Taiwanese Voice Dictionary

This app can search Taiwanese.

This app can search Taiwanese.

This app that supports 3 languages: Japanese, Traditional ,Taiwanese.

During the Yuan dynasty, Quanzhou became a major international port for trade with the outside world. From that period onwards, many people from the Hokkien-speaking regions (southern Fujian) started to emigrate overseas due to political and economic reasons. One of the destinations of the emigrants is the relatively undeveloped island of Formosa, starting around 1600. They brought with them their native language, Hokkien.

During the late Ming dynasty, the political chaos pushed more migrants from southern Fujian and eastern Guangdong to Taiwan. The earliest immigrants involved in Taiwan's development included pirate-merchants Chinese Peter [zh] and Zheng Zhilong. In 1621, Chinese Peter and his forces, hailing from Zhangzhou, occupied Ponkan (modern-day Beigang, Yunlin) and started to develop Tirosen (modern-day Chiayi). After the death of Peter and another pirate, Li Dan of Quanzhou, Zheng sought to dominate the Strait of Taiwan. By 1628, he had grown so powerful that the Ming court bestowed him the official title, "Patrolling Admiral".

In 1624, the number of Chinese in the island was about 25,000. During the reign of Chongzhen Emperor (1627–1644), there were frequent droughts in the Fujian region. Zheng and a Chinese official suggested sending victims to Taiwan and provide "for each person three taels of silver and for each three people one ox". Although this plan was never carried out, the Zheng family maintained an interest in Taiwan that would have dire consequences for the Dutch, who ruled Taiwan as Dutch Formosa at the time.