Show Notes
Born into a poor farming family in coastal Yunlin County in 1944, Cheng Feng-hsi 鄭豐喜 (Zhèng Fēngxǐ) was severely disabled and spent much of his childhood crawling rather than walking. His early years included travelling with an elderly medicine seller and a performing monkey, and living rough in the countryside.
When he finally attended school, he excelled and eventually made his way to university in Taipei, where he studied law and met his future wife, Wu Chi-chao 吳繼釗 (Wú Jìzhāo). The couple returned to his hometown of Kouhu, working as teachers, while Cheng’s autobiography, A Boat in the Vast Ocean, became a major bestseller. Cheng died in 1975, but his story lived on through a hugely successful film, the foundation established in his name, and the Cheng Feng-hsi Memorial Library in Kouhu.
It’s a sad but inspiring story, and also a rare look at one of Taiwan’s forgotten corners (which happens to near John’s home).
More from The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
Opened by the Japanese in 1936, Taipei's Songshan Airport has witnessed wartime bombing raids (by aircraft piloted by both Soviet and American pilots), Cold War diplomacy, and tearful family farewells. During the Cold War, it welcomed some of America's most powerful political figures; President Eisenhower landed here to a spectacular welcome in 1960. For decades, Songshan was Taiwan's main international gateway, until the opening of Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (now Taoyuan International Airport) in 1979. It reinvented itself as a busy domestic hub, only to be dealt another blow by high-speed rail. Yet Songshan survived, and today it offers convenient flights to cities in China, Japan, and South Korea. As Taipei once again debates whether to close the airport and redevelop its valuable land, Eryk and John look back at ninety years of aviation history.
Writer, philosopher, linguist, inventor – Lin Yutang (林語堂) was one of the most famous Chinese intellectuals of the twentieth century, and for decades one of the people most responsible for explaining Chinese culture to English-speaking readers. His My Country and My People introduced millions of Western readers to China, while The Importance of Living preached the virtues of leisure, humor and occasionally doing absolutely nothing. After three decades abroad, the Fujian-born Lin came to Taiwan in 1966. In his final years, living in his beautiful Yangmingshan home overlooking Taipei, he wrote about the small pleasures that made his years in Taiwan among the happiest of his life.
When his grandfather died during the COVID pandemic, Hudson Wei realized how little he knew about the man who had raised him. Determined to uncover his story, he interviewed relatives, pieced together family memories, and eventually turned this into a historical novel, Abacus.
Andō Momofuku is a household name in Japan, celebrated as the inventor of instant noodles. But his story actually begins in Puzi, a small town in southern Taiwan, where he was born Wu Baifu in 1910. John is joined by Tom Gibb, a Japan-based translator and author of the cycling travelogue Charinko. Together they unravel the complicated history of the man and his noodles. Going behind the familiar mythology, they explore his Taiwanese childhood, early business career, wartime troubles, an interesting family life (as in multiple wives), business failures, and the experiments that finally produced instant ramen. They also tackle a trickier question: did Andō really invent instant noodles?
NOTE: People not using Spotify can watch this video on YouTube. As the 2026 Asian Games in Japan come to a close, Eryk and John look back at Taiwan’s sporting struggles and successes in Asia. Who knew that the country has long been a powerhouse in soft tennis and women’s tug-of-war? After multiple unsuccessful bids to host the Asian Games, Taiwan finally had its chance to put on a show: the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. We revisit this breakthrough event, which featured some fascinating sports (anyone heard of korfball or canoe polo?) and plenty of Taiwanese flavor.