ALMOST HERE - The English Translation of: A Tale of Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa by Dr. Chen Yao-chang 陳耀昌

TAIWAN HISTORY - Formosa Files Episodes

Nov. 7, 2024

S4-E30 - The “First” Chinese Person to Visit Taiwan - Chen Di 陳第 (160…

400 Years: Dutch Formosa - part one: Of course, Chen Di was not actually the first person from China to visit Taiwan. What makes him special is that he wrote an account of what he saw here in 1603, and …

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Oct. 31, 2024

S4-E29 - Two Odd and Forgotten Books

Need a break from typhoons (Taiwan)? Need to escape the non-stop election-related noise (USA)? Or maybe you simply would like to hear John and Eryk babble about a couple of strange out-of-print books with a Taiwan connection (everyone)? This week …

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Oct. 10, 2024

S4-E26 - Bits and Pieces - October 2024

Did you know? Joseph Stalin saved Chinese characters. (um… sort of) In Qing-era Taiwan, two men sometimes SHARED a wife! John has done 10 episodes of our other podcast, “Bookish Asia.” Plum Rain Press, the new publishing arm of Formosa …

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Sept. 12, 2024

S4-E23 - Taiwan’s President in Exile – Thomas Liao.

This forgotten father of Taiwan democracy sacrificed his comfortable life (he came from a rich family and had a PhD from the US in Chemical Engineering) to fight for Taiwanese independence in the post-WW2 decades. In 1956 he was elected …

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Sept. 5, 2024

S4-E22 - Lonely Planet Travel Guidebook: Taiwan (1997-1998)

Lonely Planet travel guidebooks provided some of best info on a new destination in the pre-internet era, and the late Robert Storey (1954-2017) wrote quite a few of them... including the first four editions for Taiwan. Robert Storey’s Lonely Planet …

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Aug. 29, 2024

S4-E21 - Beggar Boy - an incredible tale of resilience

Lai Dongjin 賴東進 was born into a “beggar family.” His dad is blind, his mom has a mental illness. He has 11 siblings! Many born into such a disadvantaged position would throw up their hands, blame fate, and quit the …

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June 13, 2024

BONUS Episode: Martial Arts Legend Hong Yixiang 洪懿祥

John talks with Chris Bates about one of Taiwan’s greatest ever martial artists, Hong Yixiang 洪懿祥 (1925–1993). He was Taiwan’s foremost master of the Chinese internal martial arts (which consist of baguazhang 八卦掌, xingyiquan 形意拳 and taijiquan 太極拳.) The Hong …

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