Yilan County Government - 宜蘭縣政府全球資訊網Yilan County Government - 宜蘭縣政府全球資訊網

　　Turtle Island
　　A child from Lanyang leaves on the train.
　　As he watches you through the window, it's
　　always hard to tell whether the melancholy
　　in the air is yours or his.

　　The author Huang Chunming described the emotional experience of returning home in this verse. In a Chinese paper cut art piece titled Going to Yilan, his depiction of the "Nine Curves and Eighteen Turns" is both romantic and humorous. For early travelers from Yilan, the journey home was long and arduous. Despite the breathtakingly beautiful mountainous scenery, driving along the Taipei-Yilan Highway is a vertiginous experience navigating the tortuous roads. A more comfortable alternative is taking the train. However, upon entering the Caoling Tunnel, the passengers all close the windows simultaneously so that black smoke belching from the engine does not enter the train cars—something guaranteed to leave you black and sooty. Even with the completion of the freeway, the trip home for Yilan residents still entails traversing a seemingly neverending road that is only 12.9 kilometers long.

　　The Xueshan mountain range lies between Yilan and the outside world, presenting a formidable barrier for travelers. The sea is another route. According to "The Kavalan Chronicles", the sea surrounding Yilan is different from other waters around Taiwan. The south wind blows everywhere else, whereas the north wind blows exclusively in Yilan. Perilous waters lie off of Keelung, Mao'ao and Bitou Cape to the north, while powerful eddies and tides are found down south along the Hualien coast. "Every ship that enters Yilan should follow the islands; otherwise you will capsize when the east wind blows."

　　Dangerous mountain passes and perilous waters imbue the landscape of Yilan with the feeling of a faraway land. Many people have traveled from far and wide to this place which bears the footprints of the Spanish, the Dutch, and the Japanese. Indigenous tribes that have settled Yilan include the Kavalan Ttribe who came by the sea and lived by the rivers, as well as the Atayal who crossed the Xiyuan Pass and settled in the mountains. Two hundred years ago, the Han (Chinese) finally summoned the courage to traverse the mountain range. Large populations began taming the wilderness, cultivating the fields and building irrigation channels. In essence, an entire way of life was moved here.

　　Today, the Han comprise the majority of the population in Yilan. Before their arrival during the mid-Qing Dynasty, the area had been settled by the Kavalan Ttribe whose people speak an Austronesian language. They were the main inhabitants of the Lanyang Plain before the immigration of the Han, and most likely arrived in Yilan 1,000 years ago.

　　Former names of Yilan include Kavalan, La-A-Lan, and E-A-Lan. Before the Han started cultivating the land, the Kavalans were the most privileged tribe to live on the plains. They were most likely joined by other Austronesian peoples that traveled from the southeast coast of the Asian continent, crossed the ocean and arrived in Taiwan. It is unclear how long it took them to migrate into Yilan. Kavalan settlements consisted of small villages along rivers, which were dubbed "the thirty-six communities of Kavalan" during the Qing dynasty. In reality, according to investigations by more recent historians, remnants of old Kavalan communities’number over forty. At the end of the eighteenth century, large numbers of Han people began moving onto the Lanyang Plain and used various means to seize land from the Kavalans. Some Kavalans left their homes, while some migrated southwards to the Hualien and Taitung coastlines and established settlements. The most important was Jialiyuan.

　　The Atayal tribe arrived in Yilan approximately 250 years ago and settled along the upper Dazhuoshui River (now called the Heping River). Afterwards, the Atayal tribe crossed the Siyuan Pass to reach the valley upstream of the Zhuoshui River. These are the ancestors of the modern day Xitou Atayal peoples who reside in Datong Township. Another part of the Atayal tribe headed east to enter and settle along the Nan'ao North River and the Heping North River. They make up the Nan'ao group of the Atayal tribe and reside mainly in Nan'ao Township. Those residing south of Yingshi in Datong Township are the Gaogan group from Taoyuan.
Non-Han peoples who migrated around Yilan region consist of more than just the aforementioned Austronesian peoples. With the discovery of new navigational routes, Europeans began arriving in Taiwan as early as the seventeenth century. In 1626 the Spanish led an invasion under the pretext of ship crews having been slain by Taiwanese "barbarians," torching harbors and surrounding villages, and even going so far as to take over Su'ao and establish a city named Saint Lorenzo.

　　The Spanish were subsequently ousted by the Dutch, who had taken over the southern part of Taiwan. In 1640, the Dutch began contracting Han merchants for trade and levying taxes on various commercial goods, including daily commodities. The merchants had to pay all company taxes but also enjoyed the right to monopolize trade. This system persisted through the Kingdom of Tungning up untill the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. Perhaps as early as the seventeenth century, quite a few Han who spoke the Kavalan language traveled between Taipei and Yilan in order to undertake such trade and collect taxes.

　　The earliest records of the Yilan population were those maintained by the Dutch government for purposes of governing and tax collection,. Although somewhat cursory, the records indicate the Kavalan tribe established forty-four to fifty settlements on the plains and numbered approximately ten thousand persons.

　　Cultivation of the land in the Taipei Basin began with the immigration of the Han at the end of the seventeenth century and gradually extended to various locations along the northern coast. In the 1770s people that had immigrated from Zhangzhou in modern-day Fujian Province, including the famous merchant Wu Sha, appeared in Sandiaoshe (Shuangxi and Gongliao townships in modern-day Taipei County). The Lin Shuangwen Incident took place in 1786, when the Taiwanese governor Yang Tingli got news of rebels fleeing to Sandiao and E-A-Lan (Yilan) and requested his counterpart in Danshui, Xu Menglin, to hurry to Sandiao and cut them off. In his reply to the governor, Xu Menglin mentioned that Wu Sha had long resided in Sandiao and that because Wu Sha was trusted by the people he could be of value in reining in the rebels. Wu Sha was later referred to as the pioneer in opening the way to the Lanyang Plain, and this was his earliest appearance in historical records.

　　From 1787, investors from northern Taiwan that were interested in Yilan lead a number of capitalist ventures there but were all unsuccessful. Wu Sha was therefore commissioned to organize a trail-blazing team to cultivate the Lanyang Plain. Until 1797, Pingpu tribes in Yilan were stricken by an epidemic, and it is held that Wu Sha cured the people with medicine. An improvement in relations with the various settlements was thus possible, and the Han were allowed to enter Yilan to establish their first foothold: Toucheng.

News spread that Wu Sha had opened a path to the Lanyang Plain. Han from everywhere subsequently came to seek opportunity, and these people organized the "Leader of Nine Flags". Although they still view the Wu family as their leader, in reality, many rose up to the ranks of leadership concomitantly. In 1804, the Han expanded their territory to Wuwei (modern day Yilan City).

　　In 1806, the Pingpu tribe and various Alishi groups who came to the outskirts of Wuwei from western Taiwan were attacked by the Han. They had no choice but to turn south of the Zhuoshui River (modern-day Lanyang River) in order to ensure their survival. Incidentally, they became the pioneers of the Luodong area. In 1810, when Yang Tingli was organizing affairs pertaining to the development of Yilan, his records show that Yilan had a population of 14,452 households and 42,904 persons which included 38 Kavalan settlements comprising 5,540 persons.

　　The Han, in the process of expanding their territory on the Lanyang Plain, owe their strength to a system called "leading knots", which entailed organizing 30 to 50 farmers into a "knot"; the "knot leader" would lead the process of cultivating and farming the land. The land would be divided into sections, and one section would be allotted to each member of the group. Other than the "minor knot leaders", there were also "major knot leaders", the "general knot leader" and the land capitalist. The "minor knot leaders" were responsible for regions dubbed "knots", and "major knot leaders" were responsible for regions dubbed wei. This system of farming the land is different from the methods used by the Han in western Taiwan, and the potential rewards encouraged participation by individuals out of free will.

　　Before the Qing Dynasty established a Kavalan subprefecture in the government, the immigration and development of Yilan by the Han in the period from the Wu Sha era to 1809 were in violation of an edict that banned such activities from crossing borders. But what was done was done, and Han communities claimed over half of the Lanyang Plain. Pioneering leaders who wanted to safeguard their ownership of the land and local officials with foresight who wanted to maintain public order suggested the emperor’s advisors to establish official rule in the Yilan district. However, Qing Dynasty rulers showed little interest in governing Taiwan and ignored the problem.

　　In 1806, armed conflict broke out amongst the various ethnic immigrants, followed by pillaging by the pirates Cai Qian and Zhu Zi. The government subsequently realized that if they continued to disregard Kavalan and did not establish the rule of law and a system of defense, Yilan would become a haven for criminals and outlaws -- a thorn in the side for Taiwan. In 1809, the Jiaqing Emperor incorporated Kavalan into the domain of the empire. Troops were dispatched to quell pirate attacks and chart the local territory. Yang Tingli was also commissioned to set up a governing body in the region.

　　Yang Tingli dedicated the utmost efforts in order to observe the beliefs, customs and landscape of the region, completing "Constitution for the Founding of Kavalan" based on the idea of "Wuwei to the east, a land of appropriate size extending westward, a broad vista, clearly delineated mountainous ridges, bases for supervising administrative officials and patrolling personnel, and the building of city walls for defense." He chose Three-knot Street in Wuwei (modern day Yilan City) as the seat of the government, thus establishing Kavalan City.

　　Whilst Yang Tingli was organizing the establishment of Yilan, he was originally to be transferred elsewhere but was then ordered to stay in Kavalan as a local supervising administrative official. In August of 1812, this position was taken over by Zhai Gan on orders of the Qing administration. Zhai Gan picked up where Yang Tingli left off, and the two men worked together planning various administrative strategies and measures, eventually completing the monumental task of developing Kavalan.

　　Local government systems in Taiwan underwent many changes during the Qing period, but as for administrative levels lower than the county, and the even more local villages, there were no major changes. The earliest organization and planning of the Yilan district were based on the efforts of Yang Tingli and consisted of seven citadels. In 1835, the original seven citadels were further divided into twelve citadels based on the needs of the changing population and environment. This arrangement remained unchanged until the end of Qing Dynasty rule. Within this structure, Qing era Han territory in the Yilan district replaced only that of the original Pingpu tribe on the plains. In the mountains, however, conflicts of interest and in the process of development lead to sporadic clashes between the Han and the Atayal.

　　With respect to the Pingpu tribe, Yang Tingli initiated the policy of allotting reservations for settling aboriginal peoples during the Qing era. By the 1850s, this policy appeared to lose its effectiveness. Under increasing hardship and pressure to eke out a living, the Pingpu abandoned their homes and migrated to the mountainous regions or simply left permanently to settle down elsewhere.

　　After the Taiwan Expedition of 1874 by the Japanese (also referred to as the Mudan Incident), Qing rulers changed their passive attitude and took a more ambitious approach in their rule of Taiwan. The original Kavalan District was renamed Yilan County, and the administrative system was also changed accordingly from that of a temporary "district" to a formally governed "county". The aboriginal term “Kavalan” was thus replaced by "Yilan", denoting a domesticated, Han-centric region.

　　The policy of "opening the mountains and appeasing the aborigines" was concurrently undertaken, which entailed repairing three major roads including the modern day Su-Hua Highway so that natural resources in the mountains more readily accessible. When Liu Mingchuan was appointed Taiwan governor (1885-1891), base camps were set up in what was to be present-day Sanxing Street to act as frontlines in the process of "governing the aborigines". Liu fought battles against the Nan'ao branch of the Atayal tribe with limited success. Before the Flag of the Yellow Dragon gave way to the Flag of the Rising Sun, the Han living in Yilan were mainly limited to the plains.

　　After the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894, the Qing government handed Taiwan over to the Japanese in accordance with the Treaty of Shimonoseki (Treaty of Maguan). This changed the fate of Taiwan as well as the history of Yilan. The first few years of colonization were marked by resistance to Japanese rule, causing major upheavals in the everyday lives of the people. The rebellion heightened vigilance within the Japanese military forces, which quelled any insurgency by closely searching all the villages and executing anyone who took up armed resistance, those who possessed weapons, and even individuals that exhibited erratic behavior. Such events caused extreme unease in the majority of the people of Yilan.

　　During the first decade of Japanese rule in Yilan, the colonial government continued to tighten its control over local organizations. Police stations were set up in various locations, and old security systems were upgraded to become aides to the police force. From the central to the local governments, control was gradually established and strengthened.

　　In Taiwan, the rule of personal influence began to fade as the rule of law began to take hold. Laws enacted in Tokyo or Taipei directly influenced people's everyday lives. Compartmentalizing and administrative regulations, personal hygiene, the calendar, measurements, cutting off men's queues, the custom of foot-binding—everything became subject to the law. The people of Yilan were thus nudged and coaxed into the modern world from that of tradition.

　　During the second decade of colonization, the objective of rule became directed at the oppression of the Atayal tribe. The district of Yilan began a project of expanding its lines of defense in 1903, which extended from the low mountain ridges in the Xinan district of Yilan to the coastline along Nanfang'ao and the Su-Hua Precipice in greater Nan'ao, thus boxing in the Atayal aborigines.

　　After a five-year project of "governing the aborigines" in 1910, the various Atayal tribes within modern day Yilan County were all incorporated into colonialist rule. After gaining control of aboriginal land, the Japanese began cutting down trees for the manufacturing of camphor and put forward plans for surveying and developing uncultivated land in Balisha and the greater Nan'ao region. The Han were thus endowed with new frontiers in which to expand and grow, and it was during this period of historical opportunity that Hakka migrants from western Taiwan came to Yilan.

　　The years from the 1920s to the 1940s marked a period of stability with industrial and economic development in Yilan. Growth was especially remarkable in Xinan district. With the Atayal problem resolved, the colonialist government was free to put full effort into exploiting the natural resources of the mountains and forests. Following the camphor manufacturing industry, logging and forestry on Taiping Mountain were vital. Beginning from 1917, the Tainan sugar manufacturing company and the Taiwan paper industry were subsequently established, forming an industrial zone in what was to be the modern day Erjie district of Wujie Township. In 1921, the Taiwan Electric company was established, which now operates the Tiansongpi power plant in modern-day Sanxing Township. A network for supplying electric power was laid out, providing for the needs of various industries within the county and thus becoming the most important denominator of the industrial zone in Yilan. In 1924, the Taiwan governor relocated the office of forest management to Luodong. The streets of Luodong flourished amidst the wood industry and became the economic center of Yilan County. In the same year, the railway system in Yilan began operation and solved transportation problems stemming from Yilan's geographical inaccessibility. The significance of such an event is on par with Wu Sha's developing the Kavalan.

　　In 1920, local autonomy which had a budget and personnel quota was implemented. At the same time, Yilan subprefecture of the Qing Dynasty was divided into the Yilan, Luodong and Su'ao districts under Japanese colonial rule. With economic development and widespread education, the people of Taiwan began participating in various activities opposing Japanese rule during in the Taisho period (1912-1926). The Association for Taiwanese Culture, which was lead by Jiang Weishui, and the People's Party of Taiwan both exerted profound influences in the cultural awakening of the Taiwanese people. In order to win the hearts and minds of the Taiwanese people, the Japanese authority was obliged to lift certain restrictions in the participation of their colonial subjects in the political arena. In October of 1935, new laws pertaining to local political institution were implemented, ensuring the electoral system. According to these laws, assembly legislators in local parliaments are partly appointed by the authorities and partly elected by the people in equal measures. It was the first local election in Taiwan's history, opening a new chapter in the political participation of the Taiwanese people. The people of Yilan thus began to realize how their ideas had the potential to influence society.

　　Following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, a full-scale war erupted between China and Japan. The Taiwanese people were mobilized in support of Japan's war effort after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. The colonialist government pushed for the imperialization of their subjects – on the one hand mandating the Japanization of the Taiwan people, including name changes, the spoken language, and religious beliefs, and on the other hand handing out favors. During the last five years of Japanese rule, the Lanyang Girls' Senior High School, the Yilan Junior High School, and the Luodong Girls' Agricultural School were established.

　　However, the war had inevitably become a lost cause for the Japanese. In a last-ditch effort to turn the tides of decline, the Japanese poured all available resources into the war, mobilizing every corner of Taiwanese society. In 1945, American forces began bombing Taiwan. Normal everyday lives of Yilan's people were completely disrupted as evacuations and the obtaining of rationed commodities became daily constraints. The Japanese surrendered unconditionally on the 15th of August.

　　On the 25th of October in 1945, Chen Yi acted as the highest commanding officer representing war-time China and accepted Japan's surrender in the Gong Hui Tang (modern-day Taipei Zhongshan Hall). The era of the Republic of China had arrived. However, both domestic and foreign circumstances caused significant unrest in Taiwan before 1950.

　　This unrest included the "228 Incident" in 1947. The Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan in 1949 and began a rule of martial law that lasted almost forty years. On the pretext of punishing rebellion and purging enemy spies, ambiguous legal clauses were used to frame individuals on trumped up charges. The period during the earlier half of 1950 is referred to the era of "White Terror".
Major revisions were undertaken in local systems. In 1950, the Executive Yuan reorganized the administrative regions of the counties and cities of Taiwan. The three districts and one city in Yilan were designated Yilan County. On the 12th of November in the same year, the Provincial Government of Taiwan announced the implementation of these changes, and Yilan County was formally established on the 10th of October.

　　In 1951, the first post-war local elections were held. Lu Zanxiang was elected the County's head commissioner of Yilan in two polling processes, thus opening up a new chapter in the autonomy of Yilan. After its defeat in Mainland China, the Nationalist government pushed for a full-scale policy of land reformation. These measures included the Three-Seven-Five Rent Act (which limited the amount landowners could charge tenant farmers to 37.5% of the total annual crop value), the allocation of public land, and granting of agricultural fields to farmers. The gap between the rich and the poor was narrowed, and landowners who previously subsisted on collecting rent were obligated to invest their capital in industry and commerce.

　　In 1961 and 1962, Taiwan was hit by the two Super Typhoons, Pamela and Opal, inflicting incalculable loss of life and property on the people of Yilan. Eighty to ninety percent of traditional wood and brick houses were destroyed in the storms. The "Four Eighty Bill," a financial aid package donated by the United States, provided a solution to the financial difficulties of the county government so that various infrastructure projects could be carried out. The people of Yilan ushered in a new era upon rebuilding their homes in the wake of the devastation.

　　Because hurricanes and floods are common occurrences in Yilan, management of the mountainous terrain and flood prevention became important administrative objectives. Construction of reinforcement measures for landslide mitigation by the county government significantly reduced the damage caused by flooding in Yilan.

　　Major changes in education were also taking place. In 1968, a compulsory education of six years was extended to nine years. Every post-war county magistrate in Yilan stressed the importance of education and the nurturing of talent. Beginning in 1954, the Yilan County managed to build at least one junior high school in every village and township in as little as ten years despite its financial straits. The number of students enrolled was sufficient to encompass every elementary school graduate within the county.

　　After 1987, the main objective in the development of Yilan lay in environmental protection and conservation, culture and tourism. These goals break free of old ideas characterized by "construction before everything" widely held by local governments in Taiwan. Over the years, the people of Yilan have consistently exhibited the highest sense of pride and honor in all Taiwan. It is fair to conclude that these administrative measures enjoy a high level of support amongst the residents of Yilan.

　　Inconvenient transportation and lackluster commercial developments are long-term sentiments of the people of Yilan. Even the establishment of a university became a political appeal during elections. These hopes and aspirations have met with various degrees of fulfillment during recent years.

　　Yilan's transportation saw major and long-term developments during the economic boom of the 1970s. During the energy crisis, the government pushed for large scale public construction projects for the sake of long-term economic development. Projects relevant to Yilan include the northern circuit railway and Su'ao Harbor, which are included in the Ten Major Construction Projects. The northern circuit railway opened to traffic in 1980. Construction on the Su'ao Harbor commenced in 1974, and work began on the building of the North Coast Highway in 1976.

　　Despite major advances in transportation in Yilan, such changes consisted little more than of extending and widening pre-existing roads. The people of Yilan felt that in order to solve the fundamental problem of transportation once and for all, a major roadway leading directly to Taipei was the ultimate solution. In 1989, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications finally passed the bill giving the go-ahead for the building of an expressway between Taipei and Yilan, which was later upgraded to freeway status.

　　The Jiang Weishui Freeway is the largest public transportation construction project in the history of Yilan. It is also the first freeway to span the eastern and western parts of the island. It is connected with the Nangang System Interchange to the west, the Freeway No.3 to the north, Toucheng Township in Yilan County to the east, and Su'ao Township to the south. With a length of approximately 54 kilometers, it runs through the Xueshan mountain range and mostly consists of tunnels and bridges.

　　Construction on the Jiang Weishui Freeway commenced on the 15th of July in 1991. The most formidable feat of engineering is the 12.9-kilometer Xueshan Tunnel. Because of geological problems like fractured rock, the project was plagued with floods and tunnel collapses ever since work began. Water flooded in thirty-six times and the tunnel boring machine becoming stuck twenty-five times. On one occasion the project screeched to a grinding halt, and the date the tunnel was scheduled to be open to traffic was postponed several times. However, the hard work and dedication of all who worked on the project came to fruition on the 16th of September in 2004, when the tunnel was finally completed. The Freeway No.5 finally opened up to traffic on the 16th of June in 2006 and was christened the "Jiang Weishui Freeway".