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Introduction
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| Characterized by the dominance
of a minority over the Chinese mainland, the Ch'ing
dynasty had a set of ethnic policies known to be more
mature and developed in content and structure. While
endeavoring to preserve their Manchu cultural roots,
the Ch'ing rulers had taken note of the aboriginal tribes
of Taiwan. Emperor K'ang-hsi, for example, had ordered
regional and local officials to recruit talented and
gifted Taiwanese aborigines, and to have the products
of Taiwan sent off to the capital for examination. He
also inducted the native plants of Taiwan into the mainland
for germination. At the same time, watermelon seeds
were exported to Taiwan for the same purpose. Such manifestations
of exchange were all documented by Governor-general
Gioroi Mamboo (1673-1725) of Fukien and Chekiang in
his Manchu memorials to the throne.
As yet another example, Emperors K'ang-hsi, Yung-cheng
and Ch'ien-lung, in witness of the dramatic increase
in the population of mainland immigrants, had forbidden
the Han Chinese from planting in the mountains, which
were designated aboriginal reservations. The policy
was in effect into the late Ch'ing when the Mutan
Village Incident occurred in 1874 and the restriction
was then lifted. In 1750 and 1751, Emperor Ch'ien-lung
commissioned a comprehensive ethnological survey that
resulted in the compilation of documents and illustrations
depicting all foreign ethnic tribes and Westerners
in China. Of the large number of materials thus produced
are thirteen portraits of Taiwanese aborigines. Emperor
Ch'ien-lung had them compiled into an illustrated
volume, and the portraits were then made into paintings.
All these materials are well preserved in the collections
of the National Palace Museum.
The wealth of information on Taiwanese aborigines
embedded in the Museum's collection of Ch'ing historical
documents is a gateway to better understanding of
Taiwan's living environment, tribal distribution,
local culture, goods and products, education and religious
practice, and conflicts and disputes during the Ch'ing
dynasty, as well as the lifting of the ban on plantation
in the mountainous areas and programs of educational
outreach. The exhibition Early Dwellers of Taiwan:
Illustrated Historical Documents in the Collections
of the National Palace Museum is designed to
showcase aboriginal life in Taiwan in the 18th and
19th centuries through painting scrolls, maps, rare
books, historical archives, and prints.
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