New PTS historical drama, Karisi Flowers (傀儡花)

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They are turning a novel by Dr. Chen Yao-cang (陳耀昌) about the Rover incident into a TV mini-series.

The Rover incident took place on March 12, 1867, where an American merchant ship Rover wrecked near Paiwan’s Kuarut territory (present day Kenting), and the two sides clashed, resulting in 13 crew members being killed, with just one Chinese sailor escaping to Qing held territory.

The Americans demanded that Qing punish the perpetrators, but Qing replied that the savages territory is not a part of the Qing empire. The Americans then decided to take the matters into their own hands and sent the USS Hartford and USS Wyoming to carry out a punitive expedition with a force of 181 men.

18 Paiwan tribes united under Chief Tauketok (卓杞篤) of the tribe Seqalu (斯卡羅) to defend against the invasion. The Americans were stumped by the immense heat, dense jungle, and repeated ambush. The Americans retreated after Lieutenant Commander A.S. MacKenzie suffered a fatal wound.

American diplomat Charles W. Le Gendre went back into Paiwan territory to negotiate a treaty with Chief Tauketok, and the Paiwan promised to not raid American ship wrecks and provide assistance to those with a red flag.

This event led to the Japanese doing the same and had a little invasion of their own just 2 years later.

It’s called Karisi Flower because Qing referred to the Paiwan as 傀儡 savages, which is a translation of the Paiwan tribe of Karisi.

Wonder how this thing will turn out. They are gonna need someone to play Charles W. Le Gendre.

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