Tuesday, April 21, 2009

A Few Posts on Keelung II – The Cimetière Française de Kilung




One of the more interesting sites in Keelung is the Cimetière Française de Kilung. The French cemetery is a reminder of the Sino-French War of 1884 to 1885 (see my other posts on this war as related to Danshui) located on a plot hemmed in by apartment buildings near the ruins of the old Ershawan Fort.

Actually this is not the original French cemetery, which was moved from a seaside location in 1909. It is reasonably well maintained though, unlike the foreigners’ cemetery in Danshui, the site has not been designated a national relic, though is open to the public. Two obelisks stand at opposite ends of the plot - one in French is dedicated to soldiers and sailors; the other, in both French and Chinese, is dedicated to officers as well. Ranks and officers kept apart in death too it seems!

The total number of French soldiers and sailors buried in Keelung is unknown, though the most common figure cited in 600 French officers, soldiers, and sailors. Approximately 120 of them were killed in battle, while 150 died later of their wounds. The majority succumbed to malaria, cholera, dysentery, or other maladies. More than a fifth of the French force never returned home.





The French cemetery is the subject of a book by Christophe Rouil titled Formosa: Some Nearly-Forgotten Battles, (or at least Formose, des Batailles Presque Oubliées – I’m not sure if there’s an English version or not) which took the author a year and a half to research and write. Rouil notes that after World War II the cemetery fell into disrepair. In 1947, M. Bayens, a French diplomat based in Shanghai, reported to his superiors that the graveyard was in a terrible state. Rather than wait for instructions from Paris, he spent around US$100 of his own money (which was later reimbursed by France's foreign ministry) to have the cemetery fixed up.

To get there just follow the harbour road around the port past the hilly park that houses the Ershawan Fort and you’ll find it on the left hand side.

A Few Posts on Keelung I - The Keelung Harbour Integrated Administration Building


A Few Posts on Keelung III – The Monument to Prince Kitashirakawa

A Few Posts on Keelung VI - Ershawan Fort


9 comments:

davidwilmshurst@yahoo.com said...

Someone else who's interested in the Sino-French War, I see! I've done an English translation of Rouil's book, and am still waiting for it to be published. I'm also putting the finishing touches to complete history of the war. I'm the author of all the English Wikipedia articles on the subject. Can I use your photo of the French tombstone at Keelung for an illustration to the Wikipedia articles 'Keelung campaign' and 'Pescadores campaign'?

Paul French said...

sure- take what you like

As it happens I'm in Taiwan for the summer and planning another trip to Keelung some time in the next few weeks.

Steven Crook said...

Mr French,

I'd also like to use one of your photos for my upcoming cell-phone travel app. Would that be acceptable? I would credit you, naturally.

Sincerely,

Steven Crook
author, Taiwan: The Bradt Travel Guide

Runescape Gold for Sale said...

I truly desire My spouse and i we had not witnessed this specific as I really would like one right now!

http://sports-online-news.com/
http://dblo3.com/
http://worldwow.org/

RS Gold said...

Thank you for this short article. That is almost all I could say. Anyone most surely are making this website into something. Anyone obviously know very well what you do, you've got included countless bases.Thank you!

FZF said...

Thanks for providing such useful information. I must say i many thanks for professional approach. I have to appreciate the efforts you have made on paper this post. I hope exactly the same best product within you in the foreseeable future in addition.RS Gold

http://www.4rsgold.com/christmas/active.html
http://www.fzf.com/christmas/christmas.html

Anonymous said...

Somebody else who's thinking about the Sino-French War, I see! I conducted a English translation regarding Rouil's publication, along with 'm still waiting for that it is printed. Now i am in addition gettingCheap GW2 Gold your finishing touches to try and do reputation of your warfare. Now i'm the author of all the Uk Wikipedia articles about them. Can one takes place photograph on the France tombstone in Keelung for an example of thisGuild Wars 2 Gems to your Wikipedia articles 'Keelung campaign' along with 'Pescadores campaign'?

Emily said...

In order to level up, buy wow gold the profession is the key. With a professional profession you will never need to equip any other particular abilities. To seek a traditional resource is worthy that practices this can be much interesting although it is difficult. And the WOW accounts are used to create an account attribute to define your personal tailor made inclinations so as to constructor buy wow gold safely your very own fantasy identity straight ,then offer you total safety and must use your own existing account to levels up. Not for keeping it's easy to gain games by web sites. And then you need to find the appropriate and safe website to apply. And when this occurs, don’t think that somebody will appear and help, because it is common offense happens online everyday in addition to wow powerleveling you can careful to protect yourself.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this short article. That is almost all I could say. Anyone most surely are making this website into something. Anyone obviously know very well what you do, you've got included countless bases.Thank you!

gw2 gold
buy cheap GW2 Gold