Xinyi Township (信義鄉), Nantou County
Xinyi (信義; literally “Faithfulness [and] Righteousness”) represents two of the Confucian “eight virtues” (see Bade (八德). Drawing on ancient Chinese tradition, this was typical postwar ROC nomenclature, such usages certainly didn’t occur during the Period of Japanese Rule (1895~1945) nor, particularly, during the preceding Qing dynasty (1683~1895).
In the Qing dynasty, this mountainous area had been unsubdued Sheng-Fan (生番; unassimilated Aboriginal) territory, primarily inhabited by Bunun (布農;; Mdn. Bunong) and a few Tsou(鄒; Mdn. Zou) peoples, and, for most of the Japanese era, had been partially subdued lands under the nominal jurisdiction of Taichung Prefecture (台中州; Jpn. Taichūshū).
Yushan (玉山), Taiwan's highest peak at 3952 meters, lies at the border of Xinyi Township with Kaohsiung City's Taoyuan District and Chiayi County's Alishan Township.
Ren-ai Township (仁愛鄉), Nantou County
Ren-ai (仁愛, with a hyphen {or sometimes apostrophe} because Renai could also be Re-nai, e.g. 熱耐 “heat resistant”) means “benevolence [and] love” and therefore represents two of the Confucian “eight virtues” (see Bade (八德). Drawing on ancient Chinese tradition, this was typical of postwar ROC nomenclature; such usages certainly didn’t occur during the Period of Japanese Rule (1895~1945) nor, particularly, during the preceding Qing dynasty (1683~1895).
In the Qing dynasty, this mountainous area had been unsubdued Sheng-Fan (生番; unassimilated Aboriginal) territory, primarily inhabited by Bunun (布農;; Mdn. Bunong), Atayal (泰雅; Mdn. Taiya) and Seediq (賽德克; Mdn. Saideke), and these ethnicities still represent the majority of people today. For most of the Japanese era, this area was partially subdued lands under the nominal jurisdiction of Taichung Prefecture (台中州; Jpn. Taichūshū).
The Wushe (霧社) Rebellion (a.k.a. Masha Incident) of 1930 was one of the last significant uprisings by the Aborigines (or Han-Chinese) against Japanese rule, not just in Nantou County but throughout the whole of Taiwan.
Xinyi District, Taipei City, home to the Taipei World Trade Center, Taipei International Convention Center, former world’s-tallest building Taipei 101, as well as various shopping malls and entertainment venues, is one of Taiwan’s, if not the world’s, most up-market areas.
Xinyi District from Elephant Hill (photo courtesy of Sean Scanlan)
Meaning “Faithfulness [and] Righteousness”, it takes its name from Xinyi Road which runs through the heart of the district, and which represents one-fourth of the Confucian “Eight Virtues” (八德; Ba De). The other six are: loyalty (忠; xhong), filial piety (孝; xiao), benevolence (仁; ren), love (愛; ai), harmony (和; he), and peace (平; ping), and these, in 3 pairs, along with Bade itself, are used for names of five* roads (Bade, Zhongxiao, Ren-ai, Xinyi and Heping) running east-west in central Taipei City, with similar examples in other towns and cities around the island.
Earlier still, this area was known to the Ketagalan Aborigines as Vari Syekkau** (perhaps meaning “where the river bends”***). In 1815** during Qing rule, this was transliterated into Chinese as 麻里折口 (Hoklo: Ba-lí-chek-khau), which was later abbreviated as 錫口 (Hoklo Sek-khau; Mdn. Xikou).
* Actually seven roads, since each of Zhongxiao and Heping are subdivided into West and East roads.
** Abe Akiyoshi
*** Wikipedia
Text and photos copyright Jiyue Publications, 2021/2022
Taoyuan City (formerly Taoyuan County) has a Bade District (formerly “city”) (八德區; named for the Confucian “Eight Virtues”). Before renaming under the postwar ROC administration, this had been called Hachitoku Village (八塊庄) druing the period of Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945), which derived from Bakuaicuo (八塊厝; “Eight Pieces Houses”), which referred to the homesteads of the eight families who opened up the land for farming early in the Qianlong reign period (1736~96).
The eight virtues are loyalty (忠; xhong), filial piety (孝; xiao), benevolence (仁; ren), love (愛; ai), faithfulness (信; xin), righteousness (義; yi), harmony (和; he), and peace (平; ping).
Copyright Jiyue Publications, 2021
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