{{Short description|Taiwanese politician and activist (1881–1956)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Lin Hsien-tang | native_name = {{nobold|林獻堂}} | native_name_lang = zh-tw | image = 臺灣文化與民主運動領袖林獻堂 Lin Hsien-tang, Leader of Taiwanese Culture and Democracy Movement.jpg | caption = | office = Member of the Taiwan Representative Council | constituency = Taichung County | term_start = May 1946 | term_end = July 1946 | office1 = Member of the House of Peers | term_start1 = 3 April 1945 | term_end1 = 4 July 1946 {{hanging indent|Nominated by the Emperor}} | birth_date = {{birth date|1881|12|13|df=y}} | birth_place = Changhua County, Qing Taiwan | death_date = {{death date and age|1956|9|8|1881|12|13|df=y}} | death_place = Kugayama, Tokyo, Japan | alma_mater = | party = | other_party = }} '''Lin Hsien-tang''' ({{zh|t=林獻堂|p=Lín Xiàntáng}}; 13 December 1881 – 8 September 1956) was a Taiwanese politician and activist who founded several political organizations and sat on the Japanese House of Peers.
==Early life and family== Lin Hsien-tang's earliest Taiwan-based ancestor was Lin Shi, who crossed the Taiwan Strait in 1746 and settled in Changhua,<ref name="trev">{{cite news |title=History Comes into Focus |url=https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?post=26532&unit=20,29,35 |accessdate=24 June 2018 |work=Taiwan Review |date=1 February 2016}}</ref><ref name="taiintimehc20225">{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: From village strongman to imperial commander |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2022/05/15/2003778218 |access-date=14 June 2025 |work=Taipei Times |date=15 May 2022}}</ref> and is a progenitor of the {{ill|Wufeng Lin family|zh|霧峰林家}}, whose ancestral home is the Wufeng Lin Family Mansion and Garden in Wufeng District, Taichung. Lin Hsien-tang was born in 1881 to {{ill|Lin Wenqin|zh|林文欽}} and his wife, who died when Lin Hsien-tang was young. Lin was raised by his grandmother,<ref name="hhm">{{cite journal |authorlink1=Huang Fu-san|last1=Huang |first1=Fu-San |last2=Huang |first2=Sam |last3=Mulvagh |first3=Conor |title=Lin Hsien-Tang's Taiwanese Home Rule Movement as Inspired by the Irish Model |journal=Taiwan in Comparative Perspective |date=December 2012 |volume=4 |pages=65–68 |s2cid= 110690087}}</ref> tutored at home and became a wealthy landlord based in Taichung.<ref name="hhm"/><ref name="hao">{{cite book |last1=Hao |first1=Zhidong |title=Whither Taiwan and Mainland China: National Identity, the State and Intellectuals |date=2010 |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |isbn=9789622091009 |page=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4nXpumhuT6gC&pg=PA32}}</ref><ref name="yku">{{cite book |last1=Ku |first1=Y. |title=Welfare Capitalism in Taiwan: State, Economy and Social Policy |date=1997 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9780230377875 |page=217 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JJV_DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA217}}</ref> Lin was a member of the Chestnut Leaved Oak Poetry Society, established in 1902, and offered his house as the headquarters for the group.<ref name="chum">{{cite news |last1=Chu |first1=Monique |title=Historic manuscripts go on display |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/local/archives/2000/06/16/0000040189 |accessdate=23 June 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=16 June 2000}}</ref><ref name="reformersvisit"/> Lin Hsien-tang became patriarch of the Lin family in 1904, when the son of {{ill|Lin Chao-tung|zh|林朝棟}}, {{ill|Lin Tzu-keng|zh|林資鏗}}, moved to China after his father's death. Lin Tzu-keng later renounced Japanese citizenship and became the first Taiwanese to be granted Republic of China citizenship in 1913.<ref name="citizenship">{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: A question of citizenship |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2017/05/07/2003670098/2 |accessdate=23 June 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=7 May 2015}}</ref> Despite living on Japanese Taiwan from 1895, Lin Hsien-tang spoke only Hokkien and did not learn Japanese.<ref name="reformersvisit"/><ref name="mar"/> He married {{ill|Yang Shuei-hsin|zh|楊水心}}.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: The devout and determined poet |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2019/04/21/2003713769/2 |accessdate=21 April 2019 |work=Taipei Times |date=21 April 2019}}</ref> The couple raised four children, sons {{ill|Lin Pan-lung|zh|林攀龍}}, {{ill|Lin You-lung|zh|林猶龍}},<ref>{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: Marital challenges across the colonial divide |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2025/08/31/2003842963 |access-date=31 August 2025 |work=Taipei Times |date=31 August 2025}}</ref> Lin Yun-lung,<ref>{{cite news |title=林雲龍 |url=https://tm.ncl.edu.tw/article?u=016_002_0000293767&lang=chn |access-date=30 August 2025 |publisher=Taiwan Memory}}</ref> and daughter Lin Guan-guan.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Yu-Lan |title=林獻堂生活中的女性 |journal=興大歷史學報 |date=June 2012 |issue=24 |pages=59–98 |doi=10.29624/CHJH.201206.0002 |trans-title=Women in Lin Hsien-Tang's Life}}</ref> Lin Hsien-tang was a patron of the arts, responsible for partial funding of Yen Shui-long's education in France.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: A lifelong proponent of 'Made in Taiwan' |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2022/05/29/2003778959 |access-date=29 May 2022 |work=Taipei Times |date=29 May 2022}}</ref>
==Later life and activism== Lin Hsien-tang was an admirer of Liang Qichao;<ref name="hao"/> the two met in Japan in 1907.<ref name="reformersvisit">{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: The reformer's visit |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2018/03/25/2003689977/2 |accessdate=23 June 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=25 March 2018}}</ref> Liang stressed to Lin that China would be unable to help end Japanese colonialism in Taiwan, and advised against armed rebellion.<ref name="reformersvisit"/> They met again in Taiwan in 1911.<ref name="reformersvisit"/> Subsequently, Lin co-founded several sociopolitical initiatives against Japanese rule.<ref name="yku"/><ref name="nakanor">{{cite book |last1=Nakano |first1=Ryoko |title=Beyond the Western Liberal Order: Yanaihara Tadao and Empire as Society |date=2013 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=9781137290502 |page=102 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pdkDT8RIvTkC&pg=PA102}}</ref> The {{ill|Taiwan Assimilation Society|zh|台灣同化會}}, established by Lin in 1914 with the help of Itagaki Taisuke, espoused assimilation and equality between Japanese and Taiwanese.<ref name="yku"/><ref name="nakanor"/> In 1920 the {{ill|Taiwan Youth (1920)|zh|臺灣青年 |lt=''Taiwan Youth''}} published its first issue.<ref name="nsp">{{cite news |last1=Na |first1=Su-phoh |title=Taiwanese youth creating new era |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2015/07/26/2003623903 |accessdate=23 June 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=26 July 2015}}</ref> The publication was funded by Lin Hsien-tang, Lin Hsiung-cheng, Koo Hsien-jung, and {{ill|Yen Yun-nien|zh|顏雲年}}.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: Three 'Taiwan Youths,' three ideologies |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2024/07/14/2003820774 |access-date=14 July 2024 |work=Taipei Times |date=14 July 2024}}</ref><ref name="hsucj">{{cite book |last1=Hsu |first1=Chien-Jung |title=The Construction of National Identity in Taiwan's Media, 1896-2012 |date=2014 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004227699 |page=24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qdhXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24}}</ref> Lin Hsien-tang was a cofounder of the Taiwanese Cultural Association and Taiwanese People's Party.<ref name="firsttaiintime">{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: A life devoted to political freedom |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2015/08/02/2003624440 |accessdate=23 June 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=2 August 2015}}</ref><ref name="Ko2282003">{{cite news |last1=Ko |first1=Shu-ling |title=Remembering 228: Facing a violent past |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2003/02/28/196200 |accessdate=23 June 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=28 February 2003}}</ref> Lin took leadership roles in both organizations.<ref name="opium">{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: Say no to opium |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2017/01/22/2003663561 |accessdate=23 June 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=22 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="lee2004">{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Shiao-feng |title=Chiang Wei-shui deserves to be honored |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2004/08/07/2003182074 |accessdate=23 June 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=7 August 2004}}</ref><ref name="yusl">{{cite news |last1=Yu |first1=Sen-Lun |title=Discovering the people who made Taiwan |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2003/01/10/0000190489 |accessdate=23 June 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=10 January 2003}}</ref> While leading the Taiwanese Cultural Association, Lin headed the Petition Movement for the Establishment of a Taiwanese Parliament to secure Taiwanese representation within the imperial Japanese government. Starting in 1921, Lin submitted annual petitions to the Imperial Diet, asking to convene a Taiwan Provincial Assembly.<ref name="reformersvisit"/><ref name="sky">{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: Anti-colonial messages from the sky |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2016/10/16/2003657251 |accessdate=23 June 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=16 October 2016}}</ref> The initiative, taken over by the League for the Establishment of a Formosan Parliament in 1923, was unsuccessful, and ended in 1934.<ref name="hao"/><ref name="nakanor"/> In 1926, Lin and Chen Hsin founded the Tatung Trust Company.<ref name="YangDisillusion">{{cite news |last1=Yang |first1=Ching-tsu |title=Disillusion forged a new identity |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2000/02/28/0000025904/1 |accessdate=23 June 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=28 February 2000}}</ref>
In May 1927, Lin embarked on a year-long trip across the world, spending most of his time in Europe and the United States. His travel writings included frequent social commentary, and appeared in ''Taiwan Minpao'' from 1927 to 1931.<ref name="taitimejourney">{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: A political activist's journey to the West |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2018/12/09/2003705767/1 |accessdate=9 December 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=9 December 2018}}</ref>
After he returned to Taiwan, Lin and {{ill|Tsai Pei-huo|zh|蔡培火}} founded the {{ill|Taiwanese Alliance for Home Rule|zh|臺灣地方自治聯盟}} in 1930, which advocated for local autonomy.<ref name="fractured">{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: Fractured resistance |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2018/08/12/2003698377 |accessdate=12 August 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=12 August 2018}}</ref> Several members of the Taiwanese's People's Party that joined the new alliance were expelled from the party, and Lin withdrew from the party in protest.<ref name="fractured" /> Lin's work with the alliance resulted in the local elections of 1935.<ref name="fractured" /><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Taiwan |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Taiwan/Cultural-life#ref337517}}</ref> Lin himself was named to the House of Peers.<ref name="mar" /> In 1936, he was forced to resign from all his public positions. The alliance disbanded in August 1937, after the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War.<ref name="fractured" /><ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Shin |editor-first1=Gi-Wook |editor-last2=Sneider |editor-first2=Daniel C. |title=History Textbooks and the Wars in Asia |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136830914 |page=180 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8_-rAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA180}}</ref> Near the war's end, Lin and five others from Taiwan went to Shanghai to meet Kuomintang-affiliated officials and Taiwanese expatriates based in the city. While in Shanghai, Lin and his delegation were invited to attend the signing of an instrument of surrender between Yasuji Okamura and He Yingqin. However, the group did not arrive in time for the ceremony.<ref name="rejected">{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: The rejected and disappointed patriots |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2019/09/08/2003721904/2 |accessdate=8 September 2019 |work=Taipei Times |date=8 September 2019}}</ref>
Lin began learning Mandarin, and lent his support to the Kuomintang.<ref name="rejected"/> Lin met with Chen Yi immediately upon Chen's arrival in Taiwan on 24 October 1945.<ref name="rejected"/> Lin became a member of the Kuomintang in November of that year,<ref name="rejected"/> and was later appointed to the Taiwan Provincial Assembly, then known as the Taiwan Representative Council.<ref name="mar">{{cite book |last1=Rubinstein |first1=Murray A. |title=Taiwan: A New History |date=2007 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=9780765614940 |page=302 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHqMJSM6dAYC&pg=PA302}}</ref><ref name="rejected"/> The provincial legislature forced land reform, despite objections from landowners, several of whom were targeted during the 228 Incident of 1947.<ref name="mar"/><ref name="huangjj">{{cite book |last1=Huang |first1=Junjie |title=Taiwan in Transformation, 1895-2005 |date=2006 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=9780765803115 |pages=40–41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U9ipfGqG7hAC&pg=PA40}}</ref> As the events of the uprising led to unrest in Taichung, Lin called for veteran military officer {{ill|Wu Chen-wu|zh|吳振武}} to led a resistance movement, distrusting 27 Brigade leader Hsieh Hsueh-hung for her communist beliefs.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=Taiwan in Time: Students of the resistance |url=https://taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2022/02/27/2003773848 |access-date=27 February 2022 |work=Taipei Times |date=27 February 2022}}</ref> Lin remained a member of the Taiwan Representative Council after the uprising. The legislative body held little power, and Lin attempted to resign several times, only to be refused.<ref name="rejected"/> As a result, Lin left Taiwan for Japan on 23 September 1949,<ref name="mar"/><ref name="rejected"/> on leave for medical treatment.<ref name="mar"/><ref name="rejected"/> Lin ignored all calls to return to Taiwan,<ref name="rejected"/> and he died in Tokyo in September 1956.<ref name="rejected"/><ref name="huangjj"/>
==Legacy== [[File:Museum of Lin Hsien-Tang in Wufong, Taichung, Taiwan.JPG|thumb|Lin Hsien-tang Residence Museum]] ''Lin Hsien-tang’s Travel Writings from around the Globe'', based on Lin's writing while overseas from 1927 to 1928, was posthumously published after Lin's secretary {{ill|Yeh Jung-chung|zh|葉榮鐘}} finished editing it in Lin's stead.<ref name="taitimejourney"/> Lin Fang-ying, a descendant of Lin Hsien-tang's, opened the Lin Hsien-tang Residence Museum to commemorate him in May 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chen |first1=Chien-chih |last2=Chin |first2=Jonathan |title=Private museum celebrating activist Lin Hsien-tang opens in Taichung |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2019/05/26/2003715815 |accessdate=27 May 2019 |work=Taipei Times |date=26 May 2019}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Hsien-tang}} Category:1881 births Category:1956 deaths Category:Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Category:20th-century Taiwanese politicians Category:Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Taichung Category:Taiwanese political party founders Category:Taiwanese bankers Category:Members of the House of Peers (Japan) Category:Political office-holders in Taiwan Category:Lin family (Wufeng) Category:Political office-holders in the Republic of China on Taiwan Category:Taiwanese democracy activists Category:Taiwanese emigrants to Japan Category:Taiwanese exiles Category:Taiwanese collaborators with the Empire of Japan Category:Kuomintang politicians in Taiwan Category:Taiwanese art patrons