History of Taiwan

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(English)

The history of Taiwan dates back tens of thousands of years to the earliest known evidence of human habitation.The sudden appearance of a culture based on agriculture around 3000 BC is believed to reflect the arrival of the ancestors of today's Taiwanese aborigines. The island was colonized by the Dutch in the 17th century, followed by an influx of Han Chinese including Hakka immigrants from the Fujian and Guangdong areas of China, across the Taiwan Strait. The Spanish built a settlement in the north for a brief period but were driven out by the Dutch in 1642.

In 1662, Koxinga, a loyalist of the Ming dynasty who had lost control of mainland China in 1644, defeated the Dutch and established a base of operations on the island. His forces were defeated by the Qing dynasty in 1683, and parts of Taiwan became increasingly integrated into the Qing empire. Following the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, the Qing ceded the island, along with Penghu, to the Empire of Japan. Taiwan produced rice and sugar to be exported to the Empire of Japan, and also served as a base for the Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia and the Pacific during World War II. Japanese imperial education was implemented in Taiwan and many Taiwanese also fought for Japan during the war.

(中文)

台湾历史[a]，目前有明确文献记载且能考证时间点者，最早可上溯至1582年7月两位西班牙人神父与一位葡萄牙人耶稣会士因风搁浅台湾75天时所写的三篇文字记录[1]。台湾的信史则大约从1624年荷兰东印度公司展开统治开始[2]。但在文献记载之前，台湾早已有人类活动。距今3万年前的台东长滨文化是考古所知的台湾最古文化[3]，较晚近的新石器时代则有南岛语族的考古遗迹[2]。事实上，台湾因地处南岛语族活动范围的最北边，也被认为是南岛民族在语言及遗传上可能的发源地之一[4]，亦是分布区域的最北端[5]。

台湾的地理位置介于中国大陆、日本与东南亚间，可做为各国船只的停泊与货物转运站。在17世纪，台湾中部曾有一超部落的大肚王国，而荷兰及西班牙则分别在台湾西南部及西北部进行殖民统治。之后荷兰人将西班牙人驱逐并统治台湾西部的大部分。1661年4月，郑成功率两万五千大军及数百艘战舰围攻荷台首府热兰遮城，使荷兰在1662年2月1日签约投降，台湾进入明郑时期，在此期间汉人大量移民台湾。1683年，明郑降清将领施琅率清军攻台，东宁王(King of Tywan)郑克塽投降，台湾进入清治时期。

(文言)

中華民國，在亞東之極，民國元年革清舊命而立。先立於武昌，後都南京，立臨時政府。俟政府遷北京，遂開國會，舉袁世凱為大總統。世凱既平孫文之二次革命，遂以帝制自為。至袁氏卒，軍閥鏖戰未止，孫文乃立護法政府於穗，開護法國會。中國國民黨則南立國民政府，募國民革命軍而北伐，遂天下一。又開國民大會，立民選政府，憲政乃成。民國三十八年，失中原。六十年以前，天下皆以為中國，後無得逐鹿聯合國，中華人民共和國政府遂使天下不得謂之中國，故今多稱臺灣。代清之初，東以鴨綠江界朝鮮，隔東海望日本，北接俄羅斯。其西有巒，謂喜馬拉雅山，天下之巔也。而皆失於內戰，今僅得臺灣及其圜矣。