The formation of Taiwan society : the case of the Zhuqian area (1723-1895)

This thesis describes the development of Taiwanese society through a study of the Zhuqian area (present-day Xinzhu, northwestern Taiwan) under Qing's rule (1683-1895). This thesis argues that the social relations of the Zhuqian area were developed through the classification by Qing local administration and legal statutes on land development. It argues that ethnic categorisation took effect in asserting land ownership, yet it did not invariably lead to social estrangement or the growth of ethnic identities among social groups under their respective ethnic labels. When the frontier land-opening pattern changed after the 1790s, the label enabling the aborigines to claim legitimate land ownership lost its efficacy. Henceforth it was the growth of local communities that constantly reworked complex webs of social relations within society and different social groups frequently worked together for their common economic interests. The emergence of local leadership in the 181 Os signifies the milestone of Zhuqian's development in pursuing common interests and public welfare. It was not until the militarisation of Zhuqian society in the mid-Nineteenth Century that ethnic discord began to appear. Hereafter, Zhuqian's constrained economic and political prospect intensified tensions among social groups as local leaders scrambled for power. Local leaders, thereupon, appealed to different cultural symbols to bolster their power over their own spheres of influence. It was not until the end of the Nineteenth Century that ethnic self-identification and a local identity finally emerged among local communities, much promoted by an entrenched literati.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo