<strong>July 18 to July 24
</strong>
Lukang’s (鹿港) once famous Shiyi Hall (十宜樓) stood deteriorating for years, a forgotten relic of a time during the mid-1800s when its builders, the Chen (陳) clan, were the wealthiest in town.
Despite the sharp decline in their business empire, the Chens remained prominent landlords in Lukang throughout Japanese colonial rule. The best-known member, Chen Huai-cheng (陳懷澄), served as the only Taiwanese mayor of the town for 12 years, and was an accomplished poet and founding member of the Lishe (櫟社) poetry society.
The family owed its prosperity to the Qingchang
<strong>May 16 to May 22</strong>
Lin Wen-cha (林文察) and his “Taiwanese braves” (台灣勇) arrived in Fujian Province’s Jianyang District (建陽) on May 19, 1859, eager for their first action outside of Taiwan.
The target was local bandit Guo Wanzong (郭萬淙), one of several ruffians who had taken advantage of ongoing Taiping Rebellion to establish strongholds in the area.
A strongman leader of the notable Wufeng Lin Family (霧峰林家), Lin had impressed Qing Dynasty rulers five years earlier by helping expel the remnants of Small Knife Society (小刀會) rebels from Keelung.
Lin’s forces routed Guo’s gang in just 11 days, earning a formal