What does it mean to be Taiwanese? This question sits at the heart of Taiwan's modern history and its place in the world. In contrast to the prevailing scholarly focus on Taiwan after 1987, Becoming Taiwanese examines the important first era in the history of Taiwanese identity construction during the early twentieth century, in the place that served as the crucible for the formation of new identities: the northern port city of Jilong (Keelung).

Part colonial urban social history, part exploration of the relationship between modern ethnicity and nationalism, Becoming Taiwanese offers new insights into ethnic identity formation. Evan Dawley examines how people from China's southeastern coast became rooted in Taiwan; how the transfer to Japanese colonial rule established new contexts and relationships that promoted the formation of distinct urban, ethnic, and national identities; and how the so-called retrocession to China replicated earlier patterns and reinforced those same identities. Based on original research in Taiwan and Japan, and focused on the settings and practices of social organizations, religion, and social welfare, as well as the local elites who served as community gatekeepers, Becoming Taiwanese fundamentally challenges our understanding of what it means to be Taiwanese.

About the Author
Evan N. Dawley is Assistant Professor of History at Goucher College.

Reviews
Aims to cast a more critical eye on oft-neglected parts of Taiwan's history...Becoming Taiwanese provides some unexpectedly of-the-moment insights into Taiwan's present. -- Davina Tham * Taipei Times *
Cuts through the morass of ideological stances that have essentialized aspects of Taiwanese history, culture, and demography in order to bolster assertions for political separation from China...Merits full attention from scholars of East Asia, empires, migration, and ethnicity. -- Madeline Y. Hsu * China Review International *
Challenges what we know about and how we understand what it means to be Taiwanese...A refreshing perspective on historical and contemporary Taiwanese identity. -- Tim Riswick * Journal of Taiwan Studies *



Book Information
ISBN 9780674237209
Author Evan N. Dawley
Format Hardback
Page Count 426
Imprint Harvard University, Asia Center
Publisher Harvard University, Asia Center