Modernization of Fortifications: Bastion Forts in Nineteenth-Century Vietnam, Japan, and Taiwan (81170)
Session Chair: Sumanatsya Voharn
Saturday, 25 May 2024 11:50
Session: Session 2
Room: Room 705
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Since the late 18th century, three East Asian countries, Vietnam, Japan, and China, have each adopted new military engineering ideas from Europe due to changes in the international situation and warfare patterns. These new concepts can be traced back to breakthroughs in military technology during the European Renaissance and early modern fortification designs. The former is attributed to gunpowder, while the latter gave rise to bastion fort with the principle of enfilade, which were also practiced in European overseas colonial outposts worldwide. The Citadel of Saigon during the Nguyễn dynasty was the earliest autonomous bastion fort in East Asia. In the 19th century, influenced by their military modernization movements, the Tokugawa shogunate built Goryokaku in Hokkaido, and the Qing dynasty built Eternal Golden Fort in Anping, Tainan, Taiwan. Meanwhile, in Europe, rapid advancements in military technology rendered bastions obsolete. However, in East Asia, due to the coincidental choices of key figures, these forts still adopted bastion concepts, with military engineering ideas mainly sourced from France. In the late 19th century, these countries systematically began to introduce new construction techniques and personnel from Europe. In summary, this study focuses on Eternal Golden Fort, Goryokaku, and the Citadel of Saigon to explore the origins of their design concepts. It seeks to clarify the commonalities of East Asian forts in the modernization process under 19th-century international exchanges and the diverse traits they represented after localization.
Authors:
Ta-Wei Wang, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
En-Yu Huang, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
About the Presenter(s)
Mr Ta-wei Wang is a University Doctoral Student at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan
See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule
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