Abstract
Abstract. The protection of cultural heritage relates to an issue of identity. How a nation or a state tries to face to its history is often revealed on the protection of cultural heritage. Taiwan is as a country with complex history, especially the period after World War II. This article will work on some significant cases, regarded as ideological representation of identity. This article works on the cultural identity by observing and analyzing different cases of classified Historic Monuments. In different political periods, we see how the government tries to fabricate on the identity issue by working on Historic Monuments preservation. During the presidency of Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo, the classification of Historic Monuments tried to focus on those make by former Chinese migrants. They tried hard to establish and reaffirm the ever existing “fact” of people in Taiwan. Whereas after the late 1980s and 1990s, after Chiang’s reign, local conscience has been awaken. Political ambience turned to a new era. This freedom of speech of post-Chiang’s reign encourages people to seek on their identity. The complex political situation of Taiwan makes this seeking cultural identity related to the seeking of independence of Taiwan. The respect to the aboriginal people also reoriented to include the preservation of their tribes and villages.
Highlights
This article works on the cultural identity by observing and analyzing different cases of classified Historic Monuments
A Sino-Japanese pirate Koxinga resided in Taiwan by expelling Dutch, took it as a base to fight against Qing Dynasty in Mainland
After World War II, when Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist Government come to Taiwan after Mao Zedong and the Communist Party took over the Mainland China in 1949, we observe some interesting phenomena
Summary
Taiwan is an island considered to be the origin of Austronesian people. This theory is announced by a linguistic Blust in 1985 and an archaeologist Bellewood in 1991. A Sino-Japanese pirate Koxinga resided in Taiwan by expelling Dutch, took it as a base to fight against Qing Dynasty in Mainland. While Japan colonizes Taiwan from 1895 to 1945, till the end of World War II During this fifty years, Taiwan was modernized and industrialized by the colonial government. Japanese colonial Government approved laws for the protection of heritage of different nature in this island. After World War II, when Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist Government come to Taiwan after Mao Zedong and the Communist Party took over the Mainland China in 1949, we observe some interesting phenomena. We might be able to conclude in two different ways: destruction, and replacement For those that have been destroyed, for example, the Nationalist Government destroys systematically Japanese shrine, especially jinja temples. The Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-Shek tries to protect historical monuments, the monuments to be protected is very selective
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