T A I 



T A L 



twelve linui>. A great part of the capital was destroyed, 

 and M'nir hundreds of junk- were 



Tin- soil of thi' lower tracts and tli lie slopes 



of the mounta; it ttilc. and produces abun 



:n, which 1 to the hailiour> of Fukian, of 



which the island i> said to he the giauai\. It produces 



rice of excellent ijualitv; also wheat, millet, maize, and 



i!i!c>. am, ins; whieh lire truffles. The 



sugar teiuively cultivated, and the sugar made in 



land guc.s to c> a- Peking. Orchards are 



care: They produce manges. pine-applet, 



guavas. coeoa-i fruit, and other 1'mits 



I'onnd in the East Indies; a 1 



grapes, pomegranates, anil chestnuts. Melons arc also 

 much grown. Only cultivated, and it is 



I that it forms an article of export to China, where 

 as a medicine. The blossoms of the- wild jas- 

 mine are diied and exported to China, where tl:. 



to give a scent to tin- tea. Other a \port 



iinphor. pepper, aloes, and timber. Timber abounds 



in tli. : the northeni districts of the island. 



It is ,1 that coffee, cotton, and silk arc pro- 



I to a small amount. 



The domestic animals are cattle, buffaloes, horses, asses, 



ami goats. i, u t .sheep and hogs are rare. The horses are 



small, and Ihc Chinese find them unlit for their cavalry. 



It is said that on i nnkmr.vn iiortion of the 



e many bca>t- of prey, as tigers, leopards, 



and v. not found on ' side, 



where wild hogs, ilccr, monkeys, pheasants, and game are 



abundant. Salt is made to a EI .and. 



r with sulphur, form- Mticle of export. 



populatii <l of abori- 



. The Chinese arc only found on the west side of the 



tied a hundred and eighty years 



J . Their number many years ago wa 



'.out "><X).(H)0 individuals. Tli from 



Fukian, and have preserved the customs of their original 



:id the spirit of industry and enterprise by which 



their countrymen are distinguished. A considerable mim- 



:' aborigines are sett!. 'he Chines,., to whom 



they are subject, and are obliged to pay a tribute in corn 



and money. Tl. the tribute I .who 



are required to know the language of the aborigines for the 



purpose of explaining to them the orders of the court. It 



I that tin- . to which the aborigri 



luently causes them : 



in rebellion. These aborigines are ol a slender make, and 



in complexion resemble the Malays, but they do not differ 



from the Cliine-e in features. Their language shows that 



belong to the widely spread race of the Malay 



nations ; and it is said that they greatly resemble the 



i'oras of 'he Moluccas. Then religion resembles 



what is called Shamanism. The Dutch look sonic s 



. ;t them to Christianity, but their sway on the island 

 in limited and of too snort a duration to produce any 

 lasting effect. Nothing is known of the aborigines who 

 inhabit tl:. 



to th and are said to be continually at war with 



them. Inhabiting a country covered with lofty mountains. 

 they are said to subsist mostly on the produce of the chase 

 ana by fishing. 



( 'hinese portion of TaV-vvan is divided into four dis- 

 M>uth to iioitli. are Fung-shan-hian, 



- an-hian, Tshul-lo-hian. and Thung-hua-hian. The 

 Ml, Tai'-wan-fu, u a hie place, and has a 



-m of HP.KNI troops. The wall was built in 17i'. The 



lie another at right 



angle-: they arc tiili abundantly pio- 



i all article* of Chinese industry. The I 

 .- that uln 



i. Then .nail church 



Mted that l(KN) junk- 

 in the harbour; but as the simile en' 

 I.iit fioni : n feet of 



i liad a greater dciilh of wale.-, and for the 



Dutch had built the fortress of 



hut it i* ' ranee has been filled 



of this place with China is 



Lind- 



i'-h was tl. 1 with 



junksaodi coasting veels which brought the pro- 



! the coun 1 lly rice and sugar, to this j 



.-it the rmbiiucliiin- of 111, 



khy, is at the innermost recess of a fine bay, vvhi< 

 1 1 for u mimcroiis 11, 



t remit y of the island, and is railed Ky-long hai : the 



Dutch call it Quelon^. It 



:JO large vessels, and is the station of the Chin, 



the island. An active comuii -., at this 



The commerce of the island is limited to that wit! 



- of China, especially Fukian. to which it 

 sends it.s agricultural produce, with sulphur and salt 

 from which it imports tea, raw silk, woollen anil c 

 stutl's. and other mam. i that the i 



her of junks that annually enter the port* amour, 

 more than KKH). The navigation of the channel 

 though difficult on act-omit of the sales and the 

 is rendered much less so i 

 Islands, which offer a 



rocky islands arc thirty-six in number, most of them 

 small, and ; ..ewhat larger. Tin 



excellent harbour, in which vessels , 

 ten feet draught may anchor in security. Th 

 have erected some fortifications on them, as th, 



. who fre- 

 quently infest the adjacent i :mia. 



Opposite the i-oulhcin cxluim'y f the eastern r<>;. 

 TaV-wan i the island of Hotol Tabago-xima. It i- 

 and about ten miles in circumference. It is surroii 



i a without soundings, and no na\ 

 landed on it. It is said to In very popul, 



It appear- that the island of Tai-wan wa known t 

 Chinese and Jap. i early period, but they did not 



settle on it nor subject it to their sway. \Vheii the Dutch 

 appeared ill these seas, following the track of the 1" 



-cttlcincMt either on the 



Ponghu IsfamU or on TaV-wan. me fortifi- 



cation on the I'onghii Islands, and in Hi:il thvy built the 

 fortress of /elandia at the entrance of the harbour of 

 TaVwan-fu, where there was then a small town. They built 



small fortress at the harbour of Ky-lonir 



tion which was thus 



number of faiuilio fioin Ful- !e in the 



island, and the colony lly in importance. Mean- 



while China was laid wa-te by the wars which tcrmi 

 in the overthrow of the Ming dj 



meiit of tli . iinily on the throne. The adherents 



of the former dyna-ly maintained their Inutinir IOIIL'. 

 the eastern and soutliern provinces, Chekia 

 Quanirtun. but being pressed by their enemies, they 

 doned the mainland, and continued the war on tin 

 One of their chiefs, Tshing-tshing-knng, called b. 

 Europeans Koximra. sailed, after the 

 Pongnu Islands, and occupied them. 



i-wan, and linding only a m the 



Dutch forlre-s. he took it, : 



Thus the Dutch lost the island, alter having 

 in possession of it for twenty-eigbl years. Tsb 



,ng of TaV-wan. favoured ti 

 country men, the inhabitants of Fukian, an 

 in a short time w:u converted into a Chinese colony. He 

 .Durable to the Kiiulish. who had. durim: bis 

 .mincrcial establishi 



which they carried on an active commerce \\ith Amoy. 

 The province of Fukian. which continued i 

 the victorious Matitchoos lomrer than any other p;, 



China, had been compelled to submit to t and 



linjr-tshing-kum: had died, and the th: 

 was occupied by a minor, a Chinese licet in 

 possessii.ii of the 1'oUL'hu Islands. The Chines, 

 preparing a descent tmTai'-wan, when, in 1' nrcil 



which ;,'ovcnicil in the name of the yoniiir jirince thought 

 it most prudent to surrender the island ' .it of 



Peking without a war. 



(Per : -!ianti'x rt rnrii-n\,'it, vol. 



xviii. ; Klaproth's 1> 



'/iiiHiix, in I.a 



/'; and 1 r <t"g6 



':/" /A . i'i /''//-- 



'I AI.VI'I II.NS is the name given by the PoiliiL'ucse.and 

 after them by other Euio]ic.in nations, to tl> 



