복수의 제국, 파인애플

Abstract

This article aims to define ‘fengli (鳳梨),’ a Taiwanese Mandarin term for pineapple, with the concept of plural empires by analyzing how it was first noticed by the Western empires and rediscovered by imperial China and the modern Empire of Japan in sequence. Now, when this Taiwan-grown fengli enters mainland China, it transposes to the Chinese Mandarin term ‘boluo (菠蘿),’ emblematizing the distinction between the two sides of the Cross-Strait. Although pineapple is indigenous to South America, it was transplanted into Hawaii due to the imperialist impulses around the 20th century, and later introduced to Taiwan by the Japanese. This entangled relationship between Taiwan and imperial powers, including Europe and Japan, reveals the plural history of imperial expansion at sea. Interestingly in Taiwan, the pineapple embeds the image of an indigenous product, making it part of their national identity against mainland China. Fengli, a fruit born in the structure of plural empires, also appeared on the label of canned pineapples produced in Taiwan under Japanese rule, implying how imperialism expands its scope. Images of pineapple were accompanied by illustrations of otherized indigenous people, such as ‘seiban(lit. raw barbarians),’ and the leader of the Japanese Empire, the ‘soldier.’ These manufactured dichotomous images were distributed as the representation of the colonial empire, promoting their colonization of Taiwan territory and enhancing the brand image as an imperial nation. Pineapples became the subject or theme of various artworks, showing the influence of imperial Japan’s colonial management policies on the art system. The appearance of pineapple images in still-life paintings or genre paintings further reflects the spread of pineapple into the general public’s everyday life.