A Brief History of the Development of Taiwan Province Dialect

Taiwan Province Province is a branch of Minnan dialect, which originated from Min dialect. During the Three Kingdoms Period in China at the end of the Han Dynasty, there was a war in the Central Plains, and refugees began to enter Fujian, which changed the original "Baiyue" indigenous language and gradually formed the earliest Fujian dialect. However, the large-scale entry of Han people into Fujian began with the "Yongjia disaster". As the Jinshi family moved south, a large number of northern Han Chinese entered Fujian, which brought the so-called "fifteen-tone system" in the north in the 3rd century, and the "Min dialect" gradually formed at this time. In the second year of Yongjia in the Western Jin Dynasty (AD 308), eight masters of the Central Plains (Zhan, Chen Zhengqiu and He Hu) began to take refuge in Fujian Minjiang River and Mulan River, bringing with them the ancient Chinese at that time, but this time the number was very small. During the Southern Liang Dynasty (AD 502-5 19), Nan 'an County was established in the south of Jin 'an County in order to maintain the stability of southern Fujian. Located in Fengzhou Town, Nan 'an today, it led to Jin 'an and other three counties, but it was soon revoked. It was not until the mid-Tang Dynasty more than 200 years later that Wu Rongfu was established in Quanzhou for the third time.

In the Tang Dynasty, Zheng Chen and Chen Yuanguang and his son led the troops into Fujian to suppress rebellion, and then settled in Zhangzhou, bringing the Middle Ages in the north in the 7th century. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Chao brothers led troops into Fujian again, and also brought them into the Middle Ages. From the above two groups of immigrants, the northern spoken language has evolved into the basis of the so-called "Zhangzhou dialect" and Quanzhou dialect. During the Northern Song Dynasty, a city shipping company in charge of foreign trade was established in Quanzhou and other ports, which made Quanzhou a famous international commercial port at that time and made overseas maritime transportation very convenient. Since then, many Minnan people have emigrated overseas (including Taiwan Province Province) because of political, economic or other factors, so they have brought their mother tongue-Minnan dialect (Zhangzhou dialect, Putian dialect and Quanzhou dialect). At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a drought in southern Fujian, and Zheng Zhilong recruited thousands of people to settle in Taiwan Province Province. Most of them settled in Taiwan Province Province, traded with the aborigines in Taiwan Province Province (mostly Pingpu people), and even married, which promoted the consanguinity between Han people and aborigines in Taiwan Province Province and integration of language.

From the16th century, western European countries began to carry out various overseas colonization plans. Starting from 1624, the Netherlands and Spain successively occupied the southern and northern Taiwan Province provinces. In particular, the Dutch ruled Taiwan Province Province for nearly 40 years, implemented the land tenure system, and recovered Taiwan Province Province before recruiting Minnan people. Most of the Han people who came to Taiwan were born in Putian, Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. Under the long-term rule of Pingpu and Dutch, the Minnan language brought by immigrants has also infiltrated some new language factors. The migration of Han people from Fujian to Taiwan Province Province began in Putian, Fujian in the early Song Dynasty. Putian's maritime industry and marine trade were developed in ancient times. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Putian was sparsely populated, forcing most Putian people to leave their homes and emigrate. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, many Putian people moved to Taiwan Province Province. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty and the end of the Yuan Dynasty, they were also worried about the chaos in France, the brutal invasion of the Japanese army in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and when the Qing Dynasty moved to the border, many Putian people migrated to Taiwan Province Province through the Taiwan Province Strait. The reason for immigration is the overpopulation of Putian. At present, Pu's large-scale relocation to Taiwan can be traced back to the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty. According to the "Lin Family Tree" in Putian, "In the early Northern Song Dynasty, Putian people flocked to the coast of Putian, and (Mazu) made rafts to ferry refugees to Penghu to settle down." Now people in Nanshe and Turgan in Changhua County, Taiwan still speak Puxian dialect, and the residential buildings have maintained the characteristics of Putian. Some Putian people immigrated to Taiwan Province Province after hundreds of years of emigration to Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and their Putian dialect has been assimilated into Quanzhou dialect or Zhangzhou dialect. In Taiwan Province Province, many places in Laos, Langlang, Hangzhou, Cuo and Diandian are prefixed with "Xinghua", which shows that in today's Taiwan Province Province, there are also a lot of traces of Xinghua dialect, but some of them were quickly assimilated by the local dialect. Taiwan Province compatriots whose ancestral home is Putian account for at least 30% of the total population in Taiwan Province Province, and some Putian people moved to Quanzhou and Zhangzhou for hundreds of years and then moved to Taiwan Province Province again. These Putian people are registered as Quanzhou people or Zhangzhou people, and their Putian dialect is assimilated into Quanzhou dialect or Zhangzhou dialect. Their native place was Quanzhou or Zhangzhou in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but their ancestral home was Putian earlier. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a drought in Fujian. Zheng Zhilong once recruited thousands of people from Fujian to settle in Taiwan Province Province, and most of them settled in Taiwan Province Province. Starting from 1624, the Netherlands and Spain successively occupied the southern and northern Taiwan Province provinces. In particular, the Dutch ruled Taiwan Province Province for nearly 40 years, implemented the land tenure system, and recovered Taiwan Province Province before recruiting Minnan people. Most of the Han people who came to Taiwan Province were born in Zhangzhou, Putian and Quanzhou. In the first year of Chongzhen (1628), there was a famine in Fujian. With the support of Xiong Wencan, governor of Fujian, Zheng Zhilong attracted tens of thousands of hungry people from Fujian coastal disaster areas to immigrate to Taiwan Province Province for farming. This is the first organized migration from Fujian to Taiwan Province Province. In the 15th year of Nanming (166 1), Zheng successfully recovered Taiwan Province Province, with more than 30,000 Zheng Jun and his family. At that time, in addition to ordering the military divisions to open up wasteland, he also vigorously attracted the mainland coastal people who were displaced by the Qing court's "moving to the border", "I don't want hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people to cross to Taiwan", and the main body is still residents of coastal counties in Fujian. The Qing Dynasty was an important period for Fujian people to immigrate to Taiwan Province Province through the Taiwan Province Strait. In the 22nd year of Kangxi (1683), Shi Lang led the troops to recover Taiwan Province Province, and the whole country was politically unified. From the beginning of Kangxi and Yongzheng to the years of Gansu and Jiaqing, Fujian people went to Taiwan in succession, which triggered a comprehensive reclamation movement from south to north and from west to east in Taiwan Province Province. In the Qing dynasty, in order to prevent Zheng's adherents, the Qing court issued an order prohibiting people from crossing Taiwan and set the conditions for people to cross Taiwan. In Qing Dynasty, Putian people and Quanzhou people who had registered Guandu could only ferry from Quanzhou, and a large number of Putian people went directly from Putian to Taiwan Province Province. The number of registered people only accounts for a small part of the total number of Putian people who have visited Guandu, which is the same as that of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou who have visited Taiwan Province Province by themselves. A large number of people cross Taiwan Province by themselves instead of Guandu. Especially in the forty-nine years of Qianlong (1784), Putian people and Quanzhou people who were registered by the Qing government could only ferry from Quanzhou, and Taiwan Province land port transited with Shishi Hanjiang port in Quanzhou. In fifty-seven years (1792), Fuzhou people were registered to ferry only from Fuzhou, and Tamsui Balicha sailed with Lijiang River and Fuzhou Wumen, which promoted the immigration boom. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Chenggong led an army to capture Taiwan Province Province and drive away the Dutch. The Zheng family was born in Quanzhou, and Chen Yonghua, the founder of Zheng's culture and education system, was also from Fujian. Most of the soldiers and civilians he brought were from Fujian. Minnan dialect in Taiwan Province Province is dominated by Fujian accent.

Taiwan Province Province was founded in the 11th year of Guangxu reign of Qing Dynasty (1885). But as early as the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Fujian began to immigrate to Taiwan Province Province in large numbers. In the fourth year of Ming Dynasty (1624), after the Dutch secretly lived in Taiwan Province Province, they recruited coastal immigrants from southern Fujian to settle in Taiwan Province Province. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong set up a village in Beigang, Taiwan Province Province, and recruited many coastal residents from Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Putian (Xinghua) to cross the sea and reclaim land in Taiwan Province Province. In the first year of Chongzhen (1628), Zheng Zhilong, who ruled Taiwan Province Province, surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. With the support of Xiong Wencan, Fujian's political envoy, he recruited tens of thousands of coastal victims, each with three taels of silver and one cow for every three people, and transported them to Taiwan Province for reclamation. In the 18th year of Qing Shunzhi (166 1), Zheng Chenggong, king of Yanping County, expelled the Dutch and recovered Taiwan Province Province. More than 30,000 soldiers, including their families, stayed in Taiwan Province Province for cultivation. Most of these soldiers come from southern Fujian and central Fujian. At the same time, he also went to Zhang Quan and Putian (Xinghua) to recruit young people to reclaim land in Taiwan. During this period, the number of people visiting Taiwan from Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Putian (Xinghua) was as high as 1.5 million. In the 22nd year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (1683), after his grandson (Wang+Shuang) surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, hundreds of thousands of people went to Taiwan along the coast of Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Putian (Xinghua). In the mid-Kangxi period, the Qing government relaxed the sea ban, and a large number of immigrants from Putian and Guangdong moved into Taiwan Province Province. 1683, Shi Lang conquered Taiwan Province, the Zheng Dynasty perished, and the Qing court officially ruled Taiwan Province Province. The following year, in order to prevent Zheng's adherents, the Qing court issued a ban on crossing Taiwan and set strict conditions to restrict people from crossing Taiwan. Among them, Guangdong nationality was forbidden to go to Taiwan, which led to the late arrival of Hakkas in Taiwan provinces. The development of Taiwan Province Province is almost dominated by Minnan people, and the language of Taiwan Province Province is mainly Minnan. During the reign of Gan Yong, the ban was gradually relaxed. 1862, due to the peony club incident, Shen Baozhen, an imperial envoy, came to Taiwan to deal with defense, and lifted the ban on crossing Taiwan for nearly 200 years in the name of "opening a mountain to help fans".

During the more than 200 years when the Qing court ruled Taiwan Province Province, the number of Fujian people coming to Taiwan increased sharply, and the language of immigrants spread to all parts of Taiwan Province Province with their footprints. In the future, due to the convenient transportation and the floating population, the two dialects in Zhang Quan were confused, which led to a relatively pure accent in a few areas such as Yilan and Lugang, and a new Minnan language that was neither Zhang Quan nor Zhang Quan was widely used in other places. The linguist Hong (1987, 1-2) called it "Lan". After the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing court was defeated and ceded Taiwan Province Province to Japan. During Japan's rule of Taiwan Province Province, the policy of "Mandarin" (Japanese) was implemented in education, and Japanese was dominant in politics, which inevitably affected the Taiwanese language used by the people. Even today, traces of Japanese influence can still be found in Taiwan Province dialect.

1945, at the end of World War II, Japan was defeated and the National Government accepted Taiwan Province Province; After the war, there was a civil war in China and the Kuomintang government was defeated. "Transfer" a large number of troops and refugees to Taiwan Province Province. This is the largest migration activity in the history of Taiwan Province Province. Under the influence of the "Mandarin" (this time, Beijing dialect) movement, Taiwanese dialect has once again been added to the new corpus.

However, due to the disconnection with Chinese mainland in the past 100 years, there are subtle differences between Taiwanese and native Minnan.