An Austrian Art Collector's Camphor Exploration of Formosa: Excerpt from 'The German Empire in World History' (2)

The importance of camphor to German merchants can also be seen through a remarkably interesting travelogue. This account was written by Adolf Fischer (1856–1914), a renowned Austrian collector of East Asian art. The Chinese edition of his book is titled *1898. Formosan Expedition* (*Streifzüge durch Formosa*, 1900). From a purely experiential reading perspective, Taiwanese readers might feel somewhat uncomfortable, as the Austrian author traveled across Taiwan with a somewhat arrogant attitude, seeking firsthand understanding of the new realities under the recently established Japanese colonial government, and reporting back to German-speaking audiences. However, from an academic and historical standpoint, this book offers valuable insights beyond its personal observations, including numerous photographs taken by Fischer himself of Taiwan’s landscapes and people (including the German consulate in Dadaocheng mentioned earlier, Figure 10), making it a historically significant document. Particularly when linked to the earlier discussion on German merchants and Taiwan’s camphor industry, Fischer’s travelogue provides rare historical clues viewed through the lens of commercial interests. In contrast to Japanese anthropologist Torii Ryūzō, who conducted academic fieldwork in Taiwan two years before Fischer, the commercial perspective of German-speaking businessmen offers a unique angle worth careful examination.

Fischer traveled from Vienna to Japan in 1897 under the guise of a honeymoon with his new wife, remaining in Japan until 1900. During this period, he made a solo expedition to Taiwan in February 1898, spending nearly three months exploring the island. After landing near Keelung’s Peace Island, he took a train to Taipei and stayed for several days at the German consulate in Dadaocheng. This allowed him to obtain a passport issued by Taiwan authorities and letters of introduction to local government officials, with assistance from the German consul.

According to Fischer’s account, the German consulate was leased from Kotai & Co. and was the most impressive building in the Dadaocheng area. While staying in Dadaocheng, he also traveled by boat to Tamsui to visit missionary George Leslie Mackay, having already read Mackay’s book *From Far Formosa* before arriving in Taiwan. Fischer praised several foreign Presbyterian missionaries active in Taiwan at the time, including Mackay and William Campbell in Tamsui, and William Campbell in the east. He noted that when Mackay first arrived in Taiwan in 1872 to preach, he faced significant hostility and obstacles, sometimes even life-threatening situations. Yet, through persistent effort, Mackay had become “the most respected man in northern Formosa.”

After leaving Dadaocheng, Fischer ventured into Taiwan’s mountainous regions, visiting two key locations: the Miaoli highlands and Jiji in Nantou. Given Taiwan’s transportation conditions at the time, traveling to these areas was extremely arduous. Why did Fischer go to such lengths, enduring such hardship? The answer lies in the fact that both locations were closely tied to German merchants’ camphor production business in Taiwan.

Fischer wrote that upon arriving in the Hakka settlement of Dahu, Miaoli, he stayed in a wooden house built in the wilderness by a European named Greiner. Mr. Greiner was involved in the camphor trade and produced camphor oil at home. Cross-referencing with Charles Mitchell’s 1898 book *Camphor in Japan and Formosa* (p. 45), it becomes clear that this Greiner, who refined camphor in the Miaoli forests, was the representative of Kotai & Co. Greiner’s business model in Miaoli mirrored that of British tea merchant John Dodd, who financed local farmers to purchase production equipment and then bought their tea for export.

After meeting Kotai & Co.’s representative in the Miaoli mountains, Fischer wished to go deeper into the mountains to see the camphor kilns (camphor sheds) firsthand. At the time, entering remote mountain areas risked being suspected of espionage by Japanese authorities. Nevertheless, with the help of local Hakka and Indigenous people, Fischer trekked over an hour into the deep mountains and witnessed firsthand how camphor was produced in Taiwan. In recording this valuable exploration, Fischer wrote a passage worthy of serious attention:

“In world history, it is difficult to find another plant-based product like Formosan camphor that has so profoundly influenced the fate of a region. For centuries, the magnificent, primeval camphor forests of inland Formosa have intensely stimulated human greed, driving people into the mountains despite fierce resistance from angry indigenous tribes. As early as the 18th century, the Chinese government—then focused only on governing the northern and western parts of the island and not yet involved in the east coast—already profited from these camphor forests by monopolizing the camphor industry to help fund administrative expenses. Violators faced inhumane punishments. Anyone caught illegally cutting camphor trees would lose their life. In 1720 alone, over 200 people were executed for this crime. Such excessive severity provoked strong backlash, leading the government to allow private camphor production while retaining state monopoly over sales. Since then, every Han Chinese willing to take risks could spend their own money, using cunning or force to achieve their goals deep in the forests.”

After leaving Dahu, Miaoli, Fischer passed through Zhuolan and, armed with a letter of introduction, visited the Lins of Wufeng. Wufeng was then known as Achaowu. At the Lin family residence, Fischer was warmly hosted by Lin Chaotung and his son. Unfortunately, Fischer’s attitude toward his Taiwanese hosts, as recorded in his writings, was not particularly gracious. However, one passage stands out: he noted that the Lin family treated him to a lavish banquet with at least twenty to thirty dishes, satisfying his appetite. Fischer wrote, “I must have consumed the revenue of an entire camphor tree during this meal, but since Lin Chaotung owns more camphor forests than anyone else in Formosa, I could feast to my heart’s content.” Measuring the value of a luxurious banquet at the Wufeng Lin household by the yield of a camphor tree reveals how substantial the commercial profits of camphor were in Fischer’s eyes.

After leaving Wufeng, Fischer followed the Dadu River on foot through mountain paths to Puli, exploring the centuries-old camphor forests nearby. He passed through Sun Moon Lake and headed toward Jiji in Nantou. Before reaching Jiji, local police informed him of ongoing anti-Japanese uprisings. Fischer noted in his book that the Japanese government was attempting to bring Jiji’s camphor industry under state monopoly, “forcing Han Chinese to surrender camphor legally owned by European camphor merchants who had already paid for it. This caused financial losses to these merchants,” leading to repeated uprisings. “The once-thriving camphor industry had already been utterly destroyed.”

Due to the unrest, Fischer had to end his camphor exploration journey. After staying in Taipei for eight days, he boarded a ship that sailed via Penghu to Anping in Tainan.

Although Fischer’s journey to Taiwan was a personal expedition, it was deeply infused with interest in and observation of the commercial value of Taiwan’s camphor industry. This timely report, written for German-speaking readers, shows that Fischer targeted his audience’s curiosity about the challenges Japan would face in its early rule of Taiwan, while also expressing interest in the actual production and distribution of camphor. These two thematic focuses suggest that although Germany under Wilhelm II avoided diplomatic friction with Britain and thus shelved colonial plans in East Asia, it still sought to emulate Britain’s aggressive overseas expansion model, moving beyond Bismarck’s inward-focused continental foreign policy.

Cover of *The German Empire in World History: The Myth and Reality of 'Great Power Rise'*.

*Author: Hua Yifen, Professor, Department of History, National Taiwan University. This article is excerpted from her new book *The German Empire in World History: The Myth and Reality of 'Great Power Rise'* (Lianjing Publishing).