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.

In 1973 twenty-five young women drowned in a ferry accident on their way to work in factories in Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone. Their remains were recovered and interred collectively in what came to be called the Twenty-five Maiden Ladies Tomb. Without a husband’s ancestral hall where they would have been laid to rest, the spirits of these unmarried women were considered homeless and possibly vengeful, and so the Maiden Ladies Tomb was viewed as a place to be avoided—especially...

Taiwan's rapid socio-economic and political transformation has given rise to a gender-conscious middle class that is attempting to redefine the roles of women in society, to restructure relationship patterns, and to organize in groups outside the family unit. This book examines internal psychological processes and external societal processes as the feminist movement in Taiwan expands and new gender roles are explored. The contributors represent a cross section of different disciplines - hi...