Representing Taiwan's Indigenous Peoples: Qing Imperial Tribute Illustrations

"Cooked Savages": Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66312548 & "Raw Savages": Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66312929

 

In the last post, the figurines of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples at NTM were shown to be created from the Japanese’s understanding of how to depict indigenous difference through physical appearance. Another representation of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples can be seen in the Qing Imperial Tribute Illustrations (皇清職貢圖), completed between 1761 and 1775 by court painter Xie Sui. Expanded over decades, this collection resulted from an effort ordered by the Qianlong Emperor. In addition to depicting peoples from within the Manchu empire, there are written descriptions and illustrations of representative peoples from other parts of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. 

The entries on Taiwan cover several different indigenous groups who are organized by administrative division. They are also sorted into the “raw” (生番) and “cooked” (熟番) categories, which describe indigenous peoples’ “degree of savagery,” as thought by the Qing. Visually, this is shown by physical appearance: “raw savages” are bent over in threatening poses, make grotesque facial expressions, wear less clothing, and have emphasized muscles. In contrast, the “cooked savages” more closely resemble the Han Chinese: they stand up straight with calm facial expressions and wear more clothing. 

 

The parallels between the Japanese figurines and Qing illustrations show that both have a similar approach to trying to make sense of the types of difference presented by the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Both the Japanese and the Qing dynasty turned to exhibiting external differences (via physical appearance) to show internal differences (of culture and nature).

Furthermore, while the Hakata figurines demonstrate the information collected by Japanese anthropologists, they also show how the Japanese, as outsiders, placed a tribal classification system onto Taiwan’s indigenous peoples that the latter may not have agreed with. Similarly, the Qing had the two categories of “raw savages” and “cooked savages,” depending on the level of assimilation into the dominant Han Chinese culture and thus, how “civilized” the various groups were perceived to be.

This history of the outside categorization of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples still has consequences today. Currently, only 16 tribes are officially recognized. To gain this status, groups must prove that their culture has been maintained by compiling a dictionary for their tribe’s language and demonstrating that they have their own unique clothing and ceremonies. A major obstacle is that some groups faced cultural assimilation by the Han Chinese majority.

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To learn more about how the Qing represented Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, check out Taiwan’s Imagined Geography: Chinese Colonial Travel Writing and Pictures, 1683-1895 by Emma Jinhua Teng.