A Look at the Effects of Japanese Public School Establishment on Taiwan’s Ancestral Ethnic Group Distribution: 1901-1926

Abstract

This article discusses about the effects of public school education on ethnic group distribution in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period, with Changhua Plain in central Taiwan as an example. Many Han Chinese migrated to Taiwan from various coastal areas in Southeast China under the rule of Qing dynasty (1684-1895). The different ethnic groups were distributed in such a way that populations from the same ancestral home lived together while those of different descent became segregated. Transitioning into the Japanese colonial period in 1895, did the promotion of Japanese education assimilate different ancestral ethnic groups in Taiwan and change their distribution on the island? To answer this question, this article starts by organizing the 1901 and 1926 distribution of ancestral ethnic groups across 27 Changhua Plain areas in central Taiwan, as well as quantifying the levels of ethnic group distribution by the Gini coefficient. This is followed by applying difference-in-differences estimation to examine the effects of Japanese public school education on ancestral ethnic group distribution.