謹按：

出一本介紹台灣風光的圖冊，贈送給外籍友人，當作見面禮，是一個不錯的構想。尤其，攝影作品是贈送者自己的創作，對受贈者而言更具意義，兼具談助之效。美國前參議員高華德生前就曾將他自己的攝影作品集“Barry Goldwater and the Southwest”一書，贈送給外國友人，筆者藏書中就有一冊。

過去數年，筆者在台灣各地所拍攝的風光照片為數不少，選出自己滿意的作品，集結出書，自忖應不比高華德參議員的攝影作品差。現在需要做的事就是排版及文字撰寫，前者已商請小姪子協助處理，後者如封面、前言及圖片簡介等相關文字說明的撰寫，包括附錄：“歐洲人、日本人與福爾摩沙大事紀”，需要時間蒐集資料，希望內容豐富一點，不要像高華德參議員的攝影作品集一樣簡略、陽春。

書名暫定為“Formosa-Spring,Summer,Fall,Winter ”。今日閱讀筆記如下：

Formosa Milestones﹝歐洲人、日本人與福爾摩沙大事紀初稿﹞

2000BC    Ancestors of current Taiwanese aborigines settled in Taiwan.These aborigines are genetically related to Malay and maternally to Polynesians, and linguists classify their languages as Austronesian.

1544        A Portuguese ship  sailing to Japan  from Malacca sighted the main island of Taiwan.  Thrilled by the beauty of the hills of the island,the Portuguese called  it  Ilha Formosa  (Beautiful Island). This is the first mention of Taiwan in Western history

1624       The Dutch established a commercial base on Taiwan and began to import workers from Fujian and Penghu (Pescadores) as laborers, many of whom settled. The Dutch made Taiwan a colony with its colonial capital at Tayoan City (present day Anping, Tainan). Both Tayoan and the island name Taiwan derive from a word in Sirayan, one of the Formosan languages.

The Dutch military presence was concentrated at a stronghold called Castle Zeelandia. The Dutch colonists also started to hunt the native Formosan Sika deer (Cervus nippon taioanus) that inhabited Taiwan, contributing to the eventual extinction of the subspecies on the island. Furthermore, this contributed to the subsequent identification of native tribes.

1626       The Spanish landed on and occupied northern Taiwan (Keelong and Tanshui) as a base to extend its commercial trading. The colonial period lasted 16 years until 1642.  The colony was short-lived due to the unwillingness of colonial authorities in Manila to commit men and materiel to defending it. After seventeen years the last fortress of the Spanish was besieged by Dutch forces, and eventually fell, giving the Dutch control over most of the island.

1662        Chinese naval and troop forces of Southern Fujian defeated the Dutch , subsequently expelling the Dutch government and military from the island. They were led by Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong).

1662–1683   Kingdom of Tungning

Following the fall of the Ming Dynasty﹝1368–1644﹞﹝End of the Southern Ming Dynasty  in April, 1662﹞, Koxinga retreated to Taiwan as a self-styled Ming loyalist and established the Kingdom of Tungning 

1683        Following the defeat of Koxinga's grandson by an armada led by Admiral Shi Lang of Southern Fujian, the Qing (Dynasty) formally annexed Taiwan, placing it under the jurisdiction of Fujian province.

1857        Jade Mountain﹝玉山﹞ was first observed by westerners in 1857. W. Morrison, captain of the American freighter SS Alexander, sighted this mountain while departing from Anping Harbor, in what is now Anping,Tainan. He recorded this sighting in his naval log, and the mountain gained the name Mount Morrison in western literature.

1860         Takao (Kaohsiung), An-ping (Tainan), Tamsui (Taipei) and Keelung were forced to open to the west as trade ports based on the Treaty of Peking. UK was the first among western countries to establish the consulate in Taiwan.In 1861,Robert Swinhoe, aged 24, was appointed as the first British vice-consul to Formosa.

Robert Swinhoe, a young interpreter in the British Foreign Service at Amoy, arrived Taiwan for the first time. In later 13years, He researched, classified and named many Formosa mammals, birds, butterflies, moths, and plants, etc, and introduced them to the western world

Shen Bao-zhen﹝沈葆禎，1820-1879）& his great great grandson Shen Lu-hsun﹝presently Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs﹞

1874.5         Japanese army invaded Taiwan. Qing government soon sent then Minister of Navy Shen Bao-zhen to Taiwan to prepare for  Taiwan's defense 。He utilized the skill of French technicians and workers, notably Prosper Giquel, to construct China's modern warships and commercial vessels with great success.

Admiral Amedee Courbet ﹝1827-1885，中法戰爭期間，法國遠東艦隊司令海軍上將孤拔 ﹞

1884-85        The French occupied Keelung from 1884.10.1 to 1885.6.22 and the Penghu Islands from  1885.3.31-7.22 during   the  Sino-French War﹝1884.8-1885.4 ﹞.

A French attempt to capture Tamsui was defeated at the Battle of Tamsui (1884.10.8). Several battles were fought around Keelung between October 1884 and March 1885 between Liu Ming-ch'uan's Army of Northern Taiwan and Colonel Jacques Duchesne's Formosa Expeditionary Corps. The Keelung Campaign, despite some notable French tactical victories, ended in a stalemate. The Pescadores Campaign was a French victory, but had no long-term consequences. The French evacuated both Keelung and the Penghu archipelago at the end of the war.

1885       The Qing upgraded Taiwan's status from prefecture of Fujian to full province

1895        The Qing Dynasty was defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and Taiwan and Penghu were ceded in full sovereignty  to the Empire of Japan.

1900      Two Japanese anthropologists, Torii Ryūzō and Mori Ushinosuke, became the first people to have been recorded ascending the mountain. They gave the mountain the name Niitakayama (新高山) or Mount Niitaka, literally the "New High Mountain", because it was even higher than Mount Fuji in Japan (was Empire of Japan) by 176 metres (577 ft). In 1937, Niitakayama was designated part of the Niitaka (New Highest) Arisan National Park (新高阿里山国立公園). 

Chiang Kai-shek﹝far left﹞& his grandson Chiang Hsiao-yen﹝former Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister 1996-1997﹞

1945.12.25    Taiwan and   Penghu was restored to the Republic of China.

The Cairo Conference ﹝1943.11.22-26 ﹞in Cairo, Egypt was held to address the Allied position against Japan during World War II, and to make decisions about postwar Asia. One of the three main clauses of the  Cairo Declaration was that "all the territories Japan has stolen from China, including Manchuria, Taiwan and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China'.

1945-

north cross-island highway     (completion date: 1963﹞

central cross-island highway   (completion date: 1960.5.9﹞

south cross-island highway     (completion date: 1972.10﹞