The Historical Standpoint of the Taiwan Hakka: The Case of the Yi-Ming and the Yi-Wei War in 1895

• Main Authors: Yun-Feng Hsueh, 薛雲峰
• Other Authors: 邱榮舉
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/59907267785805876471

博士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 國家發展研究所 === 97 === When Japan conquered Taiwan in 1895, the Taiwanese defended their home via a collective civil arms corps known as the Yi-Ming (“righteous people”), which had originally arisen within the Taiwanese Hakka ethnic group in 1721. This war was called the Yi-Wei War, and it was the largest war that had ever occurred within Taiwanese territory. Generally, two different historical viewpoints have existed about the Yi-Wei War – one from China and one from Taiwan. While the two viewpoints have concurred that the war began via a conflict between China and Japan in 1894, known as the Zia-Wu War, they have differed in narration. Historians holding the former viewpoint have always narrated the story within the context of Chinese nationalism, while historians holding the latter viewpoint have narrated it with the perspective of Taiwanese nationalism. Both discourses have ignored the involvement of the Taiwanese people’s self-determination with regards to the emergence of the Republic of Taiwan, as well as the impact of the ethnic diversity within Taiwan, including the Hakka people. This article discusses the historical viewpoint of the Taiwan Hakka using the analytical framework of Fernand Braudel. Only by understanding the history and perspective of the Yi-Ming can we understand the truth behind the Yi-Wei War.