David on Formosa

Bradley Winterton, the Taipei Times regular book reviewer, recently wrote a very praising review about a ten volume set of comics, A History of Taiwan in Comics, that tell the history of Taiwan.

You might think comics are just for kids but Winterton remarks, “[the books] combine accessibility for quite young readers with a really astonishing level of historical sophistication” and “the historical detail at times feels as if it’s approaching graduate studies level.”

So much history is distorted and biased and often used to promote political agendas. It would be very easy to fall into that trap when writing about Taiwan’s history. However, these books try to tell every side of the story. Winterton writes, “this refusal to come down heavily on one side or another [concerning the effects of Japanese colonisation] is an educational lesson in itself. Education in Asia has too often been a case of learning by rote, but that is the last thing offered here. Look at the evidence and make up your own minds. This is the moral of these highly colorful volumes.” He further notes, “If there are any special sympathies expressed, they are probably for the aboriginal communities.”

The publishing company has also published Traditional Stories of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples in a bilingual comic book format. I am sure it would also make interesting reading.

The books are in a bilingual format (Chinese and English). They can be purchased for NT$1,200 from Third Nature Publishing.