Ji’an (吉安; lit. “auspicious peace”) Township was originally the Amis (阿美) Aboriginal community of Cikasuan. This was transliterated into Chinese as 七腳川 (Hoklo: Chhit-ka-chhoan; lit. “seven legs river”).
The Japanese established a village here called 吉野 (Jpn.: Yoshino; Mdn.: Jiye; lit. “auspicious wild”). After retrocession in 1945, this name was considered too Japanese-sounding, so the second character was changed in 1948, giving today’s 吉安 (Ji’an).
Text and photos © Jiyue Publications
¬ Exploring Taiwan's history, culture and languages through its place names
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