Chronicle
Across the centuries
From 1624 to today — 8 eras of Taiwan's history in 165 volumes, read in order or entered anywhere.
1624–1662
The Age of Exploration
Dutch and Spanish Colonial Taiwan: Maritime Trade, Missionaries, and Indigenous Encounters
38 years · 17 volumes
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Vol. 1 · Start here
Two Years in Penghu
On 11 July 1622 the fleet of Cornelis Reijersen, commander for the Dutch East India Company, sailed into Penghu. What the Company had wanted was Macau. Macau held, so they settled for a base from which the Ming could be pressed into opening trade. That Penghu lay inside the Ming domain was something they knew.
Vol. 2
The Dutch Arrival
Vol. 3
Fort Zeelandia
Vol. 4
Spanish Northern Taiwan
Vol. 5
The Hamada Yahee Incident
Vol. 6
Indigenous Encounters
Vol. 7
The Madou She War
Vol. 8
The Cave on Lamey
Vol. 9
The Gold of Pimaba
Vol. 10
The Staff With the Silver Head
Vol. 11
The Sinckan Script
Vol. 12
The Banishment of the Inibs
Vol. 13
The Deer That Built an Empire
Vol. 14
The Last Bastion of San Salvador
Vol. 15
The Guo Huaiyi Rebellion
Vol. 16
A Map That Changed a Dynasty
Vol. 17
The Siege of Fort Zeelandia
1662–1683
The Kingdom of Tungning
Koxinga and the Zheng Dynasty: The First Han Chinese Government on Taiwan
21 years · 15 volumes
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Koxinga's Kingdom
In May 1661, following the successful landing of Zheng Koxinga’s twenty-five thousand elite troops at the Luermen channels, this emerald island—governed by the Dutch for thirty-eight years—witnessed the dawn of its very first Han Chinese regime. At this historical crossroads, though Fort Zeelandia remained locked in a fierce defense under the Dutch Governor, Frederick Coyett, the Prince of Yanping could not wait to commence his grand nation-building project upon the coastal plains. He decreed that the captured Fort Provintia in Chikan be transformed into the "Chengtian Prefecture," serving as the supreme imperial capital of the Ming Dynasty’s overseas orthodoxy, while establishing Tianxing and Wannian counties to the north and south. In a grand proclamation, Koxinga formally christened the island "Dongdu" (The Eastern Capital of the Ming). This was never meant to be a mere temporary refuge; it was a sovereign kingdom carved out of the wilderness by a desperate warlord whose mainland dreams had fractured, a final, sacred sanctuary for a fallen empire.
Vol. 2
A King Imprisoned by Wrath
Vol. 3
The Eastern Conquest
Vol. 4
Zheng Jing's Reforms
Vol. 5
The Architect of Tungning
Vol. 6
The Dutch Came Back
Vol. 7
Han Settlement
Vol. 8
Vanishing Plain Warriors
Vol. 9
The Anping Secret Pact
Vol. 10
The Last Imperial Dream
Vol. 11
The Tears of Lady Dong
Vol. 12
The Twilight of the Boy King
Vol. 13
The Ultimate Duel
Vol. 14
Prince Ningjing's Martyrdom
Vol. 15
The Fall of Tungning
1683–1895
Taiwan Under the Qing Empire
Taiwan Under the Qing Empire: Migration, Rebellion, and Modernization
212 years · 31 volumes
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Qing Incorporation
In 1683, Qing admiral Shi Lang defeated the remnants of the Zheng dynasty at the Battle of Penghu, bringing Taiwan under Qing sovereignty for the first time. The annexation was far from inevitable — a fierce debate erupted at the imperial court over whether to retain or abandon this distant island. Minister Shi Lang argued that Taiwan's strategic position made it essential for coastal defense, while others viewed it as a lawless frontier not worth the administrative burden. Emperor Kangxi ultimately sided with retention, incorporating Taiwan as a prefecture of Fujian Province.
Vol. 2
Crossing the Black Ditch
Vol. 3
Dispatches from the Frontier Sea
Vol. 4
The Birth of Hsinchu
Vol. 5
The Babao Canal
Vol. 6
The Liugong Canal
Vol. 7
The Duck Lord's Revolt
Vol. 8
Seven Camps on the East Bank
Vol. 9
The Dajiaxi Uprising
Vol. 10
The Land Brokers
Vol. 11
Rebellions and Unrest
Vol. 12
How Chiayi Got Its Name
Vol. 13
Wu Sha Opens the Kavalan Plain
Vol. 14
The Opening of Kavalan
Vol. 15
King of the Black Flag
Vol. 16
The Caogong Canal
Vol. 17
Dazhongye and the Shrines
Vol. 18
The Golden Ports
Vol. 19
The Literati of Hsinchu
Vol. 20
The Subgroup Feuds
Vol. 21
Opening of Treaty Ports
Vol. 22
Observers at the Edge of Empire
Vol. 23
The Medical Mission in Southern Taiwan
Vol. 24
The Rover Incident
Vol. 25
The Aboriginal Frontier
Vol. 26
Sovereignty of the Mountains
Vol. 27
Opening the Mountains
Vol. 28
The Sino-French War in Taiwan
Vol. 29
Taiwan as a Province
Vol. 30
The Last Generation of Gentry
Vol. 31
First Steam Locomotive
1895–1945
The Japanese Colonial Era
Japanese Colonial Taiwan: Resistance, Modernization, and Wartime Mobilization
50 years · 26 volumes
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The Treaty of Shimonoseki
On April 17, 1895, the Treaty of Shimonoseki ended the First Sino-Japanese War and ceded Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan in perpetuity. The decision was made without any consultation of Taiwan's inhabitants — their fate was sealed in a conference room in the Japanese port city of Shimonoseki, where Qing envoy Li Hongzhang and Japanese Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi negotiated the terms of China's surrender. For the Qing court, Taiwan was a disposable bargaining chip; for the two million people living on the island, it was a catastrophe.
Vol. 2
The Yiwei War
Vol. 3
The Yunlin Massacre
Vol. 4
Armed Resistance
Vol. 5
The Opium War
Vol. 6
Modern Infrastructure
Vol. 7
The Greatest Thief
Vol. 8
The Miaoli Trials
Vol. 9
The Taroko War
Vol. 10
Sun Moon Lake Hydropower
Vol. 11
The Chianan Canal Miracle
Vol. 12
Taiwan Parliament Petition
Vol. 13
Awakening the Taiwanese Soul
Vol. 14
The Chih-ching Incident
Vol. 15
The New Literature Movement
Vol. 16
The Erhlin Incident
Vol. 17
The Taiwanese People's Party
Vol. 18
The Taiten Exhibition
Vol. 19
Seediq Bale
Vol. 20
The Koshien Dream
Vol. 21
The Guandaoshan Earthquake
Vol. 22
Kōminka Movement
Vol. 23
Wartime Mobilization
Vol. 24
Beneath Jinguashi
Vol. 25
The Takasago Volunteers
Vol. 26
Orphan of Asia
1945–1949
The Early Postwar Years
Taiwan Under the Regime Transition: Postwar, Takeover, and Order Reconstruction
4 years · 17 volumes
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From Cairo to Taipei
In November 1943, the leaders of China, the United States, and Great Britain reached a consensus at the Cairo Conference, declaring that "all territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China." Although not a formal treaty, this declaration became the political foundation for post-war territorial rearrangement in East Asia.
Vol. 2
Surrender and Takeover
Vol. 3
The Shibuya Incident
Vol. 4
Homecoming of the Overseas
Vol. 5
De-Japanization
Vol. 6
The Parliamentary System
Vol. 7
The Constitutional Convention
Vol. 8
The Early Economic Crisis
Vol. 9
The February 28 Incident
Vol. 10
March at the Port of Keelung
Vol. 11
The 27 Brigade
Vol. 12
The Battle of Wuniulan
Vol. 13
The Penghu Incident of 13 July
Vol. 14
The Dilemma of Native Elites
Vol. 15
Chiang Kai-shek's Diary
Vol. 16
Voices from Elite Diaries
Vol. 17
The American Perspective
1950–1979
Authoritarian Era
Taiwan Under Martial Law: White Terror, Cold War, and Economic Takeoff
29 years · 19 volumes
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Party-State Governance
During the martial law era, Taiwan's party-state-military trinity permeated every corner of society. The KMT controlled economic lifelines through party-owned enterprises such as Central Investment Holding, Central Trading and Development, the Broadcasting Corporation of China, and Central Motion Picture — conglomerates whose revenues funded party operations, patronage networks, and cadre training, and whose existence blurred every line between public policy and party interest. It monitored social dynamics through overlapping intelligence agencies that reported back to Chiang Ching-kuo in the 1950s and 1960s, and instilled party-state ideology through a centralized education system in which every classroom displayed the Generalissimo's portrait, every textbook framed Taiwan as a province of China, and every schoolchild recited the KMT-authored "National Anthem" before morning assembly.
Vol. 2
Forty Years Behind the Bamboo Fence
Vol. 3
The White Terror
Vol. 4
Disillusioned Intellectuals
Vol. 5
Cold War Frontline
Vol. 6
The Luku Incident
Vol. 7
Purge of Indigenous Elites
Vol. 8
Military Power Purge
Vol. 9
The 823 Artillery Battle
Vol. 10
Thirty-Six Years Under the Lampshade
Vol. 11
Cross-Ethnic Alliance
Vol. 12
A Declaration of Independence
Vol. 13
Red Leaf and the Baseball Fever
Vol. 14
Nine Years of Compulsory Education
Vol. 15
The Taiyuan Incident
Vol. 16
Losing the Seat: The UN and the Diplomatic Dominoes
Vol. 17
The Zhongli Incident
Vol. 18
The Economic Miracle
Vol. 19
Cultural Control
1980–1999
Democratic Transition
Taiwan at the End of Martial Law: The Dangwai Movement, Street Protest, and Direct Presidential Elections
19 years · 19 volumes
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The Dangwai Movement
Under one-party authoritarian rule, a group of courageous Taiwanese chose to seek political participation outside the KMT system. "Dangwai" (literally "outside the party") — originally a neutral administrative term describing non-KMT candidates permitted to contest limited local offices — gradually evolved into a sweeping democratic movement that coordinated lawyers, professors, journalists, shopkeepers, and former political prisoners into something approaching a shadow opposition without the legal right to call itself one.
Vol. 2
The Kaohsiung Incident
Vol. 3
The Lin Family Massacre
Vol. 4
The Chen Wen-cheng Incident
Vol. 5
A Hundred Thousand Drums on Orchid Island
Vol. 6
The Henry Liu Murder and the Tenth Credit Collapse
Vol. 7
Birth of the Opposition
Vol. 8
Lifting Martial Law
Vol. 9
A Hundred Flowers Bloom
Vol. 10
The Plant Yilan Did Not Keep
Vol. 11
The February 28 Redress Movement
Vol. 12
A Hundred Percent Freedom
Vol. 13
The Succession and the February Crisis
Vol. 14
Lilies in the Square
Vol. 15
The End of Mobilization and the Remaking of Parliament
Vol. 16
The Ground Made at Mailiao
Vol. 17
The Independent Taiwan Association Case and the End of Sedition
Vol. 18
The People Choose
Vol. 19
The 921 Earthquake
2000–Present
Modern Taiwan
Democratic Deepening, Transitional Justice, and Taiwanese Identity
26 years · 21 volumes
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The First Party Turnover
By the late 1990s, Taiwan's political landscape stood at an unprecedented crossroads. More than half a century of uninterrupted Kuomintang rule had weathered the lifting of martial law in 1987, the full re-election of the legislature, and the first direct presidential election in 1996. Yet the island's democratic transition remained incomplete so long as no opposition party had ever assumed the highest office. Internal fissures within the KMT, disillusionment with "black gold" politics, and the maturing organizational strength of the Democratic Progressive Party converged to set the stage for a pivotal contest.
Vol. 2
The SARS Storm
Vol. 3
The Shooting on the Nineteenth of March
Vol. 4
Taipei 101
Vol. 5
The Red Shirts and the Trial
Vol. 6
One Island, One Day
Vol. 7
A Letter from the Cape
Vol. 8
Morakot and the Village of Xiaolin
Vol. 9
The White Shirts and Hung Chung-chiu
Vol. 10
Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above
Vol. 11
Sunflowers in the Chamber
Vol. 12
Treasures Beneath the Skies
Vol. 13
The First Woman President, and an Apology
Vol. 14
Love Without Distinction
Vol. 15
The Boat Was Home
Vol. 16
Three Years of the Pandemic
Vol. 17
The Silicon Shield
Vol. 18
Cross-Strait Dynamics
Vol. 19
Transitional Justice
Vol. 20
The Voices of the Land
Vol. 21
Taiwanese Identity — Who Am I?