What is Taiwan’s nickname and what is its historical origin?

Geography and History

1. Geography and Residents

Taiwan is the largest island in China. It is located on the continental shelf along the southeast coast of the motherland at 119 East Longitude. Between °18'03" and 124°34'30", and between 20°45'25" and 25°56'30" north latitude. Taiwan borders the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Ryukyu Islands to the northeast, about 600 kilometers apart; the Bashi Strait to the south, about 300 kilometers away from the Philippines; and the Taiwan Strait to the west, facing Fujian, with the narrowest point being 130 kilometers. Taiwan straddles the center of the Western Pacific Waterway and is an important transportation hub for maritime connections between China and other countries in the Pacific region.

The Taiwan Strait runs from northeast to southwest, connecting the East China Sea in the north and the South China Sea in the south. It is about 200 nautical miles long, 70 to 221 nautical miles wide, and has an average width of about 108 nautical miles. It is China’s maritime transportation artery and an international Maritime traffic artery. Ships traveling between the East China Sea and the South China Sea pass here. Ships from Europe, Africa, South Asia and Oceania to China's eastern coast also pass here. Ships from the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean to the Sea of ??Japan generally pass here.

Taiwan Province includes the main island of Taiwan and 21 affiliated islands such as Orchid Island, Green Island, and Diaoyu Island, and 64 islands in the Penghu Archipelago, of which Taiwan’s main island covers an area of ??35,873 square kilometers. The current so-called Taiwan region also includes Kinmen, Matsu and other islands in Fujian Province controlled by the Taiwan authorities, with a total area of ??36,188 square kilometers.

Taiwan Island is mountainous, with mountains and hills accounting for more than two-thirds of the entire area. The Taiwan Mountain System runs parallel to the northeast-southwest direction of Taiwan Island and lies vertically east of the central part of Taiwan Island. It forms the topographic features of the island with mountains in the east, hills in the center, and plains in the west. Taiwan Island has five major mountain ranges, four major plains, and three major basins, namely the Central Mountains, Snow Mountain Mountains, Yushan Mountains, Alishan Mountains and Taitung Mountains, Yilan Plain, Chianan Plain, Pingtung Plain and Taitung Longitudinal Valley Plain. Taipei Basin, Taichung Basin and Puli Basin. Taiwan Island is located in the Pacific Rim Seismic Belt and the Volcanic Belt. The crust is unstable and it is an area prone to earthquakes.

Taiwan’s climate is warm in winter, hot in summer, and has abundant rainfall. The Tropic of Cancer passes through the central part of Taiwan Island, and the northern part has a subtropical climate. The southern part has a tropical climate. The annual average temperature (except high mountains) is 22°C, and the annual precipitation is mostly more than 2,000 mm. Abundant rainfall has created good conditions for the development of rivers on the island. There are as many as 608 large and small rivers that flow into the sea alone. The water is rapid, there are many waterfalls, and the water resources are extremely rich. Among them, the river with a length of more than 100 kilometers is Zhuoshui Creek. (186.4 kilometers), Gaoping River (170.9 kilometers), Tamsui River (158.7 kilometers), Dajia River (140.3 kilometers), Zengwen River (138.5 kilometers), and Maxi River (116.8 kilometers).

Taiwan’s agricultural area accounts for about a quarter of the land area. It is rich in rice, with two to three crops a year. The rice is of good quality and has high yield. The main cash crops are cane sugar and tea. There are more than 90 varieties of vegetables, and the planting area is second only to rice. Taiwan is known as the "Fruit Kingdom" with a wide variety of fruits. The value of flower production is also considerable.

Taiwan’s forest area accounts for about 52% of the entire territory. Taiping Mountain in Taipei, Baxian Mountain in Taichung and Alishan in Chiayi are the three famous forest areas, with timber reserves of up to 326 million cubic meters. , there are nearly 4,000 species of trees, among which Taiwanese fir, red cypress, camphor, nan and other precious woods are world-famous. The extract of camphor tree ranks first in the world, and the production of camphor and camphor oil accounts for about 70% of the world's total.

Taiwan is surrounded by sea, with a total coastline of 1,600 kilometers. Because it is located at the junction of cold and warm currents, it has rich fishery resources. The water along the eastern coast is steep and deep, and the fishing season is endless all year round; the seabed in the western part is an extension of the continental shelf and is relatively flat, with abundant bottom-dwelling fish and shellfish, and offshore fisheries and aquaculture are relatively developed. Distant ocean fisheries are also relatively developed.

In addition to being rich in water, forest, and fishery resources, Taiwan has limited other natural resources. It only produces a small amount of coal and natural gas as its self-produced energy. It also has relatively few metal minerals such as gold, silver, copper, and iron, and its main reserves are In the northern volcanic rock areas and the central mountains.

According to relevant statistics in Taiwan, as of August 2002. The population of Taiwan Province is more than 22.4 million. Including the populations of Kinmen and Matsu, the total number is about 22.48 million. The natural population growth rate is about 5‰. The population is mainly concentrated in the western plains, with the eastern population accounting for only 4% of the total population. The average population density is about 620 people per square kilometer, and Taipei City’s population density reaches more than 10,000 people per square kilometer.

Among Taiwan residents, Han people account for 98% of the total population; ethnic minorities account for about 2%, about 430,000 people. According to differences in language and customs, Taiwan's ethnic minorities are divided into 11 ethnic groups, including the Amis, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Beinan, Rukai, Tsou, Yami, Thao, Gemalan and Saixia, and they live in various parts of the province.

In terms of administrative divisions, Taiwan Province governs 5 provincial cities: Keelung, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, and Tainan, Taipei, Yilan, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin, and Chiayi , Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, and Penghu 16 counties. The Taiwan authorities designated Taipei City in 1967 and Kaohsiung City in 1979 as "municipalities under the jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan." In addition, there is also the so-called "Fujian Provincial Government", which governs two counties: Kinmen and Lianjiang (Matsu).

2. Historical Overview

In ancient times, Taiwan was connected to the mainland. Later, due to crustal movement, the connected parts sank into the sea, forming a strait and the island of Taiwan appeared.

Most of Taiwan’s early residents immigrated directly or indirectly from mainland China. In 1971 and 1974, the earliest human fossils in Taiwan were discovered twice in Zuozhen Township, Tainan County, and were named "Zuozhen Man". Archaeologists believe that the "Zuozhen Man" came to Taiwan from the mainland 30,000 years ago. Together with the "Qingliu Man" and "Dongshan Man" discovered by archeology in Fujian, they belong to the late Homo sapiens in the southern region of the Paleolithic Age in China. They have * They all have different origins and have inherited some characteristics of Homo erectus in China. Among the early residents of Taiwan, there were also a small number of dwarf black people belonging to the Negrito race and the Langqiao people who belonged to the Shugo race. The above-mentioned early residents of Taiwan are the ancestors of today’s ethnic minorities in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s recorded history can be traced back to 230 AD. At that time, Sun Quan, King of Wu of the Three Kingdoms, sent 10,000 officers and soldiers to "Yizhou" (Taiwan). The "Linhai Land Chronicle" written by a Wu native Shen (the word cannot be typed) left the earliest record of Taiwan in the world. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties (589-618 AD), Taiwan was called "Liuqiu". The Sui Dynasty visited Taiwan three times. According to historical records, in 610 (the sixth year of Sui Dynasty), Han people began to immigrate to the Penghu area. By the Song and Yuan Dynasties (AD 960-1368), there were a considerable number of Han people in the Penghu area. After the Han people opened up Penghu, they began to develop into Taiwan and brought with them the advanced production technology of the time. In the 12th century AD, the Song Dynasty placed Penghu under the jurisdiction of Jinjiang County, Quanzhou, Fujian, and sent troops to guard it. The Yuan Dynasty also sent troops to Taiwan. The governments of the Yuan and Ming dynasties set up an inspection department in Penghu, which was responsible for patrolling, detecting criminals, and also running salt classes. The name Taiwan began to appear in the late Ming Dynasty. After entering the 17th century, the Han people's expansion in Taiwan became larger and larger. During the years of war and famine, the Fujian authorities of the Ming Dynasty government and the Zheng Zhilong Group once organized immigrants to Taiwan.

In the 16th century, Western colonial powers such as Spain and the Netherlands developed rapidly and began to extend their tentacles to the East. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch colonists took advantage of the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty, the growing power of the Manchus in the Northeast, and the difficult situation of the Ming government to invade Taiwan. Soon, the Spanish invaded and occupied some areas in the north and east of Taiwan. They were driven out by the Dutch in 1642, and Taiwan became a Dutch colony. The Dutch colonists implemented coercive rule, taking the land as their own, forcing the people to pay various taxes, plundering Taiwan's rice and sugar, and re-exporting the Chinese raw silk, sugar and porcelain they acquired through Taiwan to other countries, making high profits. The rule of the Dutch colonialists aroused the resistance of the Taiwanese people. In September 1652, peasant leader Guo Huaiyi led a large-scale armed uprising. Although this armed uprising was suppressed, it showed that the Dutch colonial rule was in crisis.

In 1644, the Qing army entered the Pass and established the Qing Dynasty regime in Beijing. In April 1661, Zheng Chenggong led 25,000 soldiers and hundreds of warships to march from Kinmen to Taiwan in the name of recruiting generals from the Southern Ming Dynasty. When Zheng Chenggong entered Taiwan, he told the Dutch colonists that Taiwan "has always belonged to China" and that "the residents of the two islands of Taiwan and Penghu are all Chinese. They have occupied and cultivated this land since ancient times" and the Netherlands "should take it as its own." Return to the original owner." After fierce fighting and siege, in February 1662, Zheng Chenggong forced the Dutch Governor Kuyi to sign a surrender. Zheng Chenggong regained the Chinese territory of Taiwan from the Dutch colonists and became a great national hero, respected by the majority of the people.

Zheng Chenggong died of illness only 4 months after regaining Taiwan. The Zheng regime transplanted mainland China's political, cultural and educational systems to Taiwan, attached great importance to land development and water conservancy construction, developed foreign trade, and promoted Taiwan's economic development. By the end of the Zheng regime, Taiwan's Han population had reached 120,000.

At the end of the Zheng regime, there was a military confrontation with the Qing government. After the Qing government pacified the mainland, it began to plan an attack on Taiwan. It once adopted a policy of appeasement in an attempt to persuade the Zheng family to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, but failed. The Zheng regime counterattacked the coastal areas of the mainland many times. In the autumn of 1678, Zheng's army was defeated and all the southeastern coastal states and counties it occupied were lost, and then they completely retreated to Taiwan. At this time, the Qing government's rule over China was a foregone conclusion, and the Zheng regime gradually evolved into a local separatist regime. On July 8, 1683, the Qing government sent Fujian Navy Admiral Shi Lang to lead more than 20,000 land and sea officers and soldiers and more than 200 warships from Tongshan to Penghu and Taiwan. The Qing army attacked the Penghu defenders, and the Zheng army was defeated. Zheng Chenggong's grandson Zheng Keshuang led his people to submit to the Qing government.

In 1684, the Qing government set up the Taiwan-Xiamen Military Preparatory Road and Taiwan Prefecture, which were affiliated to Fujian Province. By 1811, Taiwan's population had reached 1.9 million, most of whom were immigrants from Fujian and Guangdong. A large number of immigrants reclaimed wasteland, turning Taiwan into an emerging agricultural region. They provided a large amount of rice and cane sugar to the mainland, as well as daily consumer goods and building materials imported from the mainland, which enabled Taiwan's economy to develop to a considerable extent. This period. Taiwan has very close ties with Fujian and Guangdong. Chinese culture has been introduced into Taiwan more comprehensively.

After Britain launched the Opium War to invade China in 1840, Western powers forced China to open its treaty ports. 1860s. Taiwan's Tamsui, Jilong, Anping, and Dagou ports were opened one after another. Opium was the bulk import and tea, sugar, and camphor were the main exports.

In the 1870s, after the Meiji Restoration, Japan began to "expand its territory" abroad. Xiangnan regards Ryukyu and Taiwan as expansion targets, claiming that Taiwan is a "Tufan" residential area. It is a "terrain" and is not under China's sovereignty. The Qing government once again stated: "The whole of Taiwan has been under the control of our country for a long time." In January 1874, Japanese troops invaded Taiwan. In October, China and Japan signed the "Beijing Treaty". Although the weak Qing government made compromises with Japan, the "Beijing Treaty" still stated that China exercised sovereignty over the entire Taiwan. After that. Qing officials proposed the establishment of a province in Taiwan.

As Western powers invaded China's borders, a border crisis arose in China. During the Sino-French War of 1884-1885, the French army attacked Taiwan. He was severely damaged by Liu Mingchuan's army. By the signing of the "New Treaty between China and France" in June 1885, the French army was forced to withdraw from Taiwan.

After the Sino-French War, in order to strengthen coastal defense, the Qing government classified Taiwan as a single province in 1885, making Taiwan the 20th province of China. Liu Mingchuan, the first governor of Taiwan Province, actively implemented the New Deal of Self-Strength, cleared land taxes, increased fiscal revenue, purchased ships, set up telegraph lines, established the General Post and Telecommunications Bureau, built railways, purchased warships, and added forts. The Machinery Bureau was established to manufacture self-made weapons; the Coal Bureau was established to install new coal mining machinery; the City Development Company was established to build streets and roads; the Western School and the Telegraph School were established to cultivate construction talents. Liu Mingchuan concentrated many new undertakings in one province, making Taiwan one of the advanced provinces in China at that time.

In 1894, Japan launched the Sino-Japanese War of 1894. The Qing government was defeated the following year and was forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Shimonoseki on April 17, ceding Taiwan to Japan. After the news came out, the whole country was indignant and opposed the cessation of Taiwan; the whole province of Taiwan "wept loudly" and went on strike. Liu Yongfu, the Qing general who assisted in Taiwan's military affairs, led the army and civilians to resist the Japanese occupation. The battle lasted for more than five months and went through more than a hundred battles, large and small, inflicting a heavy price on the Japanese invaders, but they were ultimately defeated. From then on, Taiwan became a Japanese colony for 50 years.

Japan implemented a governor-general autocratic governance system in Taiwan, established a strict police system, controlled Taiwanese society, and used the Baojia system as an auxiliary tool for police politics. After Japan launched a full-scale war of aggression against China in 1937, it carried out the "Imperial Civilization Movement" in Taiwan, instilling the idea of ??loyalty to the "Emperor" (Emperor) and love for the "Country" (Japan), in an effort to turn the people of Taiwan into loyal ministers and good citizens of Japan. Economically, the policy of "agricultural Taiwan, industrial Japan" was implemented, with Taiwan providing rice and cane sugar to Japan. Later, in conjunction with Japan's southward policy, it developed military-related industries in Taiwan and used Taiwan as a supply ground for the Japanese army. . The people of Taiwan have never surrendered to Japanese colonial rule. In the early days of the Japanese occupation, the anti-Japanese armed forces, with farmers as the main body, waged a 20-year struggle. Later, the Cultural Association, the People's Party, the Communist Party, etc. also organized and led the national resistance movement against Japanese colonial rule.

In July 1937, Japan caused the "July 7th Incident", and the Chinese people began the nation's anti-Japanese war. During the Anti-Japanese War, many Taiwan compatriots returned to the motherland to participate in the Anti-Japanese War and contributed to the victory of the Anti-Japanese War and the recovery of Taiwan. After the Pacific War broke out in December 1941, the Chinese government issued the "China's Declaration of War against Japan" on December 9, clearly announcing to China and foreign countries: "All treaties, agreements, and contracts involving relations between China and Japan will be abolished. ."

In August 1945, Japan was defeated in World War II and announced its unconditional surrender on August 15. After eight years of heroic anti-Japanese war, the Chinese people finally regained Taiwan. Taiwan compatriots celebrated their return to the motherland with great joy. On October 25, the surrender ceremony of Taiwan Province in the Allied China Theater was held in Taipei. The surrender officer announced on behalf of the Chinese government: From now on, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands have officially reentered the territory of China, and all land, people, and political affairs have been placed under control. under Chinese sovereignty. At this point, Taiwan and Penghu returned to China's sovereign jurisdiction.