Miaoli (苗栗, lit. “seedling chestnut”), originated from the Taokas (道卡斯) plains aboriginal township name Bari, meaning “plain”. This was rendered in the Hakka language (others explain it as Hoklo Taiwanese) by the characters 貓貍 (Hakka: meu-li; lit. “cat” + “fox-like animal”). The was later adapted as 貓狸 (meu-li; “cat” + “fox/raccoon”); and in official documents using the similarly pronounced 貓裡 (meu-li; “cat” + “within”), and 貓里 (meu-li; “cat” + “neighbourhood”). In 1889, it was changed for a more elegant name, based on the Hakka pronunciation, to the Meu-lit (苗栗; Mdn. Miaoli), which is still used.
As the photograph shows, however, the original wording has some retro popularity.
Text and photos © Jiyue Publications 2011
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