Antique Map of Taiwan during the Kang-Xi Period

The Antique Map of Taiwan During the Kang-xi Period is the earliest surviving map of Taiwan in the form of a long scroll, measuring 518cm in length and 63 to 64cm in width.

The text on the map is written in regular script; not only does it list the place names, but it also gives other relevant information such as the boundaries of places and the distance between each place, providing more details than gazetteers and maps that came later. Therefore, the map is one of the most useful historical materials for studying Taiwan in the early Qing dynasty.

This map is painted with color on a silk scroll in a realistic style. It depicts the mountains and rivers, areas of military deployment, and rural life in western Taiwan from north to south. The map uses a traditional perspective to depict the mountains and rivers in three layers: the distant view shows the mountains, the middle view shows the land, and the close view shows the rivers.

In addition, it also depicts the cultural customs of the Han Chinese people and indigenous people at that time, such as village houses, fields, ox carts, and boats. Indigenous people can also be seen on the map hunting deer and rabbits, and scenes of tribal houses, betelnut trees and other images all try to faithfully reflect the reality of Taiwanese life in the 17^th century.

On closer inspection of the map, you can see there are two lines, one is a red solid line and the other is a black dotted line, and people or carts are drawn on the dotted line.

The red solid line is used to mark the defense line for the land army and the navy; it starts from the Tamsui River in the north and ends at the Donggang River in the south.

The black dotted line is the main north-south longitudinal road where people and ox carts traveled at that time; it starts from Balibenshe (now Bali, New Taipei City) in the north to Shamaqitou in the south (now Maobitou, Pingtung County).

This road was taken when Yu Yonghe visited Taiwan to collect sulfur n 1697, and he travelled north from Tainan to Tamsui on this route. But the idea of a longitudinal road did not just appear in the Qing dynasty, it existed as early as the Dutch period.

The northern part of the Antique Map of Taiwan During the Kangxi Period shows that the Qing dynasty had a very good understanding of the indigenous communities in western Taiwan at that time.

The map marks the names of the communities one by one and records the distance between each place. It also depicts indigenous activities with people chasing Formosan sika deer and hares with pointed guns, bows and arrows and hunting dogs.

Scenes of hunters carrying their game or farmers with their harvest are also illustrated. For the tribal people in the mountainous area, however, they were only mentioned by place names. For example, the Kavalan people in northern Taiwan were marked as “the 36 tribes in Kavalan.”

In the central part of the Antique Map of Taiwan During the Kangxi Period, there are buildings that represent military camps in Banxianshe (now Huabeili, Changhua City) and Chailishe (now Siwei and Sanguang Village, Douliu City, Yunlin County).

The installation of garrisons began in Taiwan during Koxinga’s reign in order to secure a food supply. In 1666, Zheng Jing ordered Liu Guoxuan to transfer to Banxian and establish a garrison and reclaim the land. Therefore, a city gate, barracks, and Han-style camps can also be seen on this map.

The village houses marked on the map are mostly places where the Han Chinese people rented land from the plains indigenous people for farming, and they built houses here for temporary residence.

On the Antique Map of Taiwan During the Kangxi Period, there is a prominent red defense line drawn on Penghu. The Qing dynasty set up a navy in Penghu with two battalions, which are on the left and the right.

The red line is the patrol route of the two battalions. The area between Wanbei Islet and Hua Islet is the left battalion’s patrol area, and the area between Jibei Islet and Xiyu Islet is the right battalion’s patrol area.

The Antique Map of Taiwan During the Kangxi Period shows the distribution of the tribes of the Siraya people, a major plains indigenous people. The tribes are: Backloan, Soulang, Sinkan, Mattau, Doroko, and Tefurang.

According to a record from 1684 in the Zhuluo County Gazetteer, the Zhuluo County Government and the Military Camp of Northern Taiwan were set up in Jialixing (present-day Jiali District, Tainan), and in 1704 the Zhuluo County Government was moved to Zhuluo Mountain (now Chiayi City).

The map also depicts the khun-sin, a word originally meaning “the back of a whale,” which later became a metaphor for sandbanks for its resemblance when viewed from a distance on the sea. The series of sandbanks were also called the haiweng line (line of whales), although they have now all silted up and become salt fields and urban settlements.

This part of the map shows the location of Taiwan Prefecture. The main street is called Shizi (Cross) Street, which divides the city into four squares: Dong’an, Xiding, Ningnan and Zhenbei.

On the map you can also see Dajingtou, which was an important port at that time. The numerous shops nearby shows a scene of prosperity.

On the map there is a huge castle standing on the street, with the words “Hongmaolou” (Red Hair Tower). According to the Taiwan Prefecture Gazette written by Gao Gongqian in the Kangxi period of the Qing dynasty, “The Chikan (Sakam) City is located on the northwest corner of the prefecture.

The surrounding area is 453 feet wide, and 36 feet high. There are no battlements, and although it is called a city, it is just a tower.” Therefore, it is marked on the map as “Hongmaolou.” During the Dutch colonization period it was called Fort Provintia, then Chengtian Prefecture under Koxinga’s reign, and now it is called Chikan Tower.

On part of the Taijiang Lagoon, you can see the installation of the Mazu Temple (now Luermen Tianhou Temple) and three artillery batteries, which shows the importance of coastal defense here. There are many ships traveling on the Taijiang Lagoon, but due to the problem of sedimentation along the coast, people can be seen using ox carts to transport goods between the ships and the land.

There are three navy battalions set up at Kunshenxun, named left, right and middle camp. The tower surrounded by the three battalions is Hongmaocheng (Red Hair City), also known as Fort Zeelandia in the Dutch period. According to the Taiwan Prefecture Gazette published during Emperor Kangxi’s reign in Qing Dynasty, the tower was built by Frederick Coyett,the Gouverneur van Formosa of Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie,VOC, and the wall was made with large bricks, tung oil and ashes. On the wall there are iron anchor plates, and the fort is composed of multiple layers of walls and buildings, therefore it is illustrated as a round castle on the map.

The red and green colors on the southern area of the Antique Map of Taiwan During the Kangxi Period have almost completely faded due to its age, and what can be seen are the labels on the mountains that read “there is no trace of any human” and “the kaleihuan indigenous people are in a cave behind this mountain”.

This also shows that the Qing dynasty did not have complete control of the entire territory of Taiwan, and that they specially marked the boundaries of where the indigenous people were. The lines indicating the territory of the kaleihuan indigenous people suggests the potential danger of passing by that area as well.