Prince Ching's Landing Memorial Tablet Introduction
This monument witnesses the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki between Qing Dynasty and Japan, which ceded Taiwan and Penghu to Japan. Subsequently, Prince Yoshihisa of Japan landed at Budai, possessing significant historical meaning, thus this monument was registered as a historic building. On April 17, 1895, Qing and Japan signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, with the Qing court ceding Taiwan and Penghu to Japan. After the treaty was signed, Japan faced fierce resistance from the residents during the initial period of receiving Taiwan. The main force of the invasion was the Imperial Guards Division, supported by half of the Japanese Navy's permanent fleet to assist in the occupation of Taiwan; on May 29 of the same year, Prince Hisaaki of Kitashirakawa landed with the Imperial Guards Division from Aodi. On October 10 of the same year, Prince Yoshihisa led the Mixed Fourth Brigade to Budai, and after fierce fighting, under the strong northeastern monsoon, he ordered a forced landing. The next day, General Kiyotake Nogi commanded the Second Division, landing from Fangliao in Pingtung, completing the military action to occupy Taiwan. In 1923, the Japanese erected a monument at the mouth of the Budai Jiaying Temple to commemorate Prince Yoshihisa’s landing. The inscription was penned by then Governor-General of Taiwan Baron Tan Kenjiro, and this monument was listed as a local "historic site" designated by Tainan Prefecture at the time. Afterward, the monument became a pilgrimage site, with passing residents and tourists being compelled to pay their respects, and elementary school students would also be led by their principals and teachers for worship during the start of the school year or important festivals. In 1933, Prince Yoshihisa's grandson, Prince Hiroshi, visited Budai to inspect salt fields and the Yoshihisa Memorial, and later the Japanese erected a smaller stone monument next to it to commemorate Prince Hiroshi. However, after World War II ended in 1945, amid a wave of "de-Japanization," Principal Tsai Ching-an of Budai East National School led dozens of students to pull the monument down with ropes.
