Shi Shijie was one of the last Taiwanese-born individuals to achieve the jinshi degree under the Qing imperial examination system, passing in 1883. When Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895, Shi chose to remain rather than relocate to the mainland as many officials did. In the early Japanese colonial period he became a leading voice among the remnant-subject (yimin) literati, writing classical poetry and prose that expressed grief over Taiwan's lost sovereignty and resistance to cultural assimilation. He was active in poetry societies across Taiwan, which served as refuges for classical Chinese literary culture under Japanese rule. His work bridges the late Qing literary tradition and early colonial-period resistance culture, a testimony to Taiwan's classical scholars maintaining cultural identity in the face of political rupture.

• Passed the jinshi examination in 1883, one of Taiwan's last native imperial graduates

• Remained in Taiwan after 1895, writing as a yimin poet in the early colonial period