Diasporic Experiences and Memories of Place of Mainlander Chinese in Taipei’s Zhonghua Market (1950-2001)

• Main Authors: Yen, Hsun-Yeh, 嚴勳業
• Other Authors: Huang, Shaw-Herng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/81511228553726619521

碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 人文社會學系族群與文化碩士班 === 103 === This research focuses on Zhonghua Market area in Taipei, its establishment, flourishing and demolishment, as well as the alternative experiences to local Chinese diaspora and spatial pracitces in Taipei. Zhonghua Market was built in 1961 and demolished in 1992; during the period of 31 years, it had played an important role in the development of consumer society in Taipei. This research will discuss three aspects. First of all, I would like to clarify the argument on the establishment and demolishment/relocation of Zhonghua Market. The second part includes oral history from the residing merchants when the consumer society emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, and a people’s history of Zhonghua Market is reconstructed, overriding the statement of authorities. Thirdly and not lastly, after Zhonghua Market was demolished, the remaining merchants of Zhonghua Market are often examined through fieldwork and ethnography, but I would like to discuss narrations from them and the sense of place around this area through the preferred food of Chinese diaspora. From the three aspects, this search investigates how Zhonghua Market as a modernized urban landmark was later declared an obstacle to urban renewal from the KMT government’s perspective. The market building embodied the conflict between people and authorities. The Chinese diaspora built shacks, which were not licensed buildings, and they presented a challenge to hygiene and security. Zhonghua Market was also different from resident villages designed for military dependents, and represented a kind of hybridity in the commercial space. By analyzing the social relationship and history embedded in Zhonghua Market, this research presents the modernity of daily life in Taipei, and the tension of abnormal conditions and everyday life in various power positions.