Taiwan Today

On the third day of the third moon, which falls on March 31 this year, the people of central Taiwan will hold a memorial service at the Temple of Wu Feng, the island's outstanding altruist.

Wu Feng was born in 1700 in a merchant family of Changchow, Fukien province. He was 10 when his family migrated to Taiwan. They settled down in Chulo, where the Han people carried on barter trade with the Tsou tribe of aborigines. The trading place is known today as Chiayi, the gateway to Alishan and the site of a tower demarcating the Tropic of Cancer.

To help his father, Wu Feng learn­ed the Tsou language. Gradually he became interested in the tribesmen and won their respect. When Wu Feng was 24, the magistrate of Chulo appointed him liaison officer in charge of Tsou affairs. He held the position until giving his life for the aborigines in this wise:

Like the other primitive tribes of Taiwan, the Tsous were headhunters. After each autumn harvest, they pre­sented human heads as a gift to their gods and ancestors. When Wu Feng became liaison officer, he tried to persuade the tribesmen to stop head­hunting. At first they wouldn't listen. Then he said:

"When Chu Yi-kan rebelled against the government (in 1721), you took advantage of the confusion and killed some 40 Han people. You still keep their skulls. Why don't you use a skull for each festival? You may go headhunting again after all the skulls are gone."

The Tsous agreed and there was no headhunting for four decades. Pestilence was plaguing the mountains and the harvest was poor when the last skull was sacrificed. Headmen held a conference and attributed the calamities to the suspension of head­hunting. Priestesses complained that young women couldn't marry men who had not cut off the heads of other tribesmen or Han people.

So the headmen petitioned Wu Feng for permission to resume the taking of heads. Wu Feng sought to dissuade them but in vain. They ac­cused him of breaking his own prom­ise.

"If you insist, I can't stop you," Wu Feng said. "Tomorrow noon you will find a man in a red robe riding on a white horse beneath the tall tree at Shekou. You may kill him but not anyone else. Otherwise you'll be punished by Heaven."

The next day the young men hid in a cluster of bushes at Shekou. No sooner had the man in red appeared than an archer shot him down. The warriors rushed in and cut off the head. When the archer found he had killed Wu Feng, he climbed a peak of Mt. Ali and threw himself into the gorge.

The Tsous accepted the teachings of Wu Feng. They were the first of Taiwan aborigines to abandon headhunting.

In 1821 the magistrate of Chulo built a temple on the ruins of Wu Feng's house at the request of the local people. Since then a memorial service has been held each year on the day of the dedication - the third day of the third moon.

Good advice for His Majesty

亡羊補牢 Wang yang pu lao (Repair the pen after losing a sheep).

Western equivalent - It is never too late to change.

During the period of Warring States (403-221 B.C.), one of the states was called Ch'u. When King Hsiang ruled Ch'u, he spent much of his time seeking amusement and neglected public affairs. Seeing that the country might be ruined, Minister Chuang Hsing risked his life to advise the king:

"Your Majesty, I fear you are being spoiled by your pleasure-seeking chamberlains. I am not jealous of their winning your favor. What I fear is that if you remain indifferent to state affairs, our country will be destroyed by a neighboring state."

The king was displeased. "Are you crazy?" he said. "We have been enjoying peace for a long time. Why should you speak to me in such ominous words?"

Chuang Hsing said: "Your Maj­esty, I foresee misfortune if you con­tinue to listen to bad counsel. If you think I am wrong, please give me a leave. I shall exile I myself to Chao and we shall see what will happen."

Five months after Chuang Hsing's departure, Ch'u was attacked by the state of Ch'in. When most strategic points were lost, King Hsiang realized that Minister Chuang's prediction was coming true. The king immediately recalled Chuang Hsing.

When Minister Chuang had returned from Chao, King Hsiang said: "I regret that I ignored your advice. Considering what has happened, can you think of any measures to recover our lost territory?"

"Yes, Your Majesty", Chung Hsing said. "When you see a hare, it won't be too late to look for a hound. When you have lost a sheep, it won't be too late to mend the pen. A long time ago when King T'ang of Shang and King Wu of Chou held power, they had a small territory of only a hundred square li. Nevertheless, they ruled properly and expanded their boundaries. Our land is still larger than the initial domains of T'ang and Chou. So it is not too late to change. Otherwise Your Majesty will be ousted by the king of Ch'in."

Moved by such loyalty and honesty, King Hsiang made Chuang Hsing marquis of Yang-ling.

Putting the eyes before the ears

百聞不如一見 Pai-wen pu-ju yi-chien (Seeing a thing once is better than hearing about it a hundred times).

Western equivalent - Seeing is believing.

In 61 A.D. during the reign of Emperor Hsuan of the Han dynasty, the Ch'iang, a nomadic Tibetan tribe, revolted against the Middle Kingdom.

The emperor asked his aides-de­camp who should be given command of the punitive forces. They unanimously recommended Chao Ch'ung-kuo, a native of Kansu who had fought the Huns in his youth. But Chao was more than 70 years old. Fearing that the general might decline to accept the command, the em­peror asked him: "Who do you think would be suitable for the posi­tion?"

"Sire, there is nobody but myself," the general replied confidently.

"If you are to take command, then tell me your strategy," the em­peror ordered.

"Seeing a thing once is better than hearing about it a hundred times," the general said. "In the art of war, it is not advisable to make a plan without seeing the spot in question. Therefore, I would like to map out my strategy after seeing our defense line."

Chao went to the frontier with several armies of infantry and cavalry. He suggested that a t'un-t'ien (mil­itary colony) system be adopted. Upon approval by the emperor, Chao sent home his cavalrymen and retained 10,000 infantrymen as soldier-farmers. The rebellion was suppressed during Chao's one-year residence at the frontier.