Books About Taiwan Or Taiwanese People Episodes

In the early hours of morning, Eryk and John head to a market in Taichung. Actually, they let Lin Kai-lun do that and all the other hard work. Lin is a third-generation fish seller, whose Chinese-language memoir A Guide to Fake Fishmongering tells a story of family debt, backbreaking labor, and the culture of Taiwan’s wet markets. It’s a moving story (the family brought low by gambling) and funny too (there’s some questionable medical advice). So, gather around the “urine tree” for a work-time break and fish-scented chat.

John talks with Professor Dafydd Fell of SOAS University about "The Twilight Years of Taiwan’s Sugar Railways", his new book co-written with Wang Xiang, a researcher who has spent years documenting the remains and memories of this once vast railway network. Fell’s own fascination with the sugar railways dates back to the 1990s when he was living in Taiwan. John and Dafydd explore how sugar helped build modern Taiwan, how the narrow-gauge railways moved far more than just sugar cane, and how the network had a Cold War strategic purpose. The episode is full of nuggets, from mystery Belgian locomotives to propaganda train tours.

Ancient Chinese records tell us that in 210 BC a Taoist priest and alchemist named Xu Fu (徐福) sailed east to find the elixir of immortality for the despotic Qin Shi Huang. China’s first emperor was obsessed with cheating death (as revealed by his huge tomb complex in Xi’an, with its thousands of terracotta warriors); he outfitted Xu Fu’s expedition with everything needed to establish a settlement – equipment, supplies, and several thousand young men and women. Xu Fu and his companions never returned to China. Where did they go? John and Chris Stowers, an English photographer and writer based in Taipei, discuss this story, especially as it relates to Taiwan. Did Xu Fu settle in Formosa? Or Japan? Or, as is the premise for Tim McGirk’s The Wondrous Elixir of the Two Chinese Lovers, did he reach Central America? NOTE: A technical problem affected the audio quality of this episode, but the conversation is solid and worth sticking with. Thanks for your patience.

In this Bits & Pieces episode, John makes Eryk read some cringe-inducing lines from a guide to “the women of the Orient.” Then, they set off on one of history’s strangest adventures: the world-spanning voyage of “Half-Safe,” an amphibious jeep that drove and floated its way to Kaohsiung in 1956. Do us a favor: rate the show, leave a review on our website or Apple podcasts, and/or follow us on social media. Thanks.

Fellow “Asian tigers” South Korea and Taiwan share strikingly similar modern histories: Chinese influence, Japanese colonization, Cold War struggles, rule by military strongmen, economic miracles, and transitions to democracy. But there are also plenty of differences, too, especially when it comes to the fate of ex-presidents! Chris Tharp, author of the newly-released Plum Rain Press novel, “The Cuttlefish,” has spent over 20 years in Korea. He and John have a fun and wide-ranging discussion about these two dynamic nations.

Some have called Taipei a “mini-Shanghai.” If true, the emphasis might need to be on the word “mini.” The population of the greater Shanghai area is nearly 30 million, some six million more than the number of people who live in Taiwan. Yet, there are some interesting similarities – which mostly aren’t accidental. When CKS and the Nationalists took control in 1945, and then made Taipei the "ROC Provisional Capital" on December 7th, 1949, the new rulers began to shape Taipei in an image modeled in many ways after Shanghai. John Ross (world traveler that he is) has never been to this sprawling city, but Mark Kitto (English actor and author, most recently of China Running Dog , lived and worked there for around a decade. Mark and John discuss the Shanghai-Taipei connection via talking about and reading from the book, Last Boat Out of China , a tale of a family fleeing Red China and “temporarily” seeking shelter in Taipei.

400 Years: Dutch Formosa - part one: Of course, Chen Di was not actually the first person from China to visit Taiwan. What makes him special is that he wrote an account of what he saw here in 1603, and that account is the earliest surviving manuscript discovered thus far. Chen Di's short travel commentary focuses mostly on the Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan; their customs, diet, etc., a rare and valuable documentation by a man who was both a scholar and a warrior. Chen Di's account of his 1603 trip was only rediscovered in 1955!  Interestingly, the same year Chen Di came to Taiwan was when the Dutch East India Company (the VOC) set up a permanent trading post in what's now Indonesia. The Dutch are determined to break into the China trade market - but they'll need another base. Somewhere a bit closer.

Need a break from typhoons (Taiwan)? Need to escape the non-stop election-related noise (USA)? Or maybe you simply would like to hear John and Eryk babble about a couple of strange out-of-print books with a Taiwan connection (everyone)?  This week we meander, go off on tangents, tell virtually unknown stories (including mysterious deaths), and discuss two books we bet you’ve never heard of, let alone read.  Also: Happy Halloween (and of course, it's Chiang Kai-shek's birthday).

Did you know? Joseph Stalin saved Chinese characters. (um… sort of) In Qing-era Taiwan, two men sometimes SHARED a wife! John has done 10 episodes of our other podcast, “Bookish Asia.” Plum Rain Press, the new publishing arm of Formosa Files, is about to release an epic historical novel by Dr. Chen Yao-chang 陳耀昌, the man behind the Netflix series Seqalu. This week John and Eryk wander around a bit, give you some info, tell a few cool stories, and have a laugh or two in one of Formosa Files’ every-now-and-then “Bits and Pieces” episodes.   A BIG THANK YOU to all who have left a 5-star review, subscribed, and followed us on social media!

This forgotten father of Taiwan democracy sacrificed his comfortable life (he came from a rich family and had a PhD from the US in Chemical Engineering) to fight for Taiwanese independence in the post-WW2 decades. In 1956 he was elected president of the Japan-based Republic of Taiwan Provisional Government. In some ways, he also sacrificed his Chinese-American wife and children. So, when his American granddaughter Kim Liao was growing up, Thomas Liao was almost never mentioned. In this episode, John talks to Kim about uncovering her mysterious family history, the subject of her recent outstanding book: Where Every Ghost Has a Name: A Memoir of Taiwanese Independence. (Note: John also recorded another episode with Kim focusing on her book – see Episode 6 of Bookish Asia with Plum Rain Press)

Lonely Planet travel guidebooks provided some of best info on a new destination in the pre-internet era, and the late Robert Storey (1954-2017) wrote quite a few of them... including the first four editions for Taiwan. Robert Storey’s Lonely Planet Taiwan editions are funny, sarcastic, and insightful, and they now serve as wonderful “time capsules.” So, join us as we peek back at the late 1990s, and discover what’s changed - as well as what hasn't.

Lai Dongjin 賴東進 was born into a “beggar family.” His dad is blind, his mom has a mental illness. He has 11 siblings! Many born into such a disadvantaged position would throw up their hands, blame fate, and quit the fight for life. But Lai refused to surrender – no matter how high the odds. His 2000 autobiography "Beggar Boy" was a best-seller (no English version) and today, Formosa Files brings you his remarkable story.

John talks with Chris Bates about one of Taiwan’s greatest ever martial artists, Hong Yixiang 洪懿祥 (1925–1993). He was Taiwan’s foremost master of the Chinese internal martial arts (which consist of baguazhang 八卦掌, xingyiquan 形意拳 and taijiquan 太極拳.) The Hong family learnt these fighting forms from exiled Mainlanders who fled the communists in the late 1940s. These skills were put to good use in dealing with local gangsters in the turbulent post-WWII years in Taipei. Chris, who trained with Hong and his sons, translated his biography “Blurred Boundaries,” written by son Hong Ze-han, into English. Like the book, this Formosa Files episode is not just a conversation about kung fu, but a rich cultural dive down little-known alleys. (Chris previously spoke with John about his own martial arts odyssey in Taiwan: “Bonus Episode: Way of the Warrior - Martial Arts Master Chris Bates,” May 25, 2023. )