The French language may not be the global lingua franca it once aspired to be, but I’ve found myself using it in some unexpected places far beyond the Hexagon. Near the busy port of Keelung (pronounced Ji-long), beneath the steep hills surrounding a natural harbour less than twenty miles from Taiwan’s capital Taipei, is a curious burial site. It has the natural placidity of a churchyard, despite its proximity to a main road; trees shade the headstones, whose first line reads “Ici repose…”. This is a French military cemetery. So what is it doing in Taiwan?
Few remember this history in Europe, but in Keelung it is commemorated in a special annual ceremony
In 1884, war broke out between the Qing Empire and the French Empire as they wrestled for control of northern Vietnam. The French navy launched a series of punitive raids, occupying the strategic Pescadores archipelago in the Taiwan Strait. At the time, the Qing controlled the western half of Taiwan, not daring to venture into the mountainous eastern portion. After two failed attempts to take one of the Qing’s ports on the island, the French forces gained a foothold around Keelung. Disease, surprisingly stiff resistance, and the tough, hilly terrain around the port prevented the French from getting much further. After a peace deal was signed in April, they withdrew, having lost around 700 men.
Few remember this history in Europe, but in Keelung it is commemorated in a special annual ceremony. The French de facto ambassador is in attendance as models of French ships are paraded around the central memorial à la memoire des soldats morts. The tricolour sits alongside the Qing dynasty banner, a magnificent Azure Dragon on a yellow background (a real stunner of a flag if you’re into that sort of thing). Locals dress up as soldiers and political figures from both sides, leading to the bizarre sight of Taiwanese men in French military dress, blonde wigs poking out from their silver helmets, streaks of red, white, and blue painted on their cheeks. But this isn’t just a quirky historical commemoration – it’s an event of religious significance.
It’s Ghost Month in Taiwan and across East Asia. According to local beliefs – some combination of Buddhism, Taoism and traditional Chinese folk religions – the gates of the underworld open at this time, releasing spirits to wander the world of the living until the gate closes once more a few weeks later.
Offerings, incense, and ceremonies are believed to appease the ghosts and to help them pass on to the next life. Whistling at night and swimming are among the taboos during this period; I once spoke to a timid mouse of a lady who told me she rushes home in the evening during Ghost Month to avoid being out after dark.
Walk along the sweltering streets of Taiwan at the moment and you’ll pass people burning paper money in small metal bucket-like firepits. On pavements sit tables crammed with sealed bottles of green tea and tins of old-school Taiwanese desserts and unopened pots of instant noodles, often with smoking incense sticks protruding from the plastic. There’s often untouched family packs of juice cartons too. For those pressed for time, supermarkets sell Ghost Month fruit platters that can be put straight out for the spirits. Sometimes, a restaurant or shop will put their own wares out as an offering: I’ve seen incense being burned around a table of fresh fries and cola outside a McDonald’s. Back at the military cemetery in Keelung, the ghosts of the fallen French soldiers were, fittingly, presented with wine and baguettes.
That just four original headstones remain tells of the history that followed. Ten years after the French withdrew, the Qing Empire ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895. Facing a Japanese invasion, Taiwanese elites petitioned the British consul on the island to make it a British protectorate, a request which was rejected. They declared the independent Republic of Formosa, under the stunning flag of a tiger on a blue background. The Japanese army landed at Keelung and crushed the fledgling republic, with the rest of the cemetery destroyed in the crossfire.
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