From Takow to Kaohsiung

Yushan (玉山; “Jade Mountain”), at 3952 meters above sea level, is Taiwan’s highest peak. It was created due to movement of the Eurasian Plate over the Philippine Sea Plate.

> ................................ Yushan (photo from Peellden Wikipedia commons)

Aboriginal names for the mountain include Patungkuonu in Tsou, Tongku Saveq ("Highest Peak”) in Bunun, Tanungu'incu in Kanakanavu, and Kanasian in Paiwan*.

In the Qing dynasty it was known as Mugangshan (木岡山; “Wooded ridged Mountain”). Batongguan (八通關 and other transliterations of the Tsou name), and Xueshan (雪山; “Snowy Mountain”)**. In English it was referrred to as Mount Morrison, which was often assumed to refer to the British Presbyterian missionary to China, Robert Morrison (1782~1834), for whom the Morrison Academy in Taichung is named***, but in reality was named for an American ship’s captain who had sighted it on leaving Tainan City's Anping harbor.

During the Period of Japanese Rule (1895-1945), it was known as Niitakayama (新高山; "New High Mountain") since it was 176 m higher than Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan proper.

Yushan lies at the border of Nantou County's Xinyi Township with Kaohsiung City's Taoyuan District and Chiayi County's Alishan Township.

* Wikepedia

** See Taipei Times 2018.

*** See Morrison Academy.

Copyright Jiyue Publications, 2021