，敬遣副使劉國昌、馮錫韓齎赴軍前繳奏；謹籍土地人民，待命境上，數千里之封疆悉歸土宇，百餘萬之戶口並屬版圖。遵海而南，永息波濤之警；普天之下，均沾雨露之濡。實聖德之漸被無方，斯遐區之襁負恐後。
獨念臣全家骨肉，強半孺呱；本係南人，不諳北土。合無乞就近閩地方，撥賜田莊、廬屋，俾免流移之苦，且獲養贍之資；則蒙高厚之生成，當誓丹青以啣結。至於明室宗親，格外優待；通邦士庶，軫念綏柔；文武諸官，加恩遷擢；前附將領，一體垂仁；夙昔仇怨，盡與蠲除；籍沒產業，俱行賜復：尤期廣推寬大之仁，明布維新之令，使夫群情允愜，共鼓舞於春風；萬彙熙恬，同泳游於化日。斯又微臣無厭之請，徼望朝廷不次之恩者也。為此，激切具本奏聞，伏候□旨。

His request of relocating back home to Hokkien was denied and together with his family, were held hostage in Beijing. His loyal followers, most were seamen, were banished to various penal colonies in mainland China to die.

70 years after the war

News from Tokyo: "Emperor Akihito in a New Year statement on Thursday stressed the importance of learning from World War II.

“I think it is now extremely important that at this opportunity we fully learn from the history of this war… in thinking about the way Japan should be in the future,” Akihito, 81, said in a statement released by the Imperial Household Agency.

And on 1/5/2015, "The Abe Cabinet will uphold the general stance on history of successive prime ministers, including the Murayama statement," he said, referring to a 1995 apology made by then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on the 50th anniversary of the war's end.

A new (Abe) statement will be issued on Aug 15.

Here it is:

Statement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Cabinet Decision

On the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, we must calmly reflect upon the road to war, the path we have taken since it ended, and the era of the 20th century. We must learn from the lessons of history the wisdom for our future.

More than one hundred years ago, vast colonies possessed mainly by the Western powers stretched out across the world. With their overwhelming supremacy in technology, waves of colonial rule surged toward Asia in the 19th century. There is no doubt that the resultant sense of crisis drove Japan forward to achieve modernization. Japan built a constitutional government earlier than any other nation in Asia. The country preserved its independence throughout. The Japan-Russia War gave encouragement to many people under colonial rule from Asia to Africa.

After World War I, which embroiled the world, the movement for self-determination gained momentum and put brakes on colonization that had been underway. It was a horrible war that claimed as many as ten million lives. With a strong desire for peace stirred in them, people founded the League of Nations and brought forth the General Treaty for Renunciation of War. There emerged in the international community a new tide of outlawing war itself.

At the beginning, Japan, too, kept steps with other nations. However, with the Great Depression setting in and the Western countries launching economic blocs by involving colonial economies, Japan's economy suffered a major blow. In such circumstances, Japan's sense of isolation deepened and it attempted to overcome its diplomatic and economic deadlock through the use of force. Its domestic political system could not serve as a brake to stop such attempts. In this way, Japan lost sight of the overall trends in the world.

With the Manchurian Incident, followed by the withdrawal from the League of Nations, Japan gradually transformed itself into a challenger to the new international order that the international community sought to establish after tremendous sacrifices. Japan took the wrong course and advanced along the road to war.

And, seventy years ago, Japan was defeated.

On the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, I bow my head deeply before the souls of all those who perished both at home and abroad. I express my feelings of profound grief and my eternal, sincere condolences.

More than three million of our compatriots lost their lives during the war: on the battlefields worrying about the future of their homeland and wishing for the happiness of their families; in remote foreign countries after the war, in extreme cold or heat, suffering from starvation and disease. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the air raids on Tokyo and other cities, and the ground battles in Okinawa, among others, took a heavy toll among ordinary citizens without mercy.

Also in countries that fought against Japan, countless lives were lost among young people with promising futures. In China, Southeast Asia, the Pacific islands and elsewhere that became the battlefields, numerous innocent citizens suffered and fell victim to battles as well as hardships such as severe deprivation of food. We must never forget that there were women behind the battlefields whose honour and dignity were severely injured.

Upon the innocent people did our country inflict immeasurable damage and suffering. History is harsh. What is done cannot be undone. Each and every one of them had his or her life, dream, and beloved family. When I squarely contemplate this obvious fact, even now, I find myself speechless and my heart is rent with the utmost grief.

The peace we enjoy today exists only upon such precious sacrifices. And therein lies the origin of postwar Japan.

We must never again repeat the devastation of war.

Incident, aggression, war -- we shall never again resort to any form of the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes. We shall abandon colonial rule forever and respect the right of self-determination of all peoples throughout the world.

With deep repentance for the war, Japan made that pledge. Upon it, we have created a free and democratic country, abided by the rule of law, and consistently upheld that pledge never to wage a war again. While taking silent pride in the path we have walked as a peace-loving nation for as long as seventy years, we remain determined never to deviate from this steadfast course.

Japan has repeatedly expressed the feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology for its actions during the war. In order to manifest such feelings through concrete actions, we have engraved in our hearts the histories of suffering of the people in Asia as our neighbours: those in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, and Taiwan, the Republic of Korea and China, among others; and we have consistently devoted ourselves to the peace and prosperity of the region since the end of the war.

Such position articulated by the previous cabinets will remain unshakable into the future.
However, no matter what kind of efforts we may make, the sorrows of those who lost their family members and the painful memories of those who underwent immense sufferings by the destruction of war will never be healed.

Thus, we must take to heart the following.

The fact that more than six million Japanese repatriates managed to come home safely after the war from various parts of the Asia-Pacific and became the driving force behind Japan's postwar reconstruction; the fact that nearly three thousand Japanese children left behind in China were able to grow up there and set foot on the soil of their homeland again; and the fact that former POWs of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia and other nations have visited Japan for many years to continue praying for the souls of the war dead on both sides.

How much emotional struggle must have existed and what great efforts must have been necessary for the Chinese people who underwent all the sufferings of the war and for the former POWs who experienced unbearable sufferings caused by the Japanese military in order for them to be so tolerant nevertheless?

That is what we must turn our thoughts to reflect upon.

Thanks to such manifestation of tolerance, Japan was able to return to the international community in the postwar era. Taking this opportunity of the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, Japan would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to all the nations and all the people who made every effort for reconciliation.

In Japan, the postwar generations now exceed eighty per cent of its population. We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize. Still, even so, we Japanese, across generations, must squarely face the history of the past. We have the responsibility to inherit the past, in all humbleness, and pass it on to the future.

Our parents' and grandparents' generations were able to survive in a devastated land in sheer poverty after the war. The future they brought about is the one our current generation inherited and the one we will hand down to the next generation. Together with the tireless efforts of our predecessors, this has only been possible through the goodwill and assistance extended to us that transcended hatred by a truly large number of countries, such as the United States, Australia, and European nations, which Japan had fiercely fought against as enemies.

We must pass this down from generation to generation into the future. We have the great responsibility to take the lessons of history deeply into our hearts, to carve out a better future, and to make all possible efforts for the peace and prosperity of Asia and the world.

We will engrave in our hearts the past, when Japan attempted to break its deadlock with force. Upon this reflection, Japan will continue to firmly uphold the principle that any disputes must be settled peacefully and diplomatically based on the respect for the rule of law and not through the use of force, and to reach out to other countries in the world to do the same. As the only country to have ever suffered the devastation of atomic bombings during war, Japan will fulfil its responsibility in the international community, aiming at the non-proliferation and ultimate abolition of nuclear weapons.
We will engrave in our hearts the past, when the dignity and honour of many women were severely injured during wars in the 20th century. Upon this reflection, Japan wishes to be a country always at the side of such women's injured hearts. Japan will lead the world in making the 21st century an era in which women's human rights are not infringed upon.

We will engrave in our hearts the past, when forming economic blocs made the seeds of conflict thrive. Upon this reflection, Japan will continue to develop a free, fair and open international economic system that will not be influenced by the arbitrary intentions of any nation. We will strengthen assistance for developing countries, and lead the world toward further prosperity. Prosperity is the very foundation for peace. Japan will make even greater efforts to fight against poverty, which also serves as a hotbed of violence, and to provide opportunities for medical services, education, and self-reliance to all the people in the world.

We will engrave in our hearts the past, when Japan ended up becoming a challenger to the international order. Upon this reflection, Japan will firmly uphold basic values such as freedom, democracy, and human rights as unyielding values and, by working hand in hand with countries that share such values, hoist the flag of "Proactive Contribution to Peace," and contribute to the peace and prosperity of the world more than ever before.

Heading toward the 80th, the 90th and the centennial anniversary of the end of the war, we are determined to create such a Japan together with the Japanese people.

August 14, 2015

Shinzo Abe

Comfort Women

There is an ongoing heated debate on high school history textbook framework in Taiwan. One of the contested issues is for the description of comfort women, whether they were volunteers or were forced into service during the Pacific War.

Prostitution in Taiwan has never been a voluntary profession. This is a matter of course to all Taiwanese. In fact, folklores abound with heartbreaking tales of young ladies forced into it, sometimes by their own poverty-stricken heavily-in-debt parents. It is safe to say that no Taiwanese women would knowingly or willingly enter prostitution let alone one that serviced the military. What did transpire during the Pacific War was often the ignorance, promise of higher pay, and patriotism that had lured these naïve girls away from their families.

On July 14, 1999, a lawsuit against the Japanese Gov't seeking compensation for 9 Taiwanese Comfort Women was filed with the Tokyo District Court. One of the plaintiffs, a Ms Kao, was from Tamsui. For posterity, the entire complaint of Plaintiff Kao is quoted below.

A brief summary here: Ms Kao was born in Tamsui on Sept 17, 1921, whose father passed away when she was 3, and mother, when 15 years old. She worked as a washwoman and a seamstress as her mother did. And at age 15, she also sang at Gang-san-lao (a house of ill-repute) and lived with her sister's family.

On one visit to Town Office in 1938 - to enquire how to adopt a daughter in the future, Ms Kao, then 17 years old, noticed a man recruiting workers for the Japanese military stationed in Canton, "easy job with good pay". All together, 18 girls signed up, reported to duty at Taipei Station and left for Keelung to sail to Canton, China.

It was in Canton, the girls were utterly surprised to learn that they in fact had been recruited as comfort women. Much coercion then ensued. 

In the next few years, Ms Kao traveled with the military to Singapore, deep in Burma and then Rangoon with no hopes of escape. In 1947, she ended up in Viet Nam waiting to be shipped back to Taiwan when all her worldly possession was confiscated by a "westerner" leaving only 5 dollars on her.

So, after 8 long years, totally broke, Ms Kao finally returned to Taiwan. Of the 18 girls started out, only 4 survived the war. She was eventually married and raised a family while trying to recover from the miserable wartime suffering to this day [note: 1999].

１９９９年７月１４日、東京地方裁判所に提出

一　原告　高寶珠

１　招集される前の生活

　一九二一年九月一七日に台湾省台北県淡水鎮で生まれ三歳の時
に父が、一五歳の時に母が亡くなっている。そのため、原告高は
幼い頃から母の洗濯や裁縫の仕事を手伝っていたので学校にはい
っていない。一五歳のころから江山楼という店で歌を歌う仕事を
しながら、結婚していた姉夫婦と一緒に生活し、姉の夫から実の
妹のようにかわいがられて平穏な生活をしていた。

２　徴集時の状況

　(1) 　一九三八年一七歳になったとき原告高は、将来のことを考え
養女をとったが、養女をとって間もないころ役所から原告高へ
の招集の通知がきた。

　その通知には広東に行って日本軍のために働くようにという
指示と、集合場所と集合の日付が記載されてあるだけだった。
原告高は、どんな仕事をするのか役所に聞いたが、広東にいけ
ばわかると言われたのみで仕事の内容は教えられなかった。通
知を持ってきたのは以前から役所にいた「ほくろに毛」と呼ば
れる人物で集合場所の台北に原告高を送り届けている。

(2) 　台北の駅には一八人くらいの女性が召集されており「ほくろ
に毛」の役所の人は基隆まで汽車に同行している。基隆からは
は船に乗って広東に送られた。

この頃、広東は第一回の戦闘が終わったばかりで原告高らが船
から外を覗くと死んだ人が海の中に浮かび、また広東についた
後トラックに乗せられ仏山というところに連れて行かれる間も
道に死体がたくさんあるのが見える状況であった。

３ 「慰安婦」とされた時の状況

(1) 　広東からトラックで到着したところは金山寺という場所で、
その場所には「慰安所」と書いた看板が掲げられてあった。
　この看板を見て原告高ら女性たちは何をするのかわかり、泣
き悲しんだが、故郷から遠く引き離されかえる方法もなく頼る
先もなかったためにどうすることもできず、性行為を強制され
るという苦役に服さざるを得なかった。

(2) 　その後、軍隊の移動に伴われ、香港から陸軍の船でシンガポ
ールを経てビルマに連れて行かれた。途中原告高の乗った船が
潜水艦の攻撃を受け、原告高はその轟音で右の耳の聴力を失っ
ている。ビルマまでは三ヵ月ぐらいかかっている。

４　ビルマの「慰安所」での生活

(1) 　ビルマに着いてからは、軍隊のトラックに乗せられ山奥まで
連れて行かれた。そこには真新しい「慰安所」の建物が二棟建
てられてあった。台北に招集された一八人はここまでずっと一
緒であったが、原告高らの後から朝鮮から連れてこられた女性
たちも着いて、もう一棟の「慰安所」の建物で性行為を強制さ
れいていた。「慰安所」があった場所は、原始林の中で、兵隊
たちは三〇分かけて徒歩で通って来ていたが、原告高らは、女
性であり身支度もなく、戦争中で安全な道などないことから、
柵が無くとも逃げ出すことはできなかった。

　食事も、軍隊から米・野菜を支給されて、原告高ら女性たち
が自分たちで作り、必要な買い物も兵隊に頼んでラシオやラン
カンで買ってきてもらうしかないという、外部とは隔絶された
監禁状態で、全生活を軍隊に支配されていた。この「慰安所」
を利用した部隊の名前はタツ部隊であった。

(2) 　「慰安所」は、台湾のおばさんとお姉さんと呼んだ女性二人
と九州から来た日本人のおばさんと呼ばれる女性の三人で管理
していた。兵隊は二元、将校は四元払っていたが、女性たちに
は一〇日に一度清算して支払われていたが、原告高が留守宅に
送金した金銭は届いていなかった。身体検査は、日本の軍医が
月に三回位来ている。

　土曜日曜は大勢の兵隊が来て特に酷使されていた。将校が夜
宴会を開くときにも動員されている。

５　ラングーンへの移動と慰安所での生活

　更に、何年かして戦況が厳しくなった中、日本軍の駐屯地から
の撤退に伴い女性たちは幾つかのグループに分けられて、軍隊の
車に乗って移動し、原告高は約一日かかってラングーンに移され
た。賑やかな町であったが、新しく「慰安所」の建物が作られ、
原告高らはここでも日本人軍の兵隊の性処理の道具という苦役に
つかされている。

　この場所も、日本軍専用の「慰安所」として運営されていた。
ここには一年から二年拘束されている。この「慰安所」に移され
たころには台湾から一緒だった一八人は七人か八人になっていた。
分かれた女性のなかには「タツ」部隊と一緒に山奥に移動した者
もいた。

６　敗戦と帰郷

　原告高らは戦争が終わった後、憲兵にベトナムに行って船を待
てと指示され、憲兵隊の高官の指示でベトナムに移動している。
憲兵から通行許可証と腕章を与えられている。

　原告高らはベトナムで船を待っている間に日本の許可証を持っ
ていたことから日本人と思われ抑留されそうになったが、台湾の
高官が中国人であることを説明したので抑留はされずに済んだ。
しかし、帰還船に乗船する際、西洋人が来て検査し、金や荷物を
取り上げたために原告高は、この時手元に五元だけ残して全財産
を失っている。

　台湾には一九四七年に帰っている。原告高が召集の通知で台湾
を出てから八年も経っていた。台北に集められた一八人のうち帰
ったのは四人のみであった。一四人が命を失ったり、故郷に戻れ
ないままになっている。

７　帰郷後の生活

　原告高は台湾に帰ったが、送金した金銭が留守宅に届いていな
かったりしたこともあり、また、せっかく縁組みをした養子も幼
いときに別れ、育てていないので親子の情がわかないままであっ
た。原告高は、酒家で働いたりした後、生活のために九人の子供
のいる男性と結婚したが、悲惨な体験を癒すすべもないまま今日
に至っている。

Gunboats in Tamsui

The presidential gunboat in Tamsui (courtesy of Prof LY Tseng)

Gunboats in Tamsui were never a rare sight, historically they arrived from China, England, France, and Japan, in both war and peace times. Even Steve McQueen's the Sand Pebbles (1966) was kind of there. Nothing really surprises us until the recent realization that two were actually reserved for CKS's personal use.

Tamsui-lang who grew up in town in the 60s still remember seeing a small gunboat moored near the piers behind Tamsui Post Office. It magically disappeared whenever a typhoon visited only to re-emerge from somewhere afterwards. Little did we known that it was part of CKS's "escape" plan.  And it was not only one but two gunboats. According to this site http://60-250-180-26.hinet-ip.hinet.net/taiwan/4425.html:

海軍配合總統府侍衛室的要求, 於1960年春在淡水河口編配一支快艇隊以供萬一蔣介石總統緊急需要時, 可自士林官邸趨車直奔淡水巡防處碼頭登艇, 開赴外海轉乘來接駕之座艦. 當時建造了兩艘交通艇, 並編制"定海"號為座艇, "鎮海"號為副艇. 兩艇規格不明.
Translation: At the request of the Presidential Guards, the Navy commissioned a speedboat team in the spring of 1960 to serve CKS in case of emergency. CKS was to be driven directly from his official residence in Shilin to a gunboat stationed at the coast guard docks in Tamsui and the boat was to ferry him to a presidential warship awaiting at high sea. Two such transfer boats were built and christened DingHai and ChengHai, respectively, with the latter designated as the backup. The specs of these two gunboats remain unknown.

Judging from the part of GuanYin Mountain appearing in the background, the gunboat in the photo above was most likely the DingHai, hiding inside the then restricted zone of the Customs Wharf. The one parked in the back of Tamsui Post Office for all to see was the smaller ChengHai.

This contingency plan of course was never put in action; although it was certainly far more elaborate than that for the first and only president of  the Republic of Formosa, 唐景崧Tang Jing-Song. Who, on June 6, 1895, sneaked from Taipei to board a German passenger ship Arthur anchored in Tamsui Port and sailed off to Foochow, leaving the Taiwanese behind to fend for themselves.

Light House in Tamsui 1796

Located inside the MaZu Temple in Tamsui, on the left wall in the main hall, there is a stone tablet commemorating the building of Tamsui Overlook Light House:

Light house memorial tablet (1796)

The entire inscription is shown below. Not only the purpose of the project, it also recorded that all ships presently in port contributed one Spanish silver dollar each to the construction, and a fee of 40 cents would be collected from each entering ship to pay for light house upkeep. Notice at the end, the names of the donors all contain the character "觀":

望高樓碑誌 

仝立望高樓泉廈郊出海戶尾街董事 茲為設立守望以便利涉事 窃惟淡江港口係諸舡出入要津之所 其東北勢旁 有假港一處 每遇黑夜沙汕障蔽 莫辨真假 前經一二舡隻悞認假港 致遭不利 爰是邀同船戶相議 捐資建立望高樓一座 在假港水涯 付與
福佑宮住僧度西倩工守護 每夜明燈 照應諸船 由燈下南勢進港可保無虞 其建立費項 業經在港諸船允捐銀壹大元外 再到本港者 每次出銀四錢 以為守樓工資油火等費 願我同人 玉成其事 捐金不替 則眾生無迷津 而諸船皆利涉矣

嘉慶元年端月 日公立

黃從觀 歐居觀 林格觀 林騧觀 林疑觀 林詹觀 林鎮觀 紀意觀
王由觀 林禎觀 紀恭觀 朱相觀 黃經觀 高二觀 洪的觀 傅球觀
林景觀 洪德觀 陳評觀 紀暨觀 薛鎮觀 傅橙觀 周古觀 紀草觀 王仕觀

觀 was a salutation, equivalent to 官 (Master/Sir). For example, the first one on the list 黃從觀 was from 黃x從, x was removed to make room for 觀. In other instances, 觀 was simply added after the full name. This form of salutational address is no longer in use in the Chinese language, however.

Xiamen

PRC map of Greater Xiamen including Xiamen Island

Throughout Chinese history, names of places are often changed to conform to new civil administrative systems imposed by new rulers/conquerors. This is a geographical identity cleansing on an unimaginable scale. Xiamen Island (廈門島) is no exception. Xiamen is of course known to the West as Amoy.

Xiamen Island was known as 嘉禾嶼 during the Song Dynasty and 中左所 during Ming Dynasty. It had been part of the TongAn Prefecture (同安縣). During the Song Dynasty, TongAn was made up of 11 Li (里) which became 44 Du (都） in Yuan Dynasty, and 37 Du in Ming. The 11 Li's were named 長興, 同禾, 民安, 從順, 翔鳳, 感化, 歸德, 仁德, 安仁, 積善, and 嘉禾. And 嘉禾里 was the original name of Xiamen Island.

The ancestors of some Tamsui-lang were from 嘉禾里 or Xiamen Island, while others, the rest of the old TongAn Prefecture （here). Not to be out-done, the PRC has also re-districted these areas and lumped them into the City of Xiamen (above), adding even more confusion.

Merchants in Tamsui

Prof 曾令毅Tseng Ling-Yi of Tamkang University has just posted the following:

"淡水英專路附近的庄仔內福德祠建廟碑刻（同治六年），這附近的地原來是下圭柔社所有地，乾嘉以後被漢人大量墾佃，之後漢佃繳納番大租取得土地，道同以後此地漸為漢人業主所有，並於同治六年（1867）興建此福德祠，而碑刻內所登載的漢人業主除了淡水當地的商號（如，新厝街吳鶴記；即「和美吳鶴友」），還有臺北城內外周邊的大商號為了在開港後為取得港口商業腹地，而開始進淡水置產（也可能更早），如林本源家族、洪合益號（洪騰雲家族）等等。見證了清代中期後淡水的開發、漢番關係與開港前後的貿易商號動態。"
A quick translation: A stone tablet can be seen in a temple near Yin-Zhuang Road (below). The land nearby originally belonged to the Aborigines, later taken over by the Han people complete with deeds. In 1867, merchants contributed funds to build this earth-god temple. On the tablet the names of donor corporations, locally from Tamsui and other prominent families from Taipei, were recorded...

A local "吳鶴記Wu He Ji" was mentioned as one of the donors and three of the Wu family members appeared on the tablet (lower right):

同治六年 (1867)

The donation was made in 佛銀, Spanish silver dollars, common currency at that time (one 佛銀 = 0.67兩紋銀silver tael x 8880 = NT$5949.60).

A real estate transaction contract from dated 1879 (GuanXu Year 5), mentioned 吳鶴記, a cropped section here:

Wu Family collection

Indeed, as Prof Tseng has pointed out that the middle Qing era has witnessed the development of Tamsui, the interaction between the Han ad the Aborigines, and the mercantile activities before Tamsui became a major sea port.

Oyster Lady

The Oyster Lady (1964), the first movie in CinemaScope
in full color produced in Taiwan

Up and down the west coast of Taiwan, oyster-farming can be found almost everywhere, most notably in JiaYi, Tainan, Yunlin, and Changhua. About 50% of oysters in Taiwan are produced in TungShi 東石 in Jiayi. It has a long history as well, for example, in Tainan, part of Ft Zeelandia was built with cement made with oyster shell ashes. In HenChun, there is a oyster shell island in 大鵬灣 formed from discarded oyster shells over the past few centuries.

Harvesting oysters

Eating oysters raw is not in the Taiwanese culinary culture. In Tamsui, oysters have always been prepared as clear soup. In the now demolished Grand Rotary 圓環 in Taipei, oyster pancakes with or without eggs mixed in the batter were served. These oysters were all small in size. Even today, the most seeded jumbo Clausen Pacific oysters are allowed to grow for only 6 months to one year, as opposed to 2-4 years in north America, before harvesting. Catering to the consumers' preference aside, the giant variety never tastes good anyway, in fact, the flavor is all wrong. Restaurants advertising Taiwanese cuisine in the US also serve 蠔仔煎, albeit with jumbo ones. After a few tries, the verdict is often a "Don't bother".

Oyster pancake/omelet, usually served with a ketchup-like 海山醬

Oysters grown in Tamsui River in Tamsui are now too polluted to eat. The same small oysters with the same distinct flavor, however, can still be found in Sendai, the 宮城三陸牡蠣 Miyagi Sanriku Kaki, This photo shows an example, second from the left, the smallest one:

From left to right: 能登岩牡蠣, 宮城三陸牡蠣, 宮城福貴浦牡蠣, 北海道厚岸牡蠣

Taiwan has 18 varieties of oysters. The taxonomy is best left to the experts, we the consumers only need to know where to get and how to eat them. Charcoal-grilled oysters on the half-shell washed down with Taiwan Beer are most definitely more satisfying than oyster soup. Even better, they can be found in 鹿耳門 in Tainan (where Koxinga's fleet sailed through in 1661 before the first battle against the Dutch) - no need to travel to Sendai. 

Beautiful Duckling

Beautiful Duckling

Beautiful Duckling (養鴨人家) is an award-winning movie that premiered in 1965. The storyline is based on a loving relationship between farmer Lin and his adopted daughter Little Moon (小月). In the background was naturally the ducks - with duck breeding woven into the plot.  So what kind of ducks were in the movies? Answer: brown Tsaiya (菜鴨).

Tsaiya in fact comes in two colors: brown is the oldest that came from southern China, and white, bred from male muscovy and female tsaiya under strict protocols (officially known as Yilang white duck, 宜蘭白鴨). The brown tsaiya is raised mostly for its eggs, and white, for meat.

The red-faced black muscovy is the ferocious territorial kind. Its meat has a distinct flavor often used in the preparation of the ginger-duck-soup (薑母鴨) (below), a winter-time favorite for the Taiwanese. White muscocies were introduced from Australia in 1962, later also from the Netherlands and the US, and in 1984, France.

The lovely Peking duck, originally from northern China, was imported to Taiwan in 1954. Then there are the hybrids: male Peking + female tsaiya = kaiya (改鴨), and male muscovy + female tasiya = mule duck (土番鴨), bred for speedy maturation and increasing weights.

Consumption of duck eggs gradually shifted to chicken eggs after the introduction of large-scale chicken farming into Taiwan in 1961. These days, just like in the US, duck eggs are hard to find in supermarkets. And because of the elevated fatty contents of duck meat especially the skin, it has also fallen into disfavor for some consumers (even though there has been no evidence linking duck fats with cardiovascular diseases). The challenge now is how to breed ducks with lean meat.

Giant African snails Part 2

Giant African snails also ended up in Okinawa Prefecture 沖縄県 having been brought in from Taiwan in 1932. Initially, the snails were confined in a lab for breeding experiments, some, however, had escaped during the Battle of Okinawa. As in Taiwan, the snails were intended as food source for the army, as least for those stationed in Amami 奄美 (Ogasawara 小笠原 appeared to have imported its own from Java).

Because of the severe food shortage immediately after the war, giant African snails became a protein source of desperation. They were ditched as soon as the food situation improved, however. The Okinawans also did not have a snail-eating custom. So the snails were simply let go that had resulted in an explosive growth as they had no natural enemies in Okinawa.

The outbreaks in Ogasawara Islands and Okinawa became so bad that traveling cars regularly crushed them on highways. Worse, damage to agriculture was enormous. So snails by the truckloads were collected and destroyed. Then in 1969, cases of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis were reported in Okinawa. Extermination of the snails, carriers of the parasite Angiostrongylus (Angiostrongylus cantonensis), started post-haste.

By 1985, routine removal in Okinawa Prefecture had seen a decline of the snail population, although not totally gone. Curiously, in Chichi-jima 父島 of the Ogasawara Islands, the snails totally disappeared in around 1989, even though those on Haha-jima 母島 remained alive and well. Cause of the Chichijima snail depletion was unknown, possibly owing to the arrival of some new predators.

[Source: http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/milasol1224/1612520.html]