Handcrafting Tainan’s History: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Tainan City Museum
Author：Hsieh, Shih-yuan（Associate Professor, Department of History, National Cheng Kung University）
After more than two years of renovation, the Koxinga Museum reopened on December 22, 2023, under it’s new name of "Tainan City Museum," which now serves as the main site of the "Tainan Museum System." Together with the Tainan Zuojhen Fossil Park, the Shanshang Garden and Old Waterworks Museum, and the Tapani Incident Memorial Park, it forms a cohesive museum network that collectively showcases the rich and diverse cultural landscape of Tainan.
The Tainan Museum System operates across multiple temporal scales. The Tainan Zuojhen Fossil Park reveals how the long evolution of natural history has shaped the physical geography and cultural conditions of Tainan’s mountainous regions. Meanwhile, the Shanshang Garden and Old Waterworks Museum stands as a testament to Tainan's transformation into a modern city, illustrating how the city has synchronized with the global wave of modernization. However, the system’s understanding of "modernity" does not adhere to a single or linear narrative. The Tapani Incident Memorial Park vividly captures the collision between modern governance and traditional society, offering a dynamic perspective on the complexities of modernization.
The Tainan City Museum network. Top left: Tainan City Museum; Top right: Shanshang Garden and Old Waterworks Museum; Bottom left: Tapani Incident Memorial Park; Bottom right: Tainan Zuojhen Fossil Park.
The Tainan Museum System is an ever-expanding network that reflects an inclusive approach to cultural diversity. Its management and operations exemplify how museum technologies can seamlessly integrate resources and improve operational efficiency. From an administrative perspective, the Tainan City Museum is classified as a second-level agency under the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Tainan City Government. Such classification distinguishes it from other counties and cities, where museums of comparable status are often managed by divisions within cultural bureaus and led by division chiefs. In contrast, the Tainan Museum System operates with an independent budget and a full-time director. This structure provides it with greater autonomy and flexibility, underscoring the Tainan City Government’s dedication to the development of its museum initiatives.
The Past and Present of "South Museum"
The construction and transformation of the Tainan Museum System have been profoundly shaped by the historical trajectory of research and collection development. Since the Japanese colonial period, Tainan has seen collaborative efforts from both official and private sectors to investigate historical sites, collect historical materials, and organize exhibitions. The museum traces its origin back to 1932, when the Japanese government established the "Tainan City Historical Materials Hall." In 1936, a new building was constructed, and the institution was renamed the "Tainan Prefecture Tainan City History Museum."After World War II, the museum reopened under the name "Tainan City History Museum." In the 1960s, influenced by the prevailing values of promoting national righteousness, it was renamed the "National Cultural Relics Museum." By 2003, it adopted the name "Koxinga Museum," placing a significant focus on Koxinga’s historical evaluation—a theme tied to questions of historical justice. However, the museum's collection contained only a limited number of artifacts directly related to Koxinga. Such disconnection between the museum’s name and its actual content eventually led to its renaming as the "Tainan City Museum”.
Artifacts exhibited at the Tainan City Museum are the result of a century of dedicated efforts by cultural and historical researchers.
Throughout nearly a century of historical research tradition, the Tainan Museum has accumulated a rich collection of local cultural relics, bearing witness to Tainan's development from the Qing dynasty's provincial capital era to modern times. The museum's collection process over the past century relied heavily on the collaborative efforts of civilian historians and researchers. Local historical communities, including figures such as Shi Yang Sui, Zhuang Song Lin, Lu Jia-xing, Lian Jing-chu, and Huang Tian-heng, have been continuously engaged in historical excavation and investigation in the Tainan area since the Japanese colonial period. They have rescued cultural assets affected by factors such as war and urban expansion. These comprehensive historical artifacts reflect the diverse character of Tainan's old city, providing insight into the layout of a political center and revealing the temporal aspects of social operations and human relationships. More importantly, these precious cultural crystallizations are the result of the collective efforts of many Tainan residents.
Opening Permanent Exhibition "Creating Tainan: Our Story"
The newly reopened Tainan City Museum's permanent exhibition, titled "Creating Tainan: Our Story," employs a chronological narrative display to guide visitors through the historical context of Tainan. The exhibition is divided into thematic sections, including "Tainan's DNA," "Sea of Opportunity," "Ming's Eastern Capital," "Prefecture City Layout," "City of Abundance," "Immigrants Crowding In," "Guarding the City, Gathering New Ideas," "Southern Modernity," and "Building Tainan Together," each providing unique interpretations of Tainan's history.
The "Tainan's DNA" and "Sea of Opportunity" sections showcase Tainan’s deep connection with water.
The permanent exhibition emphasizes the process of human interaction that has shaped the Tainan area throughout the long sweep of history. Indigenous peoples were the first to settle in the region, followed by diverse groups who converged here, collectively forging the culture and character of the land and city. The section "Ming's Eastern Capital" features rare artifacts related to Koxinga, illustrating the development of the Zheng dynasty in Tainan while highlighting the shifting image of Koxinga in national identity and historical memory. Meanwhile, sections such as "Prefecture City Layout," "City of Abundance," and "Guarding the City, Gathering New Ideas" depict the role of the prefectural city during the Qing dynasty. These sections explore political, commercial, and cultural dimensions, shedding light on how diplomatic and economic factors influenced Tainan after the mid-19th century.
The "Prefecture City Layout" section displays gate inscriptions from the large and small North Gates, illustrating the spatial structure of the prefectural city.
The permanent exhibition also seeks to reflect Tainan’s new configuration following the merger of city and county, extending its scope beyond the old city area to showcase the diverse urban and rural environments of the Greater Tainan region, illustrating how these elements shape a distinctive local culture and way of life. The "Immigrants Crowding In" section explores the development of social spaces outside the old city, focusing on the relationship between river basins and the Wang-ye belief. It highlights how early Tainan residents lived in close connection with water, and during the Qing Dynasty, disputes over water resources frequently occurred in local communities. The government leveraged the distribution of water resources and the construction of flood prevention projects to assert its ruling authority and demonstrate its administrative achievements.
The "Southern Modernity" and "Building Tainan Together" sections take Taiwan’s modernization during the Japanese colonial period as their backdrop. These sections underscore how Taiwan, as a colony adopting modern state systems, gradually transformed Tainan’s social structure and lifestyle. The demolition of the old city walls, the introduction of Western-style architecture, new education systems, modern commercial activities, lifestyle entertainment, and changes in agricultural production. These changes reflected the imperial government’s vision for colonial governance and its drive to exploit resources. At the same time, they also facilitated Tainan’s gradual synchronization with the modern world.
The permanent exhibition emphasizes the conscious efforts of generations of Tainan residents to preserve history, leaving evidence of different eras.
Objects and the Makers of Tainan’s History
The permanent exhibition, titled "Creating Tainan: Our Story," emphasizes the conscious efforts of generations of Tainan residents, such as Shi Yang-sui and Chen Chun-mu, to preserve cultural and historical heritage. Their work has left behind evidence of different eras, shaping Tainan into the city it is today. Over nearly a century of collecting, the museum has amassed many significant artifacts, some of which are recognized as antiquities under Taiwan’s Cultural Heritage Preservation Act. These include items such as the "Portrait of Koxinga" by Nasu Toyokiyo, Koxinga’s calligraphy, a jade tablet (believed to be the ceremonial tablet of Prince Ningjing), the "Get Off Your Horse" stele of Wanshou Temple, inscriptions from Taiwan Prefecture city gates, the Hongzhi Garden stele by Prefect Jiang Yunxun, Qing Dynasty woodcarvings by Lin Chao-ying, admonitory plaques on governance, and a fragment of the bust of Governor-General Kodama Gentarō. These invaluable artifacts offer vital clues to tracing Tainan’s historical transformations through contemporary times, Japanese colonial rule, and the Qing era.
By emphasizing the agency of those who have worked to preserve history, the exhibition transforms "Our Story" from a mere slogan into a call for making historical preservation an everyday practice. The Tainan City Museum invites us to see a Tainan shaped by its people and their unique cultural contributions. It tells a story that resonates with locals and introduces newcomers to the city’s heritage, offering a meaningful starting point for anyone seeking to understand Tainan.
❚ English Editor: Cheung, Billy Chi-Yiu （M.A., Graduate Institute of Museum Studies, TNUA）
2025/01/21
博物之島 MUSEUMS