霧峰區 Wufeng District, Taichung

Not to be confused with...

Wufeng (霧峰; lit. “misty peak”) Township (now District) in Taichung

Earlier name was 阿罩霧 (Mdn: AZhaoWu; lit. “A-cover-mist”). Typically, this is interpreted as deriving from a description of the local mountains as being commonly “covered in mist”. The Hoklo Taiwanese pronunciation A-ta-bu reveals that it was a transliteration of Ataabu, the name of the local Plains Aborigine tribe inhabiting the area.

Formerly home to Bnauro and Ataabu tribes of the Hoanya Plains Aborigines (洪雅族) and Sekoleq (賽考列克群) subgroup of Atayal Abls. “Bnauro” gave rise to another early name, 貓羅 (Hoklo: niau-lo; lit. “cat net”), as Han Chinese immigrated further eastwards up the Dadu River (大肚溪) in the early 18th century.

The area became 貓羅堡 (Mdn. MaoLuo Bao; lit.“cat net fort”) when Taiwan became a Chinese province in 1887, 霧峰庄 (WuFeng Village) in 1920 under Japanese rule, 霧峰鄉 (Wufeng Township) in 1950, and 霧峰區 (Wufeng District) in 2010.




Text and photos © Jiyue Publications 2011