Ms. Du Shu-chun, daughter of Mr. Du Cong-Ming, visits the Academia Sinica “Her Story in Taiwan Special Exhibition “

Do you recall the disputes of an individual or family in the eddies of time portrayed by the Japanese author Yamazaki Toyoko? In fact, in rainy, sand- touched, beautiful Taiwan, the century of “women’s” history from the Qing Dynasty and the Japanese Colonial Period to this day onward possesses a similar moving profundity. In the Academia Sinica Institute of Taiwanese History, the  “Her Story in Taiwan Special Exhibition” has been specially prepared to celebrate Taiwanese women’s history over the nation- building of the past century, and should certainly not be missed by anyone with an interest in Taiwanese history or gender issues!

At the exhibition’s opening ceremony, The Institute of Taiwanese History specially invited many of those who had provided the archives to share their own personal histories with visitors. They included Ms. Du Shu-chun, the first female Taiwanese student of Taipei Imperial University, who shared stories of her and her father in the Japanese Colonial Period. Professor Guo Mei-ru, a professor in the National Taiwan University’s Department of Music and daughter- in-law of the famous musician Ms. Gao Ci-mei, also told those in attendance how Ms. Gao had made a tour of Taiwan after the 1935 earthquake, playing 33 concerts in the hope of raising money for those affected to comfort the masses; Professor Guo also related that after the great March 11 earthquake in Japan, she was deeply moved by news images of a disaster victim looking for their family amidst the  ruins. She was gratified that files related to Ms. Gao Ci-mei had already been archived by Academia Sinica and could come to be of use to those tracing the old Taiwan of the 20^th century.