Xia Yun's documentary-an investigation on the sweetness and bitterness of Sugarcane Farmers in Changhua

0 sharing photos / photos by Wang Zhangyi / tr. by Phil Newell)

"who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I here? " Before entering the field for investigation, Chong Ming, a partner of Erlin, asked everyone this.

Take the history as the longitude and latitude and the field tune as the measure

In the heat of August, the Peasants' Front cooperated with Zhe Qing Culture Studio (hereinafter referred to as Zhe Qing) to lead students to conduct field research in the Erlingoutou community. Sugarcane green specializes in fieldwork and cultural writing, and has a rich local record and action after several years of operation. In addition, they also work with local schools and organizations to plan geo-programs and lead field survey workshops. Knowing the local practice and deep ploughing of sugarcane green, and finalizing the cooperation between Xia Yun and sugarcane green in the second stage, the agricultural front office has begun to look forward to the arrival of Erlin Tiantian.

Living up to our expectations, under the planning of Sugarcane Green, this field survey is not just a week of rural experience, but a solid training practice. Before entering the community, Chong Ming led the students to discuss "three hundred years of Zhuoshui Creek" written by teacher Zhang Suyi. This book describes the 300-year history of the Zhuoshui River, from the irregular flooding of the river, the vigorous sugarcane planting in the floodplain after regulation, to the construction of Jiji River Weir to change the ecological situation of the Zhuoshui River. Although the Zhuoshui River is gradually smooth, the lives of the residents along the coast are not stable. The planting of sugarcane has become a means for the Japanese to extract farmers, while Jiji River Weir limits the use of water for farmland irrigation and greatly changes the ecology along the coast.

The Night Reading Club of "three hundred years of Zhuoshui River"

In addition to history, Chong Ming also spent one morning talking about "the basic concepts and methods of fieldwork." Sugarcane Qing has rich experience in field research and teaching. in addition to long-term cooperation with junior high schools in Erlin area, Xia Yun was led by the "Xizhou Water Culture investigation Workshop" just four days before the start of the visit. Chongming condensed and extracted his experience with personal stories of field tunes, making the course a big supplement for beginners to enter quickly.

He divided the field survey into three steps: literature analysis, fieldwork, and proposal implementation. In addition to sharing the skills and notes of literature and field survey, Chong Ming pays more attention to the follow-up of field survey. "to me, fieldwork is not just a simple understanding and investigation. The focus is on what plans and actions can be put forward to meet local needs after knowing a place. Most people know that fieldwork is an important way to know the place, but the follow-up care is often forgotten. Such a reminder is undoubtedly important and enlightening for students who have just come into contact with the countryside and the countryside.

Chongming talks about the course "basic Concepts and methods of fieldwork"

As Chong Ming said in the conclusion of his course transfer in the field, "starting from the field and learning from the ground" has always been the most important spirit of sugarcane green. To co-host this Xia Yun's fieldwork, I also hope to convey to the students the concept of "taking the place as the teacher." After the baptism of the history of "three hundred years of Zhuoshui Creek" and the supplement of the fieldwork course, the students finally entered the site Goutou community of Tiandiao.

A hundred years after the incident of Sugarcane Farmers in the second Forest-- the Labor memory of Sugarcane Farmers and the Rebirth of Goutou

Erlin was the place where Taiwan's first peasant movement took place. The Japanese controlled the occurrence of flooding after the regulation of the Zhuoshui River, and a large number of flooded beaches were planted in the past. With the promotion of the Japanese government, these newborn beaches have planted sugarcane one after another, and Zhangnan area, including Erlin, has become one of the important producing areas of sugarcane. In early 1924, farmers responded to the injustice of Lin Sugar (Lin Benyuan Sugar Co., Ltd.) in purchasing sugarcane through local elites. In 1925, the "two Forest Sugarcane Farmers combination" was set up to organize members to negotiate with Lin Sugar. In October of the same year, Lin Sugar forcibly harvested sugarcane with the assistance of Japanese police, which led to violent clashes between sugarcane farmers and officials.

The Monument to the incident of Sugarcane Farmers in Erlin, which stands beside the farmland, has been flooded by vine grass because it is unattended.

The reason why the incident of sugarcane farmers in Erlin is special is that he is not only the first peasant movement in Taiwan, but also reflects the control and extraction of agriculture during the Japanese occupation. A hundred years later, the incident of sugarcane farmers was gradually unknown, and the sugarcane fields everywhere had been replaced by Yueguang rice, and the labor and situation of sugarcane farmers at that time also dispersed the torrent of history. We can often hear a saying: "the first fool, the sugar cane growers will weigh up." how hard were the sugar cane farmers at that time?. With this doubt, the visit of the Erlin group focused on the labor experience of sugarcane farmers and entered the gully head.