Book shows development of Taipei under Japanese colonial era, documents everyday life and activities

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/12/15
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chiang Wei-shui's Cultural Foundation on Tuesday (Dec. 15) reissued a Taipei city guide that was first published during the Japanese colonial era, and it described the book as providing the public a glimpse into the capital nearly a century ago.

The guide was originally published by the Japanese in Taiwan in 1928, eight years after Taipei was designated as a city by the authorities. At that time, the city had only 210,000 residents, with approximately 3,000 telephone lines set up.

The guide documents public and private organizations, businesses, cultural and entertainment facilities, and private residences. The book also records the names of those who were in charge of government agencies as well as small eateries, stated the foundation, which called the book a comprehensive document of the time that provides a glimpse into the development of the city and the lives of both Japanese and Taiwanese.

The reissued book is not meant to highlight the time when the Taiwanese were colonized, even though it does present the development of Taipei under the ruling of the Japanese empire, said Chiang Chao-gen (蔣朝根), executive officer of the foundation. The book rather shows the city was built and constructed in accordance with the needs of the colonizers, stressed Chiang.    [FULL  STORY]