| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺南大學 === 台灣文化研究所碩士班 === 100 === Sinjhong Village and Sinjhuang Village in Wandan was the same villiage which was called Sinjhuangzih in the past. The residents in Sinjhuangzih were mainly from Quanzhou, Minnan. Most of them were farmers and most of their last names were Li. The old house of one of the Li family is kept well. The descendants considered themselves the clans of the “ChenChi” family. Today they don’t live in the ancient house in Sinjhuangzih anymore but around the other places in Taiwan. Every New Year, every family’s branch holds the clan association by turns in the old house and makes friendly contacts with the family.
During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, Li Yang who was the founding ancestor of the ChenChi family in Sinjhuangzih, Wandan came to Taiwan with his brother, Li Qiu. They were in Jiadongjiao first and then moved to Sinjhuangzih after acquiring the unexpected wealth. They became rich by running a grocery store and renting the lands. In the end of Qing Dynasty, they even became the leading family locally.
During Japanese colonial period, because of the change of the regime, they were devoted to the official jobs in order to keep the status and rights of the family. They aggressively participated in many local affairs, kept a good relationship with Japanese, and gained some fame locally. The ChenChi family quite valued children’s education and developed their spirit of study and creativity. Therefore the family members, including men and women, all received an excellent education. Li Lie, an agricultural inventor, he invented and reformed many kinds of agricultural machines and bred the new rice seed. He was even awarded the medals by Japanese Emperor. In order to strength the statue of the family, besides taking the official jobs and modern education, they even chose the ideal mate for the family to extend and raise the clans’ local influence by marriage.
During the early days after war, the family still held public office and had influence on this region. However, due to the change of the society, the population of the country had decreased. They began going to the cities and thus their influence on the local place had decreased too. Because of the policy of the land reform, they started to invest the industry and business. In the 60s and 70s, they established the “Dian Guang Brand” domestic appliance business and today they are active in the bathroom facility market. After making a success of the business, they also returned their hometown. They found the clan association to solidify the whole family.
The thesis tries to study the origin and development of the ChenChi family by interviewing the family and previous studies. It is not originally a large rich family and landlord which had the political and economical power in the town. However, from the end of Qing Dynasty to the period after the war, it accumulated a fortune by running business and estate, and gradually and greatly developed in Sinjhuangzih. The children received the modern education and had the innovative ideas of the business. It even carefully chose the ideal mate for the children. Therefore it can keep its fame and status under the two changes of the regime.
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