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NCKU History Department’s Village History Project Presents “Look for Village 5” at Its First Book Launch in Chihkan, Penghu
Led by Professor Shih-Yuan Hsieh of the Department of History at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), the faculty-student team has published its latest work, Look for Village 5: Chihkan Village, Baisha Township, Penghu — Clove, Deities, and the Shoreline Beyond《誌村鑑 5：澎湖白沙赤崁村─丁香、神明與岸上延伸的海》. The book was officially released on June 1.
Originating from a micro-credit course offered by the NCKU Department of History, the book was jointly written by NCKU faculty and students together with local authors in Penghu. Through the “Look for Village Writing Team (誌村鑑寫作隊),” participants entered the community and conducted field-based research, transforming a higher education fieldwork project into a publication accessible to the public.
On the afternoon of June 6, the NCKU team brought this book—grown out of field research—back to its place of origin, Chihkan Village, for its first book sharing event. The event expressed gratitude to local residents who contributed interviews and assistance during the research process. Director-General Yu-Yun Chen of the Penghu County Cultural Affairs Bureau also attended and welcomed the publication, expressing hope that it would inspire further momentum for village history documentation across Penghu.
Cross-College Support Enables History Fieldwork to Reach Further
The Look for Village book series was initiated and developed by Professor Shih-Yuan Hsieh’s team at the NCKU Department of History. Since its launch in 2022, the series has produced multiple volumes covering regions including Matsu, Beimen in Tainan, and Minzu Village in Chiayi. The fifth volume marks the project’s first exploration of an offshore island community in Penghu.
Supported by the “Benchmark Program for Humanities and Social Sciences in Universities — Arts Program” organized by the NCKU College of Planning and Design, the project demonstrates the achievements of interdisciplinary collaboration and the promotion of public humanities research at NCKU.
This support has enabled a micro-credit history course to serve as a platform for field-based learning in higher education, guiding students from archival research and classroom study into real-world communities. The outcomes of the course are not limited to student assignments; instead, the project explores how academic knowledge can reach broader audiences and how diverse channels for knowledge circulation can be developed.
The Spirit of Public History: Telling Local Stories Through Local Voices
Professor Shih-Yuan Hsieh, chief planner of the series, explained that the central question behind Look for Village has always been: “How can a village be written in a way that presents its full complexity?”
Through fieldwork, the team learned that local stories must be told through language and perspectives understood by the community itself in order to truly reflect the context and character of a place. Therefore, returning to the village for the book sharing event was not a celebration of achievement, but rather a process of returning the book to the residents who helped create it.
Professor Hsieh particularly expressed appreciation for the contributions of Ms. Yue-Yun Chen and Captain Sheng-Shou Sung, hoping they would see how their personal stories have become part of the village’s historical record.
With Professor Pao-An Lin of National Penghu University of Science and Technology serving as a project consultant and helping connect local networks, the book was completed through collaboration with the professional publishing team “Uli Books (有理文化).” The project demonstrates that academic publications can also become accessible, engaging, and widely readable books for the general public.
A Village-Only Homecoming Event: The People Featured in the Book Join the Celebration
The first book sharing event, titled “A Limited Village Homecoming Session,” was held at 2:30 p.m. on June 6 at the Chihkan Community Activity Center. Professor Shih-Yuan Hsieh and Professor Pao-An Lin served as the main speakers.
Local partners, including Chihkan Longde Temple and Captain Sung Sheng-Shou, attended to show their support. Many villagers featured in the book also participated in person, embodying the spirit of NCKU’s research approach: “From the community, back to the community.”
To continue the dialogue between the course, the book, and the community, the team also launched the “Chihkan Summer Walking Tour.” Led by members of the author team, the tour invites readers to visit the actual locations featured in the book. The event is limited to 15 participants, with registration details announced on the Zeczec crowdfunding page.
▍Event & Publication Information
Title | Look for Village 5: Chikan Village, Baisha, Penghu – Cloves, Deities, and the Sea Extending from the Shore
Publication Date | June 1, 2026
Publisher | Rational Culture
Project Support | College of Planning and Design, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), “Benchmark Program in Humanities and Social Sciences for Higher Education Institutions – Arts Project”
Book Purchase & Field Walk Tours | Zeczec crowdfunding page
▍About the Department of History, NCKU, and the Look for Village Book Series
The Look for Village book series project, directed by Professor Shih-Yuan Hsieh, connects academia and society through the methodology of public history. Through field-based writing, exhibition curation, and community co-creation, it rethinks how historical narratives can enter public life.
Adopting a “one village, one chronicle” approach, Look for Village provides in-depth portrayals of settlements across Taiwan. To date, volumes have covered Matsu, Beimen in Tainan, Minzu Village in Chiayi, among others. The fifth volume, focusing on Chikan Village in Baisha, Penghu, marks the first major extension of the project into the offshore Penghu islands and represents a significant milestone. It also serves as a key example of interdisciplinary collaboration at NCKU in advancing public humanities research.
Originating from a micro-credit course offered by the NCKU Department of History, the book was jointly written by NCKU faculty and students together with local authors in Penghu. Through the “Look for Village Writing Team (誌村鑑寫作隊),” participants entered the community and conducted field-based research, transforming a higher education fieldwork project into a publication accessible to the public.
On the afternoon of June 6, the NCKU team brought this book—grown out of field research—back to its place of origin, Chihkan Village, for its first book sharing event. The event expressed gratitude to local residents who contributed interviews and assistance during the research process. Director-General Yu-Yun Chen of the Penghu County Cultural Affairs Bureau also attended and welcomed the publication, expressing hope that it would inspire further momentum for village history documentation across Penghu.
Cross-College Support Enables History Fieldwork to Reach Further
The Look for Village book series was initiated and developed by Professor Shih-Yuan Hsieh’s team at the NCKU Department of History. Since its launch in 2022, the series has produced multiple volumes covering regions including Matsu, Beimen in Tainan, and Minzu Village in Chiayi. The fifth volume marks the project’s first exploration of an offshore island community in Penghu.
Supported by the “Benchmark Program for Humanities and Social Sciences in Universities — Arts Program” organized by the NCKU College of Planning and Design, the project demonstrates the achievements of interdisciplinary collaboration and the promotion of public humanities research at NCKU.
This support has enabled a micro-credit history course to serve as a platform for field-based learning in higher education, guiding students from archival research and classroom study into real-world communities. The outcomes of the course are not limited to student assignments; instead, the project explores how academic knowledge can reach broader audiences and how diverse channels for knowledge circulation can be developed.
The Spirit of Public History: Telling Local Stories Through Local Voices
Professor Shih-Yuan Hsieh, chief planner of the series, explained that the central question behind Look for Village has always been: “How can a village be written in a way that presents its full complexity?”
Through fieldwork, the team learned that local stories must be told through language and perspectives understood by the community itself in order to truly reflect the context and character of a place. Therefore, returning to the village for the book sharing event was not a celebration of achievement, but rather a process of returning the book to the residents who helped create it.
Professor Hsieh particularly expressed appreciation for the contributions of Ms. Yue-Yun Chen and Captain Sheng-Shou Sung, hoping they would see how their personal stories have become part of the village’s historical record.
With Professor Pao-An Lin of National Penghu University of Science and Technology serving as a project consultant and helping connect local networks, the book was completed through collaboration with the professional publishing team “Uli Books (有理文化).” The project demonstrates that academic publications can also become accessible, engaging, and widely readable books for the general public.
A Village-Only Homecoming Event: The People Featured in the Book Join the Celebration
The first book sharing event, titled “A Limited Village Homecoming Session,” was held at 2:30 p.m. on June 6 at the Chihkan Community Activity Center. Professor Shih-Yuan Hsieh and Professor Pao-An Lin served as the main speakers.
Local partners, including Chihkan Longde Temple and Captain Sung Sheng-Shou, attended to show their support. Many villagers featured in the book also participated in person, embodying the spirit of NCKU’s research approach: “From the community, back to the community.”
To continue the dialogue between the course, the book, and the community, the team also launched the “Chihkan Summer Walking Tour.” Led by members of the author team, the tour invites readers to visit the actual locations featured in the book. The event is limited to 15 participants, with registration details announced on the Zeczec crowdfunding page.
▍Event & Publication Information
Title | Look for Village 5: Chikan Village, Baisha, Penghu – Cloves, Deities, and the Sea Extending from the Shore
Publication Date | June 1, 2026
Publisher | Rational Culture
Project Support | College of Planning and Design, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), “Benchmark Program in Humanities and Social Sciences for Higher Education Institutions – Arts Project”
Book Purchase & Field Walk Tours | Zeczec crowdfunding page
▍About the Department of History, NCKU, and the Look for Village Book Series
The Look for Village book series project, directed by Professor Shih-Yuan Hsieh, connects academia and society through the methodology of public history. Through field-based writing, exhibition curation, and community co-creation, it rethinks how historical narratives can enter public life.
Adopting a “one village, one chronicle” approach, Look for Village provides in-depth portrayals of settlements across Taiwan. To date, volumes have covered Matsu, Beimen in Tainan, Minzu Village in Chiayi, among others. The fifth volume, focusing on Chikan Village in Baisha, Penghu, marks the first major extension of the project into the offshore Penghu islands and represents a significant milestone. It also serves as a key example of interdisciplinary collaboration at NCKU in advancing public humanities research.
The “Return to the Village Limited Session” book sharing event for Look for Village 5 by the NCKU Department of History was successfully held at the Chihkan Community Activity Center in Baisha Township, Penghu. The authors gathered for a commemorative group photo.
Professor Shih-Yuan Hsieh of the NCKU Department of History shares the two-year fieldwork journey of the “Zhicun Jian Writing Team” in Chihkan Village, as well as how NCKU’s cross-college resources supported the implementation of this educational initiative.
Professor Pao-An Lin of National Penghu University of Science and Technology, the project consultant for the book series, helped establish connections with the local community network. At the event, he shared his observations and reflections on Chihkan Village from a local perspective. Representatives at the event also presented copies of the book to two local contributors.
“Isle.Travel (離島出走)”: Fu-Tzu Yang Shares Her Writing Experience
Penghu Councilor Kuo-Yu Wang Shares His Experience Participating in the Zhicun Jian Writing Project
