英文摘要 |
Recent years has seen vigorous growth in research on Taiwan history and the compilation of local gazetters in particular has been infused with a nationalist spirit. Instead of serving the purposes of governance and education, the compilation of personage biographies in local gazetters now emphasizes the uniqueness of local people and switches from the official stance to the public perspective. In the past two decades, four local gazetters of central Taiwan have been compiled, namely Taichung Gazetters published in 2008, Newly Compiled Taichung County Gazetters and Nantou County Gazetters in 2010, and Newly Amended Changhwa Gazetters in 2018. Scholars compiling these gazetters do not include any living personage but take in leaders from all walks of life with significant contributions or impacts. This study compares the personage biographies of the above four local gazetters in terms of person selection and categorization as well as use of historical materials. Nantou County Gazetters: Personage Biography reflects a transition process from tradition to reform. Taichung Gazetters: Personage Biography breaks past traditions aiming for a complete categorization with features for general public usage. Newly Amended Changhwa Gazetters: Personage Biography, modeled on Newly Compiled Taichung County Gazetters: Personage Biography in its writing format and use of historical materials, initiates the establishment of the Taiwan Biographical Database (TBDB), with the aim to extend new frontiers for research on local gazetters. In sum, these four gazetters epitomize the compilation of personage biographies in the past two decades. Despite all those involved in the compilation being experts and scholars, time and budget constraints, varied historical backgrounds, different visions and ideologies of authors result in diverse styles and contents of these gazetters. |