Tracks of Foreigners II. Scenes of the office of the President shown in Fotomo

Anyone who knows Taiwan well will have been impressed by the magnificent Western style buildings left behind from the Japanese era, including the Office of the President, Taipei Guesthouse and National Museum of Taiwan Literature. But do you know who was behind these buildings? July 15 is also the anniversary of his birth. Who brought Western medicine to Taiwan? Who bred the Taiwan rice we love to eat?

On the eve 140th anniversary of the birth of the architect of the Office of the President of the ROC, Moriyama Matsunosuke, the press conference for the books and documentaries “Tracks of Foreigners II” (originally called “Exotic Route”) produced jointly by Academia Historica and Public Television Service, and the latest TELDAP result to be announced, was held in the National Theater. Liu Jing-yi, Director of TELDAP Division project 4, Dr. Lin Man-houng, the director of Academia Historica, Guo Chi-chen, Vice president of Public Television Service (PTS), Lai Guang-rong, Honorary Professor, and Professor Guo Hua-ren of the Department of Agriculture, NTU, Dong Cong-lin, the Chairman of Sinlou Hospital, and Professor Hsieh Shin-jing, Tropical Agriculture & International Cooperation Research Institute, Pingdong University of Technology attended the press conference as VIP guests. 

Taiwan is an island that over a long period of time has been influenced by various foreign cultures. The “Tracks of Foreigners II” book and film series intends, by retracing the tracks left by these foreigners all over Taiwan, to give every viewer an understanding of Taiwan’s history.

Liu Jing-yi, Director of Division project 4 (left), Dr.Lin Man-houng, Director of Academia Historica, and Guo Chi-chen,Vice-president of PTS (right)

In “Tracks of Foreigners II” the main “actors” are three foreigners who had a major influence on modern architecture, medicine, religion and agricultural development in Taiwan in the 19th century and early 20th century - Moriyama Matsunosuke, the man who designed many public buildings in the Japanese era; Dr. James Laidlaw Maxwell MD, the pioneer of Western medicine in Taiwan; and Isonaga Yoshi, the man who laid down the foundation of rice breeding in Taiwan. Director of Academia Historica Dr. Lin said that through the digitization of historical material in the Academia Historica archives and the deeply cultural visual narrative method of PTS the contribution of these foreigners to Taiwan is expressed brilliantly in “Tracks of Foreigners II”.

Film 1：Tracks of foreigner II, Moriyama Matsunosuke highlights (Special thanks to PTS and Academia Historica for consenting to this report)

Film 2:：Tracks of foreigner II, Dr. James Laidlaw Maxwell MD highlights (Special thanks to PTS and Academia Historica for consenting to this report)

Film 3：Tracks of foreigner II, Isonaga Yoshi highlights (Special thanks to PTS and Academia Historica for consenting to this report).

Division Project 4 Director Liu Jing-Yi said that many important tracks of development from Taiwan’s past have been preserved as a result of the efforts of all involve in TELDAP and, through this kind of cooperation between PTS and Academia Historica, more people will be given an understanding of Taiwan’s culture and history. The Vice-president of PTS Guo Chi-Chen said PTS was very proud to once again take part in TELDAP. Last month the station began broadcasting the “digital life” program, introducing the latest developments in digital content to the people of Taiwan in an interesting way. The “Tracks of Foreigners II” books and films will introduce Taiwan’s important cultural heritage to the people and, by following the pictures in the books, people can go on a journey back into the past he said.

Mr. Dong Cong-lin reciting a paean to Dr. Maxwell -
“In the 130 years since Dr. Maxwell brought the gospel to Taiwan God’s kindness has been bestowed on generation after generation. We should sing in his praise. Dr. Maxwell served society by providing medical and laid down the educational foundation that allowed the people of Taiwan to adopt vernacular Chinese.”

The highlights of the three films were shown during the press conference. In “Tracks of Foreigners II” a large amount of precious historical material is featured, supported by interviews with experts and scholars. The films have a poetic visual style and are accompanied by suitable background music, taking the viewer back in time. After the three films were shown PTS arranged for experts and scholars to give talks to provide more background information. Lai Gung-rong remembered taking part in a birthday celebration for Isonaga Yoshi on the architect’s 70th birthday, Academia Historica’s Ou Su-ying expressed views about the connection between public buildings and the Japanese colonial system and Mr. Dong Cong-lin recited a poem in praise of Dr. Maxwell to a traditional Pingpu tune:
“In the 130 years since Dr. Maxwell brought the gospel to Taiwan God’s kindness has been bestowed on generation after generation. We should sing in his praise. Dr. Maxwell served society by providing medical and laid down the educational foundation that allowed the people of Taiwan to adopt vernacular Chinese.”

There is still room for discussion and interpretation of the colonial era, however, through these abundant memories and research we can rediscover the courage to have a love for and commitment to Taiwan that transcends ethnic group and national boundaries.

The books went on sale in June. Each is accompanied by a DVD. The recommended sales price is NT$399. If the set of three is ordered before September 1, 2009 a 21% discount can be enjoyed. Books and films can be ordered on the PTS website until the end of July.（www.pts.org.tw）
 
Related news
“In the tracks of foreigners”, Mr. Chou Guo-jing, Academia Historica, TELDAP e-newsletter, issue6, Volume 10

http://newsletter.teldap.tw/news/ProgramTourismContent.php?nid=2811&lid=238

Moriyama Matsunosuke - He made buildings in Taiwan beautiful, United Daily News, July 15, 2009 
http://udn.com/NEWS/READING/REA8/5019352.shtml

Wushantou helped on the way to becoming a World Cultural Heritage property by Yoichi Hatta, Liberty Times, June 12, 2009
http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2009/new/jun/12/today-south9.htm

Pushing for Wushantou irrigation system to be recognized as a World Cultural Heritage property
http://seed.agron.ntu.edu.tw/hatta/

Youtube preview of Japanese anime “here comes Hatta”