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‘The Imagined Island, Images of Taiwan: Taiwan in Mambo’

  • Date:2018-07-01
‘The Imagined Island, Images of Taiwan: Taiwan in Mambo’


‘Put these ancient maps together and you will see how the image of Taiwan moves with the transition of history, as if the island itself is dancing.’

 

A cartography exhibition named "The Imagined Island, Images of Taiwan: Taiwan in Mambo" will take place from July 1 through Sept. 30 at Taoyuan Airport Terminal 2 to show passersby how the image of Taiwan moves with the transition of history.

 

Organized by the National Museum of Taiwan History, the window displays will showcase maps, images, and nostalgic photos of ancient and modern Taiwan. Moreover, a fabulous photography portfolio from Taiwanese writer and photographer Lin Bo-liang (林柏樑) will also be displayed to highlight Taiwan's cultural diversity.

 

Located 112 miles off the southeastern coast of China, Taiwan has been given names such as Formosa, Beigang, Hermosa, Linqiu, Taioan, Takasagun, Tunfan, and the Kingdom of Tungning. From the late 16th century to the early 17th century, people began attempting to gauge the shape of Taiwan, and Taiwan's image started to pirouette ever since.

 

Taiwan's inchoate image was geographically portrayed in ancient maps. The European explorers who later came to East Asia started refining the image of Taiwan thorough their topographical knowledge, advanced measurement techniques, and collation of rumors and legends.

 

Having gone through decades of swaying and distortion, maps of Taiwan were eventually situated on the Tropic of Cancer by the first half of the 17th century and it was much later that Taiwan became delineated in the now-familiar shape of a sweet potato.

 

Maps have long been used to record a wide range of data since the Qing dynasty and the Japanese colonial era of Taiwan. Not only do maps reserve unique information, they also deliver the ways different cartographers perceive the world. Visitors traveling through Taoyuan Airport are cordially invited to peruse this cartography collection recording Taiwan in the context of changing time and space.

 

 

‘The Imagined Island, Images of Taiwan: Taiwan in Mambo’

Date: July 1 – Sept. 30, 2018

Venue: Taoyuan Airport Terminal 2, 4F

Address: No. 9 Hangzhan South Rd., Dayuan District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan (ROC)

Organizer: National Museum of Taiwan History