Taiwan has had many names over the centuries. What do they mean? Where do they come from? Here’s a rundown of these names and their origins!
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Is “Underfoot” a Nice Thing To Call Your Friend?
“Underfoot”—a bizarre ancient Chinese endearing form of address between friends. As with most odd folk expressions, there’s a story behind it.
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How It All “Bi Gan”: A Surname Origin Story
Two extremely common Taiwanese family names share an origin story that dates back over 3,000 years to a sage named Bi Gan.
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The Dumpling Sage: How Taiwan’s Mount Banping Got Its Shape
Visitors to Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City will notice an oddly shaped mountain called Mount Banping. This folktale reveals how it got its distinctive shape!
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The Mother Goddess
The story of the mother goddess who created the first humans.
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In the Beginning
The tale of the giant born at the beginning of time and subsequently shaped the world.
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Sun Moon Lake
The indigenous folktale on the origin of the name of Taiwan’s beautiful Sun Moon Lake.
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Paiwan Origin Myths
The Paiwan people have many origin myths. Here is a sampling of these Paiwan origin tales.
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Tattooed Faces
The Atayal are an ancient Austronesian tribe indigenous to Taiwan. This is their origin story.
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