1884 Yasuda Folding Map of Fujian and Taiwan, Japanese Imperialism

Japan's Careful Observation of the Sino-French War.

This is a rare and important 1884 Japanese folding map of Fujian Province, China, including Taiwan, prepared by Yasuda Torao. It was published just eleven days after the French destroyed the Chinese Fujian fleet at Fuzhou, a key event in the Sino-French War (1884 - 1885). Its publication put a detailed regional map in front of Japanese readers as the Sino-French War brought fighting to the Taiwan Strait and the island's geography and the limits of Qing authority had become matters of international strategic interest. Issued a decade after a Japanese military expedition to Taiwan and a decade before Japan seized the island as a colonial possession, the map appeared as Japanese ambitions vis-à-vis China were rapidly growing, upending the traditional hierarchy in East Asia.

A Closer Look

The main map embraces mainland Fujian, Taiwan, the Penghu Islands, and numerous smaller coastal islands. Neighboring Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Guangdong are named but otherwise left blank, concentrating attention on the province and its maritime approaches. The legend distinguishes prefectural seats, county seats, post stations, provincial boundaries, mountains, and rivers. A fine black line on Taiwan traces a route linking settlements and administrative centers; three years after this map's publication, when Taiwan became a province, its first provincial governor, Liu Ming-chuan, oversaw the construction of a railway roughly along this route.

A table of distances between different prefectural seats, including maritime connections between Quanzhou and Taiwan-fu (now Tainan), and between Fuzhou and Keelung (labeled with the highly unusual characters 雞竜城) is situated on the lower right. Taiwan's western settlements and connecting routes contrast with the island's mountainous interior and eastern districts, labeled with the large characters 番地, which can be translated as 'barbarian lands.' These two realms were clearly distinguished, marked here with a dashed line along mountaintops, and the division was formalized by building a line of barriers known as 'earth-oxen ditches' (土牛溝) because the long mounds accompanying the ditches resembled sleeping oxen. Although this segregation was meant to protect Aboriginal peoples as much as Chinese settlers (who continued to migrate despite bans issued by Beijing to prevent them from doing so), it was very difficult to enforce, and people regularly violated the border for various reasons (escaping taxes or the law, land grabs, and so on). But this distinction mattered politically: Japan's 1874 intervention had exploited the difference between Qing claims over Taiwan and the limited reach of Qing administration among the island's Aboriginal communities.

The contrasting colors of Taiwan and Fujian are particularly suggestive in this setting. They permit an imperial reading of the island as a geographically distinct object of Japanese attention. The inset (清二京十八省要圖) covers the entirety of 'China Proper' (the former Ming Dynasty, minus the Qing's other holdings in Manchuria, Mongolia, Central Asia, and Tibet) and also encloses Taiwan within a red boundary, suggesting a separation from Fujian. Incidentally, the same is done with Hainan Island, part of Guangdong Province but another potential prize for foreign imperial powers.

War and the Geography of Qing Authority

The map's registration date places it at a precise moment in the Sino-French War, which began in earnest in August 1884 but was preceded by months of tensions and a French-Chinese proxy war in Tonkin (northern Vietnam). French forces had attacked Keelung on August 5, 1884, before destroying the Fujian fleet near Fuzhou on August 23. The French attempted to occupy Keelung itself but were chased off by a force led by the same Liu Ming-chuan who would later serve as governor of Taiwan. But in October (after this map's publication), French forces returned and successfully occupied Keelung, seeking to use it as territorial leverage against the Qing. But the French force was too small to serve this purpose effectively; when a foray was made against nearby Tamsui (淡水港 here) on October 8, it was easily repulsed. The French attempted to blockade Keelung and Tamsui, but in the following months Liu received reinforcements, making their position untenable. But French advances in Tonkin led the Qing to negotiate and reluctantly recognize French protectorates over Annam and Tonkin. However, the more ambitious French goal of seizing Taiwan fell flat. In the course of the war, some explorations were made of an alliance between France and Japan, but they failed to result in tangible progress towards a formal alliance. Foreign intervention accelerated the Qing government's administrative reorganization of Taiwan. The Qing declared provincial status in 1885, and implemented the new provincial arrangements in 1887, strengthening the island's administration and defenses.

Publication History

This map was compiled by Yasuda Torao (安田虎男) and published by Takahashi Matsunosuke (高橋松之助), both of Tokyo, on September 3, 1884 (Meiji 17). Yasuda and Takahashi were also associated with the 1884 Japanese publication Fujian Gazetteer (福建省誌), a geographical and historical account of Fujian, and the catalog listing for this map at the National Institute of Japanese Literature suggests that it was appended to the Gazetteer, though it appears here as a separate issue (with a distinct price, noted in the lower-left margin). Aside from the National Institute of Japanese Literature, the map is only cataloged at the National Archives of Japan and has no known market history.

Cartographer

Yasuda Torao (安田虎男; fl. 1878 - 1893) was a Japanese geographer, publisher, and printer active in Tokyo during the late 19th century. His cartographic work included plans of Tokyo and maps of Japan produced for the commercial market during the early Meiji period. He is known to have published at least five maps: one of Tokyo, three of Japan as a whole, and one of China's Fujian Province (with Taiwan). While producing these maps, Yasuda also published works by others, including on literary topics, law, Chinese culture, and current affairs. In 1884, the same year his map of Fujian was published, Yasuda also wrote a gazetteer of Fujian (福建省誌), jointly published by Seirindō (青琳堂) and Takahashi Matsunosuke (高橋松之助), the latter of whom also published the Fujian map.   Further Details...

Condition

Excellent. Even toning. Slight wear on old fold lines.

References

National Institute of Japanese Literature Early Modern Document Information Database, IA0092909. National Archives of Japan, Reference Code: 186-0011.