From Takow to Kaohsiung

Matsu Islands (馬祖), Fujian (福建) Province

The three dozen Matsu Islands (馬祖列島) are spread out over about 30 km² of sea almost 200km north of Taiwan but less than 20km from China’s Fujian coastline.

Their name derives from the main island, Nangan (南竿; literally “southern pole”), which is also known as Matsu (馬祖; literally “horse ancestor”). This in turn derives from the similarly pronounced seafarers’ deity Mazu (媽祖; “Maternal Ancestor”), an honorific title given to Lin Mo-niang (林默娘; tr. 960-987) who is said to have saved her father (or perhaps brothers) from drowning during her life, and numerous persons afterwards, and whose body is said to have washed ashore here and be buried in the Queen of Heaven Temple (天后宮) on the island. She is worshiped at temples throughout Taiwan (such as at Dajia, Beigang and Tainan, Magong in Penghu, and Taipei’s Guandu and Songshan), as well as in Chinese communities around the world.

Although most Taiwanese people call this archipelago the Matsu Islands, its official name is Lienchiang County (連江; literally “connecting rivers”), the larger part of which is in the PRC (albeit using the simplified characters 连江 and the romanization Lianjiang). In order to overcome this confusion, in 2003 it was proposed to change the islands’ official appellation to Matsu, but this was rejected by a majority of local people, who are said to have suspected it was a pro-independence initiative by the then DPP-led government*.

Matsu's inhabitants also do not speak Holko Taiwanese (which is derived from Southern Min; 閩南語) but, rather, a form of Eastern Min (閩東語) also known as the Fuzhou regionalect.

The Matsu archipelago, along with Kinmen (金門) located around 250km to the southwest, are the only parts of Fujian Province under ROC jurisdiction.

Fujian (福建)

Fujian (福建; literally "good-fortune build”) derives from the names two of its important Tang-dynasty cities: Fuzhou (福州), which still exists, and Jianzhou (建州), which falls within today’s Nanping (南平).



Copyright Caltonhill Publications 2021

*http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2003/04/06/201011