NYCU’s Hakka Week starts on May 24. This year, the exhibition will be combined with the unveiling of the ‘Uematsu Memorial Library’ and the exhibition of old documents and cultural artifacts from Qionglin, Hsinchu County. This year’s Hakka Week hopes to showcase the cross-national and interdisciplinary collaboration successes of NYCU’s College of Hakka over the years through the Uematsu Memorial Library and the Qionglin cultural artifact exhibition.
Chou Chien, Vice President of NYCU, stated that social responsibility was a critical factor in the university’s development in recent years. The College of Hakka, despite being a relatively small college within NYCU, is showcasing the transnational and local aspects of the institute through the exhibitions of the Uematsu Memorial Library and the Qionglin Liu Family ancient documents. This is the only university that has achieved both of these objectives simultaneously. Therefore, it is hoped that besides allowing faculty, staff, and students from other campuses to visit, such exhibitions can also be extended outward to increase the international and local visibility of NYCU.
Chou Chiang-chieh, vice chairman of the Hakka Affairs Council, mentioned that in the two special exhibitions, the most admirable are Professor Uematsu Akeishi from Japan and her dedication to the original pursuit of anthropological research. Starting next year, the Hakka Affairs Council will also focus on the promotion of community stories. For example, the inspiring and touching anti-Japanese event in the Yuantao Village in Qionglin is not only a local story but also a story of Taiwan. It should be a memory that is collectively appreciated by more people.
Professor Chien Mei-Ling said Professor Uematsu Akeishi was the most crucial female anthropologist in Japan after World War II. Her primary research areas include folklore studies and clan research, with her fieldwork spanning across Japan, Okinawa, and Taiwan. In Taiwan, her fieldwork was focused on the key Hakka regions in northern Taiwan, including Hsinchu, Zhubei, Xinpu, Hukou, Xinfeng, and Zhudong. Professor Uematsu began her research in Taiwan in 1976 and within 20 years, she visited Taiwan 19 times, equivalent to almost one field investigation every year.
In November 2017, the College of Hakka was generously given a substantial collection of fieldwork manuscripts and visual records related to the Hakka regions of northern Taiwan by the late Japanese scholar Professor Uematsu Akeishi. The collection was received and established as the ‘Uematsu Memorial Library’ by the two former professors of the institute, Chang Wei-an, and Hwang Shaw-herng, and by Professor Chien Mei-Ling. Initially, library materials were categorized and documented by master’s students from the institute. In the past two years, doctoral students have conducted the final data verification.
The Qionglin Liu Family’s ancient artifact exhibition began in November 2021, in which alumni and Qionglin Township representative Liu Ming-Yang, along with Liu A-Bie, a representative from the family’s ancestral shrine. They entrusted ancient artifacts to the institute. During the digitalization process of these artifacts by the institute’s doctoral candidate Luo Xiao-lan and the research team, it was discovered that ancestral portraits, which had been lost for many years, were held at the National Taiwan Museum. After three-party discussions, efforts were made to replicate the portraits in cooperation and return them to the Liu Family Ancestral Shrine, culminating in a reverent ancestral worship ceremony. The exhibition was organized with the support of the institute’s doctoral students, effectively showcasing the achievements of the College of Hakka’s research on Hakka culture and enriching the experience of teaching practices. In addition to presenting the preserved artifacts of the Liu Family comprehensively, the exhibition also featured, for the first time, replicated portraits of Liu Cheng-Hao and his wife.
The ‘ Uematsu Memorial Library Static Exhibition’ and the ‘Between Ritual and Preservation: Qionglin Liu Family Ancient Artifact Exhibition’ will be open at our university’s College of Hakka in Liujia Campus from May 24th to July 24th. The exhibition is open from Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (closed on weekends and during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday). We welcome the public to visit.
