Legend of Huang Sangui

Huang Sangui (黃三桂), a wealthy timber merchant at Banka (艋舺), had a role to play in the suppression of Lin Shuangwen's insurrection that lasted almost a year. Banka is a Ketagalan word meaning a place where canoes meet. It was transliterated into Hoklo, and rendered into Japanese as Manka (萬華), which is pronounced Wanghua in Mandarin. Huang was the head of one of the three most prominent families in Banka.

Sangui was born Huang Chaoyang (黃朝陽), but the people in Banka called him Sanguiguan (三桂官), probably after Wu Sangui (吳三桂) who helped the Manchu found the Qing Dynasty in Beijing in 1644. Sangui is said to have his first encounter with Lin Shuangwen at Banka long before the latter led the uprising against the Manchu.

Lin, a resident of Changhua and a Zhangzhou (漳州), was a leader of the Tryad (天地會). Zhangzhou men, who opposed their Hoklo brethren from Quanzhou (泉州) in Changhua, were mostly members of Lin's secret society. In 1782, the authorities had executed a Zhangzhou gambler and murderer, and thereby antagonized his fellow townsmen. They used the Tryad to oppose the local government authorities. Lin started making preparations to rebel when an opportunity would present itself.

He heard of Sangui's fame, and tried to get the latter join his Tryad secret society. Sangui was a Quanzhou, but Lin was sure he could persuade the wealthy timber merchant to join his tong, which is believed to have been founded by Koxinga who drove the Dutch out of Taiwan to claim the island for China in 1672. So Lin came to Banka all the way from his native Changhua.

One day shortly after the Lantern Festival in 1785, a heavy snow fell on Mount Tatun or Datun (大屯山), a 1,056-meter peak in the present Datun National Park. The Hoklo in Banka and Tamsui used to believe something momentous would occur when snow piled up atop the highest mountain in northernmost Taiwan. Sangui was at home, trying to settle disputes among the local Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, when a sedan chair was carried to the gate of his mansion in Banka.

Sitting in the palanquin was none other than Lin Shuangwen. He had an aide inform Sangui that he had come all the way from Changhua for a meeting. Sangui himself had to come to the gate to welcome Lin.

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