Professor Yuju Lin (Academia Sinica)

Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong

Trade has historically driven Taiwan’s economic growth, with cane sugar dominating exports from the 1620s to the 1960s. Despite this, the strategic evolution of sugar traders has been overlooked. This article explores how Takow (Kaohsiung) merchants navigated international trade, particularly after the 1870s, adapting to the interplay of tradition and modernity. Focusing on Wang Xuenong, a prominent sugar merchant during the Meiji period (1868–1912), it examines how merchants like him incorporated East Asian and Western elements into their trading company systems. The article also investigates their expansion into rice milling and steamship transport, illuminating Taiwan’s commercial transformation from the late Qing dynasty to Japanese rule. Through a lens of cross-cultural knowledge transfer and human resource strategies, it highlights the historical significance of these changes in Taiwan’s journey towards industrialization and modernization.