While Taiwan is known these days for its computer chips and bicycles, not many people realize that it was the world’s major producer of camphor in the last century.
A former camphor-processing site in downtown Taipei, the Nanmon Factory of the Monopoly Bureau of the Government-General of Formosa (1899), will reopen in 2011 as a museum devoted to industrial development in Taiwan.
Before the historic site opens, however, interested members of the public can preview 108 items at the National Taiwan Museum until Oct. 17, at a special exhibition titled “Explore the Kingdom of Camphor.”
“The idea is not only to bring history back to life, but to provide an alternative view of the island’s past,” Lin Yi-hung, program curator, said.
The items, which date from 1868 to 1970, are displayed in two rooms at the NTM, one showing camphor products and the other the camphor-making process and its industrial history.
The refreshing aroma of camphor laurel, a tropical evergreen tree native to Taiwan, wafts from the first display room off the museum lobby and ushers visitors into the world of camphor. The wood, when refined, produces a waxy white substance, crude camphor, as well as camphor oil, an important source of aromatics.
For the young generation, the most surprising use of camphor is found in the old black rolls of film on loan from the National Film Archive. As early as the mid-19th century, camphor was used to make celluloid, a compound that is shaped into a wide variety of products like sunglasses and combs. By 1889, George Eastman of the U.S. had exploited the potential of celluloid to make film.
“It’s not really an exaggeration to say that the camphor industry in Taiwan contributed tremendously to the prosperity of Hollywood,” Lin said, standing beside a giant old film projector. “It was not until the more stable triacetate-based film was introduced in 1951 that the highly inflammable celluloid became outdated.”
Camphor is also a component in smokeless powder. Its invention by the Frenchman Paul Vieille in 1884 radically changed weapons manufacturing, allowing for smaller bored rifles and eventually for semi- and fully automatic weapons, since it does not leave heavy fouling that would jam moving parts. The five rifles on display, which date between 1868 and 1894, testify to camphor’s role in modern warfare.
Camphor can be used as an insect repellant, topical analgesic and cough suppressant. Rows of old camphor cubes, moth balls and Mentholatum ointment demonstrate the wide range of uses of camphor in daily life, even today.
From the other display room come the sounds of the “Camphor Making Song” of the late Ching Dynasty (1644-1911), whose words give the visitor an idea of the arduous and dangerous life of camphor workers.
The camphor industry was a major economic activity for the early Han Chinese settlers in northern and central Taiwan, beginning in the lowlands. As they moved into the mountains in search of more camphor laurel trees, the poorly paid workers had to battle the hot and humid climate, tropical diseases and occasionally the indigenous peoples whose lands they were encroaching upon.
After the trees were felled, the wood was chopped into chips and placed into a lidded brick stove, from which camphor steam was led to a pottery container, where it would condense to produce camphor and camphor oil.
Given camphor’s many uses, the profitable industry became the subject of a tug of war, first between the Ching dynasty and British traders backed by warships and soldiers from Hong Kong when a trader attempted to smuggle camphor out of Kaohsiung. The result was an unfair treaty giving foreign merchants special privileges in Taiwan’s camphor trade.
Later, the Japanese colonial government (1895-1945) took control of the forests and the purchase of raw camphor in 1899. From 1910 to 1916, Taiwan produced roughly 56 percent of the world’s camphor every year, much of it for military use. Pictures of Suzuki & Co., the government-sponsored monopoly firm, show the golden age of camphor in Taiwan. The Japanese instituted a complete monopoly on camphor production in 1919.
Throughout the Ching and Japanese periods, the industry was a major factor affecting the fortunes of indigenous peoples as expansion continued into mountainous areas. In addition, the Hakka people migrating to Taiwan from southeastern China, a main source of camphor workers, prospered because of the trade and established communities in camphor-producing areas that still exist today.
After World War II, the ROC government took over the monopoly. However, as petrochemical-based products and synthetic camphor replaced natural camphor, the sector began to experience a downward spiral in the 1960s, and the monopoly business closed in 1967.
“These days, camphor is no longer part of people’s lives. Most don’t even know why some places are named after camphor-related terms,” Lin said, pointing at a Taiwan map showing previous camphor manufacturing sites.
At the end of the room, a model of the old camphor factory is displayed. Left idle since 1967, it underwent renovation work in March 2009 as part of the National Taiwan Museum’s project to conserve historic sites. In fact, according to Lin, exhibition planning by the NTM staff and collaborating researchers started in 2003.
“Camphor is one of Taiwan’s greatest industrial treasures,” Lin said. “Its intriguing story deserves a full museum display.” (THN)
Write to Tien-ying Hsu at: tyhsu@mail.gio.gov.tw