Formosa Penglai Orogeny - Ancient China - Indigenous Activists (SHOW-AND-TELL NO 3)

Penglai Isles, Anhui, China

Losin Watan (Sitting) 1921 Medical School Graduation

PENGLAI 蓬莱 HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN THIS BLOGPOST: 

The word “ponlai” is derived from a pair of Chinese characters pronounced pénglái in Mandarin. In both Chinese and Japanese legend, Pénglái is a mythical paradise, and the name has been fondly applied to Taiwan by writers and poets who recognized how much this bountiful island could provide for its human inhabitants. A couple of examples of usage are:

1. Tsai Peihuo, The Taiwan Autonomy Song 1925 – “… On enchanting Pénglái (Formosa) where our ancestors settled down…” (source: 228 peace memorial park) 

2. Yang Kwei, The Newspaper Man 1934 – “The deck of Pénglái (Formosa)…” (source: 228 peace memorial park)

I am here to write about a little more about Penglai 蓬莱 of somewhere else , by someone else, and to something else. 

FORMOSA OROGENY - SIX MILLIONS YEARS AGO, a collision of two plates created the ancient island of Taiwan. That was the predecessor of today’s Taiwan. A following orogenic movement — the famous Penglai Movement — shaped the main topography of Taiwan as we know it. 

Note: there are several easy-access online research articles on Penglai Orogeny/Mountain Movement by Taiwanese academics. Both in English and Chinese. Such as this one:

PENGLAI ANCIENT LAND AND IN CHINA MYTHOLOGY

I followed the millenniums-old footsteps of the First Emperor to Danya Mountain, just north of Penglai city in the Shandong Province of China.  The Emperor had proclaimed himself Qin Shi Huang, after establishing the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the first centralized empire in Chinese history. Then he traveled here from his capital Xian, looking for the elixir of life. As legends tell it, the Emperor had first sent the Taoist alchemist Xu Fu with 500 young men and 500 young women to the eastern seas to find the elixir, but Xu Fu never came back; instead, he landed in Japan and became the founder of Shintoism. The Emperor brought three times as many young girls and boys along with himself, but none of them ever returned either. His sailors blamed their failure to obtain the elixir on vicious sharks. The poor Emperor wandered up and down the coastline shooting at sharks with a crossbow in revenge. There were also dolphins seen from the cliffs above, at which the mighty King cast an impotent spear only to realize that his own days were numbered.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang did not achieve immortality (he is buried in the famous Xian tomb guarded by an army of terra cotta soldiers, horses, and chariots), but his trip contributed to the legend that grew ever more complex, all around what is today called the Penglai Pavilion, on Danya Mountain. It is here that the Eight Immortals are said to have crossed the sea using their special powers after they got drunk. The Eight Immortals are worshiped by Taoists and are, furthermore, an important element in the secular Chinese folklore of today. In Chinese mythology, they are a group of xian (transcendent saints), all men except for one woman, each with the power that can grant life and destroy evil. According to legends they were born in the 7^th to 13^th centuries and lived on the islands of the Bohai Sea where Penglai is located. They were first mentioned during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368); they are probably named after the Han people’s folkloric Eight Immortal Scholars. Taoism adopted this ancient tradition of depicting humans as becoming immortal. The Eight Immortals became widely known through the works of the Taoists. They have been the subject of many artistic creations, even in modern China......

I DIDN'T get an opportunity to Penglai in Shandong - I was, however, recently taken aback by the Penglai Fabled Isles in Huangshan, Anhui! Once-in-a-life experience! 

 

PENGLAI - a National Identity and Formosa Spirit

Losin Watan and Watan Tanga - 

Atayal Indigenous Right Pioneer and 'PENGLAI Nationalism-Defence Youth Alliance 蓬萊民族自救鬥爭青年同盟' Founder. (uncle and nephew)

Wantan Tanga 1948 founded 'Penglai Youth Alliance' when he was a high school student. In 1952, he was charged with insurrection and sentenced to 15 years Prison. 

On August 2016, Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen officially apologized to Taiwan's indigenous peoples for “the four centuries of pain and mistreatment” they have endured.  In this statement, recognition of governmental responsibility was quite clear, and actions for “true reconciliation” between the government and the indigenous peoples was fairly specific: for example, to delineate and announce indigenous traditional territories and lands in three months, or to set up an Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Commission under the Presidential Office in about four months.  Reconstructing historical archives and memories was also highlighted as one of the most significant issues to “shine a light on the true history of the indigenous peoples.”

The series of actions taken by the new Taiwanese president has attracted the keen attention of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, and also gained widespread interest throughout the world. This upswell of concern, in conjunction with practices of pursuing transitional justice in Taiwan society in recent years, seeks reconsideration of Japanese colonial responsibilities as well as studies of historical injustice.  

SHOW-AND-TELL No. 1 & 2 Here. 

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