Historical Materials, Paintings, Non-fiction: Entering the Writing Backdrop of "Alishan is Not Just a Mountain" (阿里山不是一座山)

"Alishan is Not Just a Mountain" (阿里山不是一座山) is a work jointly published in 2025 by the Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office (阿里山林鐵及文資處) of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, and the Chen Cheng-po Cultural Foundation (陳澄波文化基金會). This book centers on Japanese and Taiwanese painters who had Alishan experiences during the Japanese colonial period. Through their remaining paintings, photographs, letters, and written records, combined with historical data such as the development of the Alishan Forest Railway and the rising popularity of mountain climbing during the Japanese colonial period, it starts from the painters and attempts to lead contemporary readers "back" to Alishan during the Japanese colonial period to further understand the emotions felt by the painters when they came to Alishan for sketching.

This lecture is presented by Ruan Fang-yu (阮芳郁), one of the authors of "Alishan is Not Just a Mountain". She will share how the authors started from paintings and historical materials during the writing process, using non-fiction as a writing strategy to link the painters' works into a readable story.