From Takow to Kaohsiung

Juguang (莒光) Township, Matsu Islands, Lienchiang County

Consisting of two major islands, Dongju (東犬; “East Ju”) and Xiju (西莒; “West Ju”), the mini-archipelago of Juguang (莒光; literally “Glory of Ju”) was renamed from Baiquan (白犬; “White Dogs”) in October 1971, the same month that the United Nations switched recognition from the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the People’s Republic of China.

In case this timing might seem coincidental, understanding the linguistic significance of the name will dispel any doubt. Ju was a small, but peaceful and stable, state during the incessant warmongering of China's Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BCE), more than 2,500 years ago and almost 1,000 miles north of Matsu, in today’s Shandong Province. The king of the neighboring state of Qi (齊) stayed in Ju to prepare a counterattack to take his country back from the State of Yan (燕; based in today’s Beijing) which had invaded it.

The analogy of the ROC vanquishing Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party from the Chinese mainland was obvious for President Chiang Kai-shek, and he made frequent quotation of the idiom 毋忘在莒 (Mdn. wu wang zai ju; “do not forget [the time?] in Ju”).

This also explains the existence of Taiwan’s numerous Juguang Roads (莒光路; such as one in Taipei’s Wanhua District), elementary schools (莒光國小; such as one in New Taipei’s Banqiao District) and other buildings, as well as the Juguanghao (莒光號) second tier of Taiwan’s trains, all commemorating thw“Glory of Ju” (莒光).

It should finally be noted that the Matsu Islands, like Kinmen and Penghu, is not part of Taiwan. Matsu, a.k.a. Lienchiang County (連江縣), was part of Fujian Province, which is now divided, with the larger part being in the PRC, with just Matsu in the ROC. Indeed, the Wade Giles romanization of Lienchiang is retained to differentiate it from the Lianjiang spelling used in China, as is the tradtional full-form version 連江縣 (lienchiang County rather than the PRC's simplified versions of the Chinese characters.

Copyright Jiyue Publications, 2021