英文摘要 |
This article explores how Jelly-Fig became a symbol of tribal cultural consumption in Central and Southern Taiwan, and looks at its relationship with state governance and capitalism. Previous studies have focused on the Jelly-Fig plant’s characteristics, processing technology and related practical applications. In general, existing research yielded little description of the social and cultural history of Jelly-Fig, and lacked the studies in the production, consumption and reception of this indigenous plant in Taiwan. Through accessing the newspapers and archives of the Japanese occupation era and those after World War II (eg. “Taiwan Daily News” and “Takasago Survey Book”) this paper clarifies the historical progression of Jelly-Fig from “wild plant” to “indigenous economic crop”. It has gradually become one of the symbolic foods that are used to pursue “authentic” tribal culture in Taiwanese cultural consumption. The findings are as follows: First, during the reign of the Ching Dynasty, wild Jelly-Fig was an important commodity used in bartering between indigenous peoples and the Han settlers. During the Japanese occupation period, Jelly-Fig was the topic of classical literati singing; while the Japanese placed wild Jelly-Fig under the classification of “forest product”. The Japanese colonizers marketed and exhibited Jelly-Fig as a representative commodity when “Exhibiting Taiwan”. Second, after the WWII Jelly-Fig became an important source of income for indigenous people. Under a dual logic of conforming to the capitalist market and the national health discourse, Jelly-Fig became an important drink in the consumption market. At the same time, it was also supervised and regulated by the national health discourse. Finally, under the policy of tribal tourism (the “one town, one product” policy), Jelly-Fig has developed from a “marginal crop” of the forest to an important “cash crop” and “cultural brand” of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes, and has become an imaginary code of these tribes constructed by consumers from distant places. |