Introduction: Place Names—The Tree Rings of History

Place names are more than geographical coordinates; they are “historical products” created over centuries as societies evolve. From the perspective of Digital Humanities, toponymy serves as a vast database of proper nouns identifying the evolution of spatial dimensions. Through archival retrieval from the Revised Taiwan Provincial Chronicles, we can clearly see how this land shifted from the “primeval call of Austronesian tongues” to a “multi-ethnic cultural palimpsest”. This post takes you into a 300-year naming laboratory to decode the cultural DNA behind these names.

Geographic Connectivity: Core Landmarks of Evolution

According to the Chronicles of Place Names and Settlements, several iconic sites define this history:

  • Dajingtou Street (now Tainan Minquan Road): Known as Provintia during the Dutch period.
  • Tai-chiang (originally the Twalis Been lagoon): Witnessed the transition from Aboriginal to Han terminology.
  • Kenhai Village (now Hualien Xincheng): Named after Governor Sakuma’s pseudonym during the Japanese period.
  • Xinhua, Yongjing, Anshun: “Antiphrastic” names reflecting the settlers’ longing for stability.
  • Banqiao, Zhongli, Xinpu: Typical settlements formed during Han reclamation.

1. The Fading Primeval Call: The Logic of Translating Austronesian Names

Before mass Han migration, Taiwan already had names, primarily transmitted through oral traditions. As Han settlers arrived, these Austronesian names underwent a process of “literization,” typically through phonetic transcription or combination with characters like “Ban” (village), “She” (community), or “Liao” (shack).

Case Study: Simplified Phonetics and Lost Meaning

  • Wulai: In the Atayal language, it means “hot spring.” Originally Kanan-wurai (Hot Spring Village), the “Village” prefix was omitted in the Chinese translation.
  • Ayu: From the Atayal word Ageku (cogon grass). The original modifier Habo (abundant) vanished during simplification.
  • Biyahau: Derived from an Atayal ancestor’s name, the middle “Ya” sound was dropped in its sinicized form, Bihou.

As the Han population became dominant, these rich ecological names were often reduced to generic terms like “Ban-she” or “Ban-zai-liao,” representing the first “data dimensionality reduction” of toponymic diversity.

2. Colonial Imprints and “Landification”: The Vanishing Western Influence

Taiwan’s position in the West Pacific made it a strategic hub for Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese powers. These regimes sought to impose “spatial control” through naming.

  • Dutch Layer: The Dutch named the streets of Tainan Provintia (after the Seven United Provinces), but this was quickly renamed Dajingtou Street after their expulsion. The lagoon Twalis Been was renamed Tai-chiang as the landscape changed and governance shifted.
  • Japanese Layer: The colonial government implemented “Urban Correction”. For instance, Kenhai in Hualien was named after Governor Sakuma’s handle to commemorate his “suppression of northern tribes.” However, such exogenous names faded quickly after 1945, becoming alien even to the local descendants.

3. The DNA of Han Reclamation: Functionality vs. Aspiration

Han naming conventions in Taiwan follow a rigorous logic: “One specific term, one generic term”.

Functional and Topographical Generics

  • Xiqian, Xizhou, Shuangxikou: These reflect the settlement’s relationship with water sources (“Xi” meaning stream).
  • Sankuaicuo, Touqiancuo, Jiufangcuo: Names ending in “Cuo” (house) reveal early family-based settlement patterns.
  • Zhongli, Dali: In Hakka naming, “Li” refers to gullies or pits with running water, showcasing the Hakka migrants’ precise topographical classification.

Antiphrastic Naming: Wishes in Turbulent Times

Archival data reveals an intriguing phenomenon: areas prone to natural disasters or ethnic feuds often bear the most “auspicious” names.

  • Xinhua, Yongjing, Pingzhen, Anshun: These are essentially “antiphrastic”. Because society was volatile, people chose names like “Eternal Peace” (Yongjing) or “Smooth Harmony” (Anshun) as a form of “magical naming” to neutralize environmental threats.

4. Linguistic Fossils: Toponymy as a Record of Dialect Contact

Place names are living fossils of linguistic evolution. For example, the competition and fusion of Hokkien and Hakka terms provide “data evidence” of migration patterns.

  • Hybrid Toponyms: Xiantangping in Shigang uses “Xian,” a Hokkien homophone for “rust,” while the overall structure follows Hakka characteristics.
  • Lexical Replacement: Hokkien speakers prefer the term Bi (pond), while Hakka speakers favor Tang or Dajue. In settlements that are currently Hakka, a suffix like Cuo (a Hokkien marker) suggests the site was once inhabited by Hokkien settlers.

Modern Revelations: Place Names in the Digital Age

Mining the toponymic “big data” from the Taiwan Provincial Chronicles offers several insights:

  1. Historical Authenticity Trumps Bureaucratic Naming: Names with physical and metonymic roots (e.g., Santiaolun, Yingpankou) describe vivid spatial information. Arbitrary new names often lack longevity.
  2. Toponymy as Cultural Identity: The diversity of Taiwan’s names (Aboriginal, Hokkien, Hakka, Colonial) forms a unique cultural atlas. Protecting these names means protecting cultural DNA.
  3. Environmental Change Warning: Characters like “Port” (Gang) or “Lake” (Hu) in inland areas serve as reminders of historical landscapes (like the landified Tai-chiang lagoon), providing vital data for modern flood control and urban planning.

Conclusion

Place names are not dormant text; they are the fingerprints of the earth. Through Digital Humanities mining of the Revised Taiwan Provincial Chronicles, we find that every toponymic shift is a cultural breath. From the hot springs of Wulai to the prayers of Anshun, Taiwan’s cultural DNA deepens through these layers. To respect a place name is to respect every soul that ever lived on that land.