Baksa or Zuojhen (Zuozhen), Formosa [Taiwan]: Pepohoan dwellings. Photograph by John Thomson, 1871.

View of two ranges of a native house made of reeds [?] with a thatched roof. Two figures in the centre by an entrance. Pieces of domestic equipment all around, e.g. water pots

'Pepo' is a generic term for the aborigines of Taiwan. There are at least eleven groups of aborigines whom Chinese call Pepohoan ('hoan' or 'fan' in Chinese means savages). Yet each group has its own distinct culture and tradition. The one Thomson came across near Tainan is generally thought to have been the Siraiya, which is the biggest group of Pepo in Taiwan, and many of them have intermarried with the local Chinese population. This photograph shows a typical Pepo dwelling in the late 19th century. According to Thomson, it was "tolerably clean, well-arranged, and comfortable, and presents a striking uniformity of design in the different settlements throughout the island". The structure of the dwelling was mainly made from bamboo. It is interesting to note that while the Chinese regarded the Siraiya as 'savages', Thomson found their dwellings were "superior to those of the Chinese squatters, and the people themselves were better dressed."

1871.

1 photograph : glass photonegative, wet collodion ; glass approximately 25.5 x 30.5 cm (10 x 12 in.)

Pepohoan dwellings Formosa China Pepohoan house Bak-su, Formosa 1871 Huts Formosa native Pepohoan Bears Thomson's negative number: "410"

This is one of a collection of original glass negatives made by John Thomson. The negatives, made between 1868 and 1872, were purchased from Thomson by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1921

R. Viénet, Formosa from the earth and from the air 1871-2006, Taiwan: Editions René Viénet, 2006, p. 77

China through the lens of John Thomson, 1868-1872, Beijing: Beijing World Art Museum, 2009, p. 164 (reproduced)

Wellcome Collection 19072i