(12 May 2026) The National Taiwan Library (NTL) on Monday announced the publication of the first complete Chinese translation of a 350-year-old work documenting Taiwan during the 17th century.
The 1669 publication, called “A Short Description of a Nine Year East Indian Journey” (Eine kurtze Beschreibung eines neunjährigen Ost-Indianischen Dienstes), was written by Albrecht Herport, a Swiss painter and soldier employed by the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
The book chronicles his travels from Amsterdam to the Cape of Good Hope, Jakarta and Taiwan, including 69 pages describing Taiwan’s abundant produce and diverse communities, NTL Director Tsao Tsau-ying (曹翠英) said at the book launch event.
The work also contains first-hand accounts of the siege of Fort Zeelandia (now known as Anping Old Fort) by Zheng Chenggong (鄭成功) against the VOC along with nine copperplate illustrations that provide valuable historical and visual records of the era.
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