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Dynamics of Community Formation pp 57–78Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Cultural Memory in Mainland Immigrants’ Settlement of Taiwan: A Case Study of Zuoying Naval Veterans’ Villages

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Abstract

Grounded in an ethnographic framework to examine the built environment and the artistic practices of everyday life in the case of a disappearing naval Veterans’ Village in southern Taiwan, this chapter reveals a type of reticent yet uncertain sense of home, which is rooted in the Chinese Civil War but with a contemporary echo that manifests in a conflicting combination of the long-lasting dislocation memory, and the survival anxiety aroused by the demolition of immigrant housing in furtherance of urban renewal policies. Despite the crisis of the erasure of cultural memory, raking up the past by means of photographic art is pertinent to the reconfiguration of cultural identity via the politics of recognition. Thus, the dynamic process of identity-building is, somehow, towards the right of habitation in today’s sociocultural context of Taiwan.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The popular performing arts act ‘The Village’ has given approximately 200 touring performances in Mainland China , Taiwan, and Hong Kong, attracting audiences of more than 400,000. The storyline is about three generations of Mainland immigrants leaving their hometown and assimilating into Taiwan.

  2. 2.

    There were 59 Veterans’ Villages in Xiaogang District (4 villages), Qianzhen District (3 villages), Lingya District (7 villages), Sanmin District (5 villages), Xinxing District (4 villages), Qianjin District (2 villages), Gushan District (6 villages), Zuoying District (22 villages), Nanzi District (2villages), and Qijin District (4 villages).

  3. 3.

    The 23 Veterans’ Villages include Ban Ping Shan New village, Hai Guang 2nd village, Hai Guang 3rd village, Sheng Li New Village, East Zi Zhu New Village, West Zi Zhu New village, Guo Mao New Village, Li Zhi New Village, Chong Shi New Village, Zi Mian New Village, Zi Li New Village, Fu Xing New Village, Chuang Zao New Village, He Qun New Village, Ming De New Village, Jiang Ye New Village, Ping Shan New Village, Hua Xia New Village, Rui Feng New Village, Ci Hui 3rd Village, Ci Hui 6th Village, Ci Hui 9th Village, and 4–14 Village.

  4. 4.

    According to the hierarchical structure of the Japanese Navy, the “administrative office” is the first-ranking base area, meaning that the facilities in a military port have responsibility for guarding the naval base, renovating the warships, and educating the Marine Corps. The four administrative offices include naval bases in Yokosuka, Hiroshima, JMSDF Sasebo, and Maizuru. As the predecessor of the confidential department, the “police office” is the second ranking base area and includes Qingdao, Magong, Lushun, Dalianwan, and several other posts located in Japanese colonies.

  5. 5.

    There are two stone pillars in the window in No. 54, defined as a European architectural component for relieving the burden of the wall. Most of the local residents consider this architectural method as non-Japanese in style, based on an interview with Yuan Linglin in Kaohsiung city, August 23, 2013.

  6. 6.

    The technical description is weather board cladding. The shape is reminiscent of a fish scale, which looks like a stack of wooden boards. Li Qianlang believes that this kind of building type has the basic features of being waterproof and providing heat insulation. Originating from Canada, weatherboard cladding spread to Hokkaido and thus, many modern Japanese buildings adopted this construction method. It is prevalent in Japanese-style railway stations, warehouses, and residential neighborhoods in colonized Taiwan. However, because of Taiwan’s hot and humid weather, white ants can easily corrode weatherboard cladding.

  7. 7.

    The quotation is cited from Chiang Kai-shek ’s public statement “An Open Letter to Taiwan Compatriots”, May 16, 1950.

  8. 8.

    The quotation is cited from Huang Sunquan’s article, “Here is Where We Meet: A Study on Artist Hou Shur-Tzy and Her Photographical Art on Naval Veterans’ Village of Zuoying,” based on an interview with Hou Shur-Tzy in Kaohsiung City, August 31, 2013.

  9. 9.

    In terms of the downside of documentary photography, so-called “art for art’s sake” is trapped in a presupposed mode of representation, and it is prone to meet the demand of the middle class for visual novelty by representing the tragic situation of the lower classes.

  10. 10.

    As Gu argues, topographic analysis is a discipline of geographical investigation by means of scientific survey, when applied to photography; topography implies a new approach and expression of how photographers contemplate the landscape. Representative photographers include Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, and Nicholas Nixon.

  11. 11.

    The trilogy of ‘Song of Asian Foreign Brides in Taiwan’ includes ‘Border-crossing/Diaspora’ (2005), ‘Border-crossing/Cultural-Identities’ (2008), and ‘Look toward the other side’ (2009).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Urban Governance, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, P.R.C, China

    Danzhou Li

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  1. Danzhou Li
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College at Oneonta, The State University of New York, Oneonta, New York, USA

    Robert W. Compton, Jr.

  2. College at Oneonta, The State University of New York, Oneonta, New York, USA

    Ho Hon Leung

  3. Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, Connecticut, USA

    Yaser Robles

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Li, D. (2018). Cultural Memory in Mainland Immigrants’ Settlement of Taiwan: A Case Study of Zuoying Naval Veterans’ Villages. In: Compton, Jr., R., Leung, H., Robles, Y. (eds) Dynamics of Community Formation. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53359-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53359-3_4

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-53359-3

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