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Lien Heng | |
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| 連橫 | |
 Photograph of Lien c. 1914 | |
| Born | February 17, 1878 |
| Died | June 28, 1936(1936-06-28) (aged 58) |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Other names | Lien Wugong (連武公(Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Liân Bú-kong)) Lien Yatang (連雅堂(Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Liân Ngá-tông)) Lien Jianhua (連劍花(Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Liân Kiàm-hoa)) |
| Occupation(s) | historian, poet |
| Known for | The General History of Taiwan |
| Relatives | Lien Chan (grandson) Sean Lien (great-grandson) |
Lien Heng (Chinese:連橫;pinyin:Lián Héng;Wade–Giles:Lien2 Hêng2;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Liân Hêng; 1878–1936) was a Taiwanese historian, politician, poet, merchant, editor of a Tainan's local newspaper. His most representative work wasThe General History of Taiwan. Some have claimed that he contributed to the creation and spread of a unified and strong Taiwanese cultural identity through his historical research and works of poetry.[1]
Lien Heng was born on 17 February 1878 in Taiwan Prefecture,Qing-era Taiwan (modern-dayTainan,Taiwan).[2] Lien grew up in a prosperous merchant family, the third son of Lien Te-Cheng. Lien's ancestors originated from the city of Longxi County (now part ofLonghai City),Fujian Province. The family had moved to Taiwan at the end of theMing dynasty as they were adamantly opposed toManchu intrusions into China and the later foreignQing dynasty.[3] Born to a well-off family, Lien received an education in the traditional Chinese fashion, learning Chinese characters, poetry, and theConfucian Classics.[4] Lien gained an early interest in Chinese and Taiwanese culture and history from stories told him by his father and private tutors.[4] When Lien was 13 years old, his father gave him a book about the introduction of Taiwan, inspiring Lien's mind for recording Taiwan's history. With this exceptional schooling, Lien quickly developed into a young scholar-poet.[5]
Lien Heng was 17 when Taiwan came under Japanese imperial rule as a result of theQing defeat in the 1894Sino-Japanese War.[6] The island falling to Japanese control in the followingTreaty of Shimonoseki and the death of his father in the same year had a great effect on Lien.[7][8] Lien felt as little connection to the foreign Qing China as he did to the newJapanese Empire, and he soon began research on the ancient history of China.[3]In 1895, Lien helpedLiu Yongfu, the commander ofBlack Flag Army, defeat the control of Japanese army. Lien moved out from his house where the Lien family had lived for seven generations for Black Flag Army to station. After Japanese army fully controlled Taiwan, Lien's house was expropriated by the Japanese government and used as a district court, forcing Lien being homeless at that time.
Two years later in 1897, Lien's studies led him toShanghai, a hub of progressive thought and western ideas.[9] Due to illnesses and death in the family, he returned to Taiwan, where he began to create a genealogical record of the Lien family.[10]
On returning to Taiwan in 1898, Lien Heng married Lady Shen Ao.[10] In 1899 Lien was recruited as editor-in-chief by theTainan News Daily.[11] Working as a journalist, Lien was exposed to the ideas ofnationalism, and wrote articles and poems on his disillusionment with the Qing's backward policies and inaction.
In 1905 Lien and his family moved toXiamen where he formed his own newspaper, theFuchien Daily.[12] Lien and other intellectuals such asLo Hsiu-hui andHu Tien-p'eng wrote articles supporting theTongmenghui and other Anti-Manchu revolutionary causes.[13] As a result of his revolutionary activities, the government deemed his newspaper a radical threat to theQing. Feeling disheartened with the political situation in China, Lien and his family returned once again to Taiwan.
Back in Taiwan, Lien devoted himself to the cause of writing the history of Taiwan. Through his studies of mainland Chinese history and culture, Lien realized that the Taiwanese must also awaken in themselves a love for their own distinct heritage, language, and nationalism in order to withstand foreign oppression. Lien searched the island for archaeological and written remains of the earliest settlers of the island in order to gather information.[14] On moving toTaichung in 1908, Lien was offered a job as editor for theTaiwan Daily.[15] With the help of fellow intellectuals, scholars, and writers such asLiang Qichao,Hung Hsu, andLin Hsien-tang[16][failed verification] Lien gathered necessary primary sources.
In 1921, Lien Heng published theTaiwan T'ung-shih (General History of Taiwan) covering Taiwanese history from theSui dynasty up until the Japanese occupation.[8] The work was a culmination of Lien's extensive research and the most comprehensive collection of Taiwanese history up until that time.
The work begins with the poignant line, "A country may be destroyed, but never its history".[17]
Lien divided the General History of Taiwan into three sections: 1. The Annals 2. The Records and 3. The Biographies.[18] The scope of Lien's work was immense, covering subjects spanning from historic migrations ofHan Chinese from the mainland to Taiwan, famous women of the island, the reign ofKoxinga, pirates, and the common people.[17] At the beginning and end of each section, Lien gives his own analysis and interpretation on the topic, modeling the style used bySima Qian on hisRecords of the Grand Historian.[19] Lien used the General History of Taiwan as a way to interpret historical events and their importance in the formation of a national Taiwanese identity.[20]
After completion of the General History of Taiwan, Lien Heng continued to encourage Taiwanese nationalism through political activism, poetry, and journalism. Lien died in 1936 at 58 years of age.[21]
Lien's poems and historical works inspire in the Taiwanese a national sense of culture and spirit. His General History of Taiwan is to this day a remarkable view into the island's rich and diverse history. His poems and works were also later compiled into a collection in 1992 called theLien Ya-t'ang hsien-sheng ch'uan-chi.[22]
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