【Office of University Social Responsibility】
The 4th Qiwen Tang Liu Family and Old Family History Academic Conference was held on September 7 and 8 at Academia Sinica in Nangang. The opening ceremony was jointly hosted by NCCU President Tsai-Yen Li, Director Shu-Min Chung of the Institute of Taiwan History, and Liu Chi-Chun, President of the Qiwen Tang Clan Association. Faculty and students from NCCU’s USR Office, Department of Ethnology, Department of History, and Graduate Institute of Taiwanese History participated in the event.

President Li remarked that this was his third time attending the conference and expressed admiration for the strong turnout early in the morning. This year’s theme focused on the intersection of AI development and family history research. He expressed hope that AI would become a valuable tool for researchers and that digital humanities could help diversify social and cultural studies. He also thanked researcher Hsu Hsueh-Chi for her outstanding contributions in preserving valuable historical resources, including documents, photographs, and interview records, which serve as important assets for future research and family history preservation in Taiwan.

The conference featured keynote speeches by three scholars from different fields. Hsu Hsueh-Chi, a distinguished researcher at the Institute of Taiwan History, discussed the relationship between old family photographs and historical interpretation. Through analysis of clothing, poses, and interior settings, she revealed insights into past lifestyles and social status, allowing audiences to vividly connect with the lives of their ancestors. Lin Chun-Ming, Chair of the Wufeng Lin Family Mansion and Garden, shared how the Lin family digitized their genealogical records using structured data systems. This approach helped manage increasingly complex lineage data and allowed family members to contribute accurate biographical details. Lastly, retired researcher Huang Fu-San discussed the transitional period from the late Qing dynasty to the early Japanese era, highlighting how various families adapted to political and social change, offering a nuanced perspective on the era's diversity.

Other scholars also presented research related to family history, ranging from textual classification and GIS applications to studies on both Han Chinese and Indigenous families across different regions of Taiwan. The two-day conference concluded with vibrant exchanges and in-depth discussions. Selected papers will be published in a collected volume co-edited by NCCU and the Liu family of Dapinglin, to be released by NCCU Press.

The conference stems from NCCU’s 2011 University Town initiative, which began with historical research on the founding of Zhinan Temple in 1885 and its connection to the Liu family of Dapinglin, Xindian. Since 2016, NCCU’s Department of Ethnology has collaborated with the Liu Clan Association on oral history workshops. NCCU has also worked with Taipei City Government, Zhinan Temple, and Taipei Zoo to organize local cultural exploration programs under the “Three Cats Project.” Due to the construction of the MRT Circular Line and Shisizhang Station, the Liu family’s historic buildings were relocated and reconstructed in the newly developed Shisizhang Historical Park. In April 2024, three restored buildings were completed, and the park was officially opened by the New Taipei City Government.

NCCU’s USR Office remains committed to strengthening local ties through family history research. Future activities will include interdisciplinary walking tours of the Shisizhang Historical Architecture Park to explore new approaches to cultural heritage reuse.