(plus non-member friends of members, if space permits. Seats are limited, and will be given on a first come first served basis to members)  

At his own beautiful apartment in the former French Concession, Nicolas Grevot will take RAS Members on a journey into an often-overlooked aspect of Taiwanese history and culture. Repeating his very popular RAS lecture from 2013, this time with the help of his many exquisite artefacts collected over the years, Nicolas will discuss the hardships faced by the island’s indigenous population in the face of colonial occupation.

Called "Formosa" (Beautiful island) by the Portuguese navigators that sailed by in the 17th century, Taiwan has been inhabited for at least 8,000 years by indigenous peoples known today as Taiwanese aborigines. Grevot will discuss who they are, how they fared throughout the history of the island, interacting with the Dutch colonial power, the Chinese/Han immigration, the Qing dynasty, the Japanese colonial authorities and the Kuomintang administration, and how they are living today in modern Taiwan. He will also investigate how the ancestors of the Taiwanese aborigines began a long migration towards the Pacific area 6,000 years ago that gave birth to the Austronesian culture and Austronesian languages that are spoken today by close to 500 million people.

Nicolas Grevot, a French national, arrived in Shanghai in 2008 to follow his Taiwanese executive wife. He has not always been a trailing spouse. Before coming to Shanghai, he stayed for 15 years in Taiwan where he worked as a journalist. There, he fell in love with the island and its people, mostly its indigenous population. During this long stay, he built an important collection of cultural items from the Taiwanese aborigines (close to 300 items) that is now on loan to the Shisanhang Museum of Archeology, in Xin Taipei, Taiwan, and is regularly exhibited in the island. The collection can be seen on this website: www.formosatribal.com

RSVP: to RAS Bookings at: bookings@royalasiaticsociety.org.cn

ENTRANCE:  Members 20 RMB – Non-Member guests of Members 50 RMB

MEMBERSHIP membership renewals will be available at this event.

WEBSITE:  www.royalasiaticsociety.org.cn