Taiwan in Time: A Literary Account of the 1935 Earthquake

This week's report examines two very different eyewitness accounts of the deadliest earthquake in Taiwan's history, one a highly critical social commentary and the other a traditional folk performance.

By Han Cheung/Contributing Reporter

From April 15 to April 21

Yang Kui (楊逵) was horrified as he drove past trucks, bullock carts, and carts laden with coffins on his way to Tuntzechiao (屯子腳), which he heard had been completely destroyed.

The friend who came to check on him was safe, but most residents were suffering in the town that had been hit hard by the 7.1 magnitude Hsinchu-Taichung earthquake on April 21, 1935. It remains the deadliest earthquake in Taiwan's recorded history, claiming about 3,300 lives and Nearly 12,000 were injured. The disaster completely destroyed nearly 18,000 homes and caused untold damage.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The social activist and writer jumped into the relief effort, but was further appalled by the callousness of local officials and prominent families, who hoarded aid supplies while the masses barely had enough to eat. He detailed his experience in a highly critical article for Social Commentary magazine, much to the annoyance of the authorities.

“Investigation and Relief Work in Earthquake Disaster Areas in Taiwan” (台灣地震災區勘察慰問記) stands out among the many first-hand accounts of the event as one of the earliest works of literary journalism in Taiwan, of which Yang later became a proponent.

At the other end of the spectrum is the Great Central Taiwan Earthquake New Song (中部大震新歌), a lengthy composition of seven-character verses meant to be performed in the form of liamkua (唸歌) – a popular storytelling style that blends Singing with music. Spoken word.

Image courtesy of the National Museum of Taiwan History

Unlike the Japanese-educated Yang, author Lin Ta Biao (林達標) never received any formal education, and liamkua was a popular way for illiterate people who did not have access to radios to learn about recent events.

Lin claims to have personally visited most of the disaster areas to conduct research, and the New Song of the Great Central Taiwan Earthquake is also known for its eyewitness journalistic style and meticulous detail.

Dangerous homes

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The epicenter of the earthquake was near Mount Guangdao in Miaoli County today, and the quake affected an area of ​​315 square kilometers between southern Hsinchu and northern Taichung. As it happened at 6:02 a.m., many people were still home.

Yang had just woken up and picked up his pen when his house in Taichung started shaking.

“I felt like I was in an elevator that suddenly fell. A bottle of bronchitis medication fell off the shelf and crashed to the floor,” he wrote.

Image courtesy of the National Museum of Taiwan Literature

He grabbed a table and placed it on top of his sleeping children, and was about to wake them when the tremors stopped. His editors were hounding him for translation work that was past the deadline, so he told his wife to go back to sleep while he started writing.

It was only after he and his family ventured out later that day that he realized the severity of the situation he described in detail.

Sin-Hsun-hsiung and Wu-Gui Yuen write in their book The Great Taiwan Earthquake: A Record of the 1935 Central Taiwan Disaster that this earthquake was particularly offensive because it occurred on two fault lines that lay directly beneath rural settlements. The affected areas had a high concentration of houses made of earthen bricks, which are cheap but prone to collapse.

Image courtesy of the National Central Library

In his article, Yang criticized the government for not doing enough to monitor seismic activity and ensure that homes in Taiwan are quake-resistant, noting that the village hall built by the Japanese in Tuntzikiao did not collapse. Lin also mentions that rammed houses are the cause of the high death toll, and advises people to build with wood.

“Taiwanese rural villages today are full of these dangerous houses, but people don’t have the money to rebuild or repair the parts that need repair,” Yang writes.

In fact, the government made significant improvements to earthquake detection and research in the wake of the tragedy, and also banned the construction of earth structures. Destroyed areas were rebuilt with wider, straighter streets and more open spaces to house people.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Disaster songs

It was not uncommon for liamkua practitioners to sing about natural disasters at that time, as Wang Yihua writes in “Examining the Meaning Behind Taiwanese Liamkua Manuals Describing Natural Disasters.” In fact, three different Liamkwa compositions appeared in 1935 alone.

Lane is unusual among Liamkwa authors in that he takes great pride in realism. In one verse, he calls on readers to rebuke him if they find any mistakes. The lyrics are interspersed with facts about the disaster and accounts of how people died in specific cities as well as relief efforts.

In one section, Lin lists the exact number of victims in each province, then breaks them down by city or region. Wang writes that the statistics are almost identical to those later reported in the Governor General's Office report.

Like Yang, Lin pours out his personal feelings in prose, noting how he cried when visiting disaster scenes. He curses thieves and those who exploit the weak, and tells readers not to blame heaven because “life and death are preordained.”

Lin praises the government's effective response while praising the civic efforts and how everyone tried to help with whatever they could. It comprehensively lists all the items people have donated, from large sums of cash to old clothes and cooking oil. “It doesn't matter how much you give,” he writes.

Local grievances

On April 22, Yang and more than 20 members of the Taiwan Arts and Culture Association (台灣文藝聯盟) set up a relief headquarters at the Taichung News Bureau (台中新報), and spent the next two weeks raising money, delivering goods, and assisting with relief. Disaster areas.

“We are always promoting our societal ideals, but ideals mean nothing if they do not address immediate problems,” Yang writes. “Right before us are people who can barely walk, on the verge of starvation, who have no clothes to wear, no home to stay in or food to eat; some do not even have a place to bury the bodies of their loved ones. At this point, those who still embrace the ideals but remain on the margins are betraying Their beliefs.

Although newspapers published articles praising the government's relief efforts, Yang wrote that many villagers had barely enough food to survive and lacked the strength to finish building their temporary shelters. Yang and other volunteers tried to convince local officials to provide more aid. Some were sympathetic, but others were less so. One family of three in Taichung's Singshui District (清水) got just one bowl of rice a day, and when an elderly grandmother begged the distribution staff for more, they chased her away.

In Tuntzikiau, residents drew lots to obtain rations; Some got two or three portions while others got nothing. One of the nurses told them that the best supplies had already been taken by high-status families.

Yang also noted that the poor were more generous than the wealthy, who often refused to donate unless they got something in return. There was the blind beggar who insisted on giving what she had to relief efforts, and the wealthy church-going merchant who refused to give a penny. An elderly woman asked the authorities to give her share of milk to children who lost their mothers.

Japanese authorities ended their efforts on May 6, but Yang returned to Tuntzikiao on June 4. Sadly, the situation was just as bad. The initial enthusiasm for help waned and the government ended relief efforts, leaving the victims “slowly in limbo.”

Taiwan in Time, a column about Taiwan history published every Sunday, highlights important or interesting events around the country that celebrate an anniversary this week or are related to current events.

Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Feedback containing offensive and profane language, personal attacks of any kind, or promotion will be removed and the user will be banned. The final decision will be at the discretion of the Taipei Times.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos