Colonialism and Modernity in Taiwan: Reflections on Contemporary Taiwanese Historiography

Abstract

This chapter looks at the developments in research on Taiwan's history of the period of Japanese rule and reflects upon the discussions of American, Japanese and Korean scholars on colonial modernity and their potential contribution to the interpretation of Taiwan's modern history. The discussions among Taiwanese scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds and Chinese scholars such as Chen Kongli on the theories of indigenization and mainlandization during the 1980s represent a rare example of debates in the development of Taiwanese historiography. On the other side, since the 1990s scholars have criticized in their theoretical reflections on such issues as modernity, colonialism and culture the underlying teleological and evolutionary hypotheses of the master-narrative as presented by classical political economy and modernization theory. Post-colonial historiography strongly emphasizes the historical trajectory of colonial modernity and the interactive process between ethnic groups in different societies. Keywords: Chen Kongli; colonial modernity; colonialism; Post-colonial historiography; Taiwan's modern history; Taiwanese historiography