Bits and Pieces: Patriots, Traitors and New Plum Rain Press Books – S6-E23
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesShow Notes
The 1683 Battle of Penghu is over, but there’s plenty more to say after our last episode. Eryk reads some victory poetry by the Kangxi Emperor. John is not a fan. We then turn to changing ideas of patriotism. Why have some Han Chinese nationalists objected to a new film celebrating Shi Lang’s conquest of Taiwan? And does Chiang Kai-shek look rather different if we view him principally as a Chinese nationalist – especially when compared with the Chinese Communist Party’s relationship with Stalin and the Soviet Union?
But all that is a modest preamble to two big announcements. First, there are some non-Formosa Files podcasts you should know about, including Eryk and John discussing Yang Shuang-zi’s Taiwan Travelogue on the Books on Asia podcast. John also chatted on that podcast with Tyrel Eskelson about his Taiwan 22: Travels in Paradox.
And John has another similarly named podcast, Bookish Asia with Plum Rain Press. He tells us about a new ten-part Bookish Asia series devoted to Dr. Chen Yao-chang’s historical novel A Tale of Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa.
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.