Glimpses 驚豔

Shimen Battlefield 石門古戦場

Professor Hui Cheuk Kuen, Desmond (許焯權教授)

One of the most important historical sites for Taiwan in its relationship with Japan is the Shimen Battlefield, which is very close to the Sichongxi Hot Spring in Pingtung. This was where the Qing government lost the Ryukyu Islands (now called Okinawa) after the Mudan Incident of 1874, which was an excuse for Japan to send its troops overseas for the first time since the Meiji Reformation. Japan fought against the indigenous people of Mudan who had been accused of killing some fifty Japanese sailors who had survived a shipwreck after travelling from the Ryukyu Kingdom, then a tributary state to both China and Japan. Shimen Battlefield is located at a strategic passing which can be seen from the hilltop nearby, now converted into a memorial park.

臺灣其中一處與日本最有歷史轇轕的地方是屏東四重溪溫泉附近的石門古戦場。1874年牡丹社事件在這裡發生，大清帝國因此而失去了琉球群島(今天稱為沖繩島)。牡丹社事件是日本自明治維新以來首次出兵海外的藉口，原因是要懲罰曾殺害五十多名因沉船意外滯留附近的琉球人的原住民，當時琉球王國同時是中國和日本的附庸國。石門古戦場位於地勢險要的關隘，從附近的山頂可以俯瞰山谷的出入口，這個制高點現在豎立了紀念這歷史場景的紀念碑。

June 23, 2019

Pingtung, Taiwan

Multicolored

Watercolors