1st Edition

Why Taiwan? Anthropological Perspectives

Edited By Shuenn-der Yu, Anru Lee Copyright 2026
222 Pages 7 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book considers why Taiwan matters independent of the China-centric paradigm by both examining anthropological research on Taiwan as well as how to study Taiwan anthropologically, re-asserting the ontological status of Taiwan as a legitimate object of scholarly inquiry.

Meanings of Why Taiwan? – An Introduction

By Anru LEE and Shuenn-der YU

 

1.Why Taiwan Mattered: Oral Histories from the Cold War Anglophone Anthropology of China in Taiwan

By Derek SHERIDAN

 

2. Taiwan Doesn’t Matter Until It Does: Navigating the Crossroads of China and Taiwan Studies

By Marc L. MOSKOWITZ

 

3. Indigenous Lives Matter: The Relevance of Indigeneity to Taiwan and to Anthropology

By Scott E. SIMON

 

4. Imports via a Conduit: An Anthropological Encounter with Taiwan in Mainland China

By Jinghong ZHANG

 

5. When a Local Invented Tradition Becomes Heritage Culture for All of China: The Paradox of Taiwan’s Tea Art

By Shuenn-der YU

 

6. From Sea Goddess to Peace Goddess: The Export of Taiwan’s Cult of Mazu

By Hsun CHANG

 

7. Gambling and Affect: Risking and Daring in Cold War Matsu

By Wei-ping LIN

 

8. Revisiting “Taiwanese Food Culture”: The Culinary Contact Zone of East and Southeast Asian Foodways

By Yujen CHEN

 

9. Worlding Taiwanese Aquaculture Technology: Science Diplomacy, Experts, and Know-How Transfer

By Eric Siu-kei CHENG

 

Afterword to Why Taiwan?

By Robert P. WELLER

Biography

Shuenn-der Yu is a research fellow at the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.

Anru Lee is Professor of Anthropology and Global Asian Studies at John Jay College, the City University of New York, USA.