還是忍不住先分享這篇了。
雖然我原先給自己的預設計畫，是先打算默默地看完這本書，再嘗試寫一點東西來告訴大家
但最近，預估我能夠讀完的時間遙遙無期
各種心情下還是忍不住先分享這篇
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作者 胖胖樹的熱帶雨林（Fat-Fat Tree Tropical Rainforest）用非常驚人的毅力和熱情
自己畫自己寫自己考據自己拍照
完成了這本書
能和他認識是透過這個粉專，先前某篇跟《本草綱目》有關的文字吸引(?)了他的注意，然後我才發現了這本書(笑)
目前的閱讀進度停在金雞納樹那個篇章，細細地咀嚼中
過一陣子我一定會好好的細嚼慢嚥完這本書再說些什麼的
等著吧呼呼呼呼....
《Invisible Rainforest: The Formosa Rainforest Flora》
Taiwan is commonly known as Formosa until 1970s. It is a beautiful island on the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The Portuguese were the first European group who reached the island of Taiwan in 1544, and named it Formosa.
The cultural diversity in Taiwan is like the biodiversity in tropical rainforest, which is rich and diverse. The ethnic groups that came to Taiwan at different stages have brought wide varieties of tropical plants with them which are related to living habits.
The aborigines who first lived in Taiwan imported many plants from Southeast Asia that we are familiar with nowadays, e.g. taro, ginger, banana, betel nut, coconut, kapok. They came to Taiwan in the prehistoric time and have lived in Taiwan for about 8,000 years.
From 1624 to 1662, in the era of great navigation, the Dutch and Spanish people briefly occupied Taiwan and used Taiwan as a base for trade with China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Fruits that Taiwanese people are familiar with and are proud of, such as mango, bell-apple, custard apple, guava, and Cherry tomato, as well as chili, pepper, and tobacco were introduced to Taiwan by Dutch people during this period.
Between 1662 and 1895, Taiwan was part of the Chinese territory. Minnan people from Fujian Province as well as Chaozhou people and Hakka people from Guangdong Province moved into Taiwan. Carambola, grapefruit, and tung oil tree were introduced from China by South China immigrants during this period. The pineapple was also imported from the Philippines by South China immigrants during this period.
From 1895 to 1945, Japan ruled Taiwan for 50 years, and established several botanical gardens and research institutes throughout Taiwan to introduce large-scale experiments and cultivation of tropical plants in order to have more resources for the Japanese Empire. Rubber tree, cinchona tree for the treatment of malaria, logwood for making purple-black dyes, mahogany, and ylang-ylang were all introduced by Japanese into Taiwan.
From the end of the Qing Dynasty to the Japanese era, missionaries, botanists, and European traders came to Taiwan again. Although the number of people are rather small, they made a great contribution to Taiwan’s medical and scientific progresses. They also introduced some tropical plants into Taiwan. For example, Dr. George Leslie MacKay introduced variegated leaf croton and bougainvillea, and Dr. George Gushue-Taylor introduced windy oil trees for the treatment of leprosy. Coffee was introduced to Taiwan at earliest in 1884 by the British Merchants Bank.
The Republic of China established Taiwan Provincial Government in 1945. During the martial law period from 1949 to 1987, restrictions were imposed on all aspects. In addition, the access to information was limited. As a result, fewer tropical plants were introduced to Taiwan during this time as compared to other eras. At that time, academic and agricultural institutions were the main units that introduced plants into Taiwan. The trumpet Tree, which is now familiar to everyone, was introduced in the late 1960s.
There was also a Thai-Myanmar solitary army composed of ethnic minorities from southwest China. After the defeat of the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Thai-Myanmar solitary army temporarily stayed in the Golden Triangle at the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, and eventually retreated to Taiwan in the 1950s and 1960s. In the early 1960s, a large number of Burmese Chinese immigrated to Taiwan after riots in Burma against Chinese community. They brought the tradition of Songkran Water Festival of Dai people, the spice plants, and vegetables commonly seen in Indochina to Taiwan.
In 1989, Taiwan for the first time allowed foreign workers to come to work in Taiwan. In the 1990s, the government also promoted the southward policy to encourage cultural exchange and economic investment with Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, many Taiwanese males with weak social and economic status chose to marry females from Southeast Asia. To date, there are about 180,000 Taiwanese new citizens from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, and other ASEAN countries, and about 680,000 foreign workers from ASEAN. They have brought more vegetables, fruits, and spices that are common in Southeast Asia, enriching Taiwanese food culture.
These aforementioned culture traits and the history of the introduction of plants in Taiwan are extracted from my first book "Invisible Rainforest: The Formosa Rainforest Flora". This is a series of Taiwanese historical stories featuring plants as the leading actors and scientists as supporting actors. I want to share with you the history and social culture of Taiwan that I have discovered which have not been recorded in our history or social textbooks, which may have been forgotten or ignored. This book is not a challenging botanical handbook to read. It is an interesting story book. I hope that more people can understand Taiwan from a different perspective through this book. Thank you for your time!
台灣就是過去西方歷史中所熟悉的福爾摩沙。它是太平洋東方海上的一座美麗的島嶼。1544年葡萄牙人發現，並將台灣稱作福爾摩沙。
台灣的文化多樣性，彷彿熱帶雨林的生物多樣性一般，豐富且多元。不同時期來到台灣的個族群，帶來各式各樣與生活習習相關的熱帶植物。
最早居住在台灣的原住民，從東南亞引進了我們熟悉的芋頭、薑、香蕉、檳榔、椰子、木棉花等植物。他們從史前時期便來到台灣，在台灣活動的時間約八千年。
1624年至1662年，大航海時代，荷蘭人與西班牙人也曾短暫佔領台灣，以台灣作為根據地，與中國、日本及東南亞進行貿易。台灣人熟悉，甚至引以為傲的水果，例如芒果、蓮霧、釋迦、芭樂、小番茄，還有辣椒、胡椒、菸草，便是這時期荷蘭人引進台灣的植物。
1662年至1895年之間，台灣被納入中國版圖。源自中國福建省的閩南人與廣東省的潮州人與客家人，大量移入台灣。楊桃、柚子、油桐花便是這個時期華南移民從中國引進。而鳳梨也是這時期華南移民自菲律賓引進。
1895年至1945年，日本統治台灣50年，並在全台各地建立數個植物園及研究機構，大規模引進熱帶植物試驗及栽培，目的是為了開發更多資源提供日本帝國使用。橡膠樹、治療瘧疾的金雞納樹、製作紫黑色染料的墨水樹、桃花心木、香水樹等，都是日本人引進台灣的植物。
清朝末年至日本時代，宣教士、植物學家及歐洲的貿易商人再度來台。雖然人數不多，卻對台灣的醫療及科學進步有很大貢獻。他們也曾引進了一些熱帶植物來台灣，例如馬偕博士引進了變葉木與九重葛，戴仁壽醫生引進治療痲瘋病的大風子樹。而咖啡最早則是英商德記洋行在1884年引進台灣。
1945年，國民政府來台。1949至1987年，戒嚴時期，各方面限制重重，加上資訊不發達，熱帶植物引進較少。當時主要從事植物引進工作的是學術與農業單位。現在大家所熟悉的風鈴木，便是1960年代末期所引進。
還有一支由中國西南方少數民族組成的泰緬孤軍，國共內戰戰敗後，短暫滯留泰緬金三角，在1950至1960年代從中南半島輾轉來台。1960年代緬甸排華事件下，移民或依親方式到台灣定居的緬甸華僑。他們率先將傣族的潑水節，還有中南半島常見的香料植物與蔬菜，帶進了台灣。
1989年台灣首次開放外籍移工來台。1990年代政府推動南向政策，許多社會經濟條件弱勢的男性，紛紛到東南亞尋找配偶。直到今日，來自印尼、越南、菲律賓、泰國、柬埔寨等東協國家的新住民和移工，分別約18萬人和68萬人。他們帶更多東南亞常見的蔬菜、水果及香料，豐富了台灣的飲食文化。
上述這些文化跟植物引進史，摘要自我的第一本著作《看不見的雨林：福爾摩沙雨林植物誌》。這是一本以植物為主角、科學家為配角的台灣歷史故事集。我想藉由本書，跟大家分享我所查到、看到的那些不曾出現在我們歷史或社會課本中，被遺忘或忽略的台灣歷史與社會文化。這本書不是生硬的植物圖鑑，是一本有趣的故事書。希望透過這本書，讓更多人可以從不一樣的角度認識台灣。謝謝！
