county

Kinmen, more than a battle ground

        In recent years, Kinmen the island has got much attention and has been frequently in news. For the aspect of diplomacy, the establishment of “Little Three Links” has enabled people to travel legally between Kinmen and Mainland China. For the aspect of culture reserve, Kinmen National Park has been established for the first-ever national park based primarily on local culture. For the aspect of politics, new legislation has been passed to aid development on Taiwan’s offshore. Moreover, the spectacular event this October is that some artists including musicians, composers, architects, filmmakers, and performers, etc. held exhibitions in the bunkers. Their goals were to help people transform from a relic of war and unresolved ideologies into a utopia of unlimited cultural activities. Yet, even today, when most people think of Kinmen, they cannot get past its stereotype as a battleground. 

        This battle ground had existed half a century ago. Since 1949, when mainland China fell to Communists, Kinmen has witnessed several important battles, including the Kuningtou Battle, Ta-tan Battle, September 3^rd Bombardment, August 23^rd  Bombardment and June 17^th Bombardment 1958, etc. The most serious one is the bombardment on August 23^rd, during that time nearly one million artillery shells and bullets were used to bombard Kinmen Island and Little Kinmen Island. After Taiwan’s August 23^rd bombardment victory, Mainland China did not launch another large-scale attack in Taiwan Straits. However, during the next 20 years, the mainland China still continued to occasionally fire on Kinmen. Thus, it became a stronghold to safeguard the security of Taiwan and Penghu Islands. War did make their life miserable also terrible; however, forty years of military control had slowed the pace of Kinmen’s urbanization, enabling its historical heritages to be preserved. When taking a stroll around, I saw exquisite craft work in the old houses, in the walls, windows, and eaves; felt the way people connect in the lanes and side streets; and witnessed the simple, slow-paced way of life.

         Culture is the biggest asset of Kinmen. When visiting Kinmen, everywhere is old village with their houses neatly lined up on a north-south axis. Since most of the early inhabitants came from the Zhangzhou and Quznzhou areas of Fujian Province, the architecture style of the dwellings and local customs follows in the old traditions. From historical records people began coming here from China’s central plains over 1600 years ago to escape war and disasters and to clear the land for cultivation. This long history, combined with strong local interest in culture, has created a rich cultural heritage. Civilian residences preserved traditional Fujianese architecture from tight little knots. Red tiles, stone walls and elegant “swallow-tail” roof ridge bounce sunlight off the fresh green fields, creating a leisurely ambience of small island warmth and security. But turned another corner and enter Chu-kuang Street in the town of Chincheng, and a completely different picture met my eye; decrepit old houses, made of earthen red bricks and overgrown with weeds and grass, hung with signs like ”Loyalty to the leader, serving the three armed forces” and “Friendship service association for the soldier of Republic of China.” Also there are several Western-style houses, built in the 1930s with money sent back by Kinmen natives who had emigrated overseas; they likewise are a vision of abandonment and disrepair. The atmosphere of nostalgia fascinated me, especially when witnessing their dignified “Wind Lion Lord” I understood that no matter how far the Kinmens went away, they would surely come back. The Wind Lion Lord is a special religious feature, whose form is varied by its function, and people believe that it can control the winds. It is worshiped to ensure fertile lands since Kinmen was stripped of its trees for boats by Cheng Cheng-kung. When it became a wasteland, soil and rocks eroded, people were losing their livelihoods, and then they turned desperately to the Wind Lion Lord for help and continued to do so. A village would have four wind lion lords to stand on east, west, north, and south directions to protect them from any attacks. Sadly, some villages were abandoned and the Wind Lion also gone away; therefore, I treasured and bowed to every Lord I met on this tour. Thanks to their company in my tour, they are actually my best reason for visiting Kinmen.

        But people come to Kinmen for many other reasons as well. Strolling through the streets and countryside, it is interesting to discover few young women like me from Taiwan backpacking on their own. Meanwhile, in a pub I encountered two young students, who selected Kinmen as the location for filming a documentary on Taiwan culture and war area literature. And recently, the popular Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki told Taiwan reporters “if I travel in Taiwan, the place I most want to see is Kinmen.” This place mixed peace and war, is too complicated to catch for both war and peace have left Kinmen with great character that is visible everywhere. But when the Kinmens want to get rid of this stereotype as battle ground, what about their future? The older generation is satisfied with the stability, but the younger generation is really anxious, and insists on finding some option for development. Moreover, the people born on Kinmen actually have Fujian ID cards yet are for all intents and purposes Taiwanese. There doesn’t seem to be any real desire to be either Taiwanese or Chinese; the sentiment was that they wish the situation could be settled, either one way or the other. “The strongest desire of the people here is that the two sides do not go to war,” declares Wu Cheng-tien, a New Party legislator just recently elected to present Kinmen. Wu, who was born on the day before the 823 artillery duels began in 1958, and has grown up on Kinmen, adds solemnly: ”If there are three days of fighting, we will suffer for three years. Kinmen’s only hope is that both sides keep the peace. ”

        Peace and war, the ambiguous politic situation is quite sensitive to them. Kinmen has received silently both a relic of Taiwan’s military past, and a reminder of its tenuous present; moreover, it would be the possible future thawing point of chilly cross-strait relations. Since its wartime past and opportunities for future peace, Kinmen is the closest to main land China of any of the 319 townships in Taiwan and the outlying islands. From it, I cast my eye toward a peaceful and glorious future for the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. With cross-strait relations occupying a prominent place in the spotlight, Kinmen’s future direction is getting even greater attentions.

Kinmen, more than a battleground, deserves more spotlights. After all, no matter how great attention Kinmen will get, there are always Wind Lion Lords taking care of the small island now and forever.