The historical development of Lugang Township

    Originally, the area of Lugang belonged to the ˇ§Majhihlinˇ¨ Altar of 

Pingpu Aborigines of the Babuza tribe.   In the late Ming Dynasty, the 

Chinese people started to immigrate to Lugang to engage in agriculture and 

fishing.

    In 1661, Cheng-Gong Jheng or so-called Koxinga led the army to enter 

Taiwan.  Many immigrants from Fuchien Province came to Lugang.  This marked 

the inception of the Chinese people exploring into the Changhwa plains.  

Those earliest Chinese people who came to Lugang then were from the 

Sing-Hua Prefecture of Fuchien Province.  Most of them engaged themselves 

in agriculture and fishing.   The later immigrants included those from 

Cyuan and Jhang Prefectures of Fuchien and Chao Prefecture of Guangdong 

Province.

    In 1731, Lugang, a port, was officially open to inland trade.

    In 1784, The Cing Court officially approved Lugang as the trade port 

to the opposite side.  The glorious history of the hometown started.

    Lugang is located at the center of the west coast of Taiwan, close to 

the prosperous backland, the Changhwa plains.  The superior geographical 

conditions made Lugang the most flourishing ferry terminal and cargo 

transshipment center from the 49th year of the Emperor Cian-Lun to the 30th 

year of Emperor Dao-Guang.  Itˇ¦s the prime period of Lugang which lasted 

about over half a century.  Merchant ships were seen coming and going and 

the streets bustled with activities.  No wonder Lugang is one of the three 

famous cities: ˇuFirst is TainanˇBsecond is LugangˇBthird is Wanhuaˇv when 

people mention Taiwan.

    Because the port became filled with silt, people stopped using sea 

transportation and trade was subdued.  Lugangˇ¦s prosperity has gradually 

declined, leaving many historical relics and scenic sites the residents 

are now proud of.


The historical development of the Community

    There were two systems of land reclamation under the Chinese who 

settled in Taiwan.  The first was to rent the land owned by the 

government, station an army in the countryside and make it engage in 

farming during the reign of Koxinga.  The second was ˇ§Ken-Shouˇ¨ system 

which was employed by the central area.

    What's a ˇ§Ken-Shouˇ¨ system?  The ˇ§Ken-Shouˇ¨ system means that 

the powerful figures applied to the government for land reclamation 

tickets, after getting which they called the tenants together to start 

land reclamation.  Gong Chen and Shih-Bang Shih were the two powerful 

figures among those who came to Lugang Township for land reclamation 

using the ˇ§Ken-Shouˇ¨ system in the early stage.

    In 1736, Jhih-Guei Huang of the Jin-Jiang County of Fuchien Province 

led his tribe to cross the sea to settle down in the Tsao-Gang area.  

In 1762, Jhih-Ming Huang led his tribe to bring the land in Shan-Lun 

Village under cultivation.  Some of the Jhih-Ming Huangˇ¦s descendants 

moved to Tsao-Jhong and Tou-Nan Villages and some to Sian-Si Township 

and Changhwa City.

    In 1812, a landlord named Hung Ma of Da-Nan Village of the 

ˇ§Majhihlinˇ¨ Altar agreed to let a tenant, Mei You, bring the wasteland 

near the ˇ§Niceˇ¨ Village under cultivation.  So, in the early 19th 

century, the area of the ˇ§Niceˇ¨ Village was yet to be cultivated and 

the ancestors of Hung Ma could be among those who brought the ˇ§Niceˇ¨ 

Community under cultivation at the earliest.


Sources of data:

Huang, Siou-Jheng. The Development Journal of Lugang Township. Lugang: 

The Editing Committee of the Development Journal of Lugang Township. 

Lugang Town Administration Office, 2000.