Chukuang

Chukuang (莒光鄉 Pinyin: Jǔguāng Wade-Giles: Ch��-kuang�) is a township of Lienchiang County. Ch�kuang Township includes two major Matsu islands -- Tong-ch� Island (東莒 "East Ch�" Dongchu) and Hsi-ch� Island (西莒 "West Ch�" Xichu) -- and some islets. Neither Tung-ch� nor Hsi-ch� has an island-wide administrative level.

Table of contents

1 Administration
2 History
3 Geography
4 Tourism

Administration

Both islands have villages as the first-level division within:

Hsi-ch� Island
- Ch'ingfan Village (青帆村 Qīngf�n)
- Hsich'iu Village (西坵村 Xīqīu)
- T'ienwo Village (田沃村 Ti�nw�)
Tung-ch� Island
- Tap'ing Village (大坪村 D�p�ng)
- Fuchen Village (福正村 F�zh�n)

History

Tung-ch� and Hsi-ch� Islands were Tung-ch�an (東犬 Dongquan) and Hsi-ch�an (西犬 Xiquan) Islands, meaning "Eastern Dog" and "Western Dog" respectively. Sometimes they called the Pai-ch�an Islands (白犬島 Baiquan) or Pai-k'en Islands (白肯島 Baiken).

They were renamed after the speech Chiang Kai-shek quote, "forget not that you're in Ch�" (毋忘在莒). It refers to to the City of Ju (Ch�) during the Zhou Dynasty, where Qi (齊) King prepares a counterattack that retook his State from the State of Yan (燕). This is an analogy of Matsu and Taiwan as bases of the Republic of China to regenerate itself and one day take back Mainland.

Geography

Tung-ch�, the southernmost of the Matsu Islands, is 2.63 km� and Hsi-ch� 2.36 km�. Islets includes like Yung-liu (永留嶼 Yongliu) near Tung-ch�.

There is one accessible seaport on Hsi-ch�, and two on Tung-ch�. Tung-ch� is shaped like a dagger, while Hsi-ch� a triangle, so seemingly bigger on maps.

Some cliffs of Tung-ch� is severely corroded by wind, creating a strangely aesthetic appearance.

Tourism

The 19.5-metre (54-step) lighthouse on northern Tung-ch�, made during the late Qing Dynasty with granite. The guiding light is in the shape of a clam and tge light can reach 16.7 nautical miles. Tung-ch� Lighhouse is a second-level national artifact building. In front of the lighthouse, there used to be four mist-cannon for signaling, but has now been removed and placed in the Cultural Museum of Matsu History (馬祖歷史文物館 Matsu Lishi Wenwuguan).

The 42-character Dapu Stone Inscription (大埔石刻), in Dapu Seaport of Tung-ch�, was made during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, concerning the capture of pirates alive. It was reported to the ROC by ROC in 1953, and Remembering-the-Past Pavillion (懷古亭 Huaigu Ting) was constructed in 1966 sheltering the stone.

In the sea south of the Hsi-ch�, there is Snake Mountain (蛇山). The main island has a small Green-sail Seaport (青帆港), two water reservoirs and a middle-elementary school, but are not major tourist attractions.