Jyuguang (莒光鄉 Pinyin: Jǔguāng Wade-Giles: Chü³-kuang²) is a township of Lienchiang County, Republic of China (Taiwan). Jyuguang Township includes two major Matsu islands -- Dongjyu Island (東莒 "East Jyu" Dongju) and Sijyu Island (西莒 "West Jyu" Xiju) -- and some islets. Neither Dongjyu nor Sijyu has an island-wide administrative level. Pinyin (拼音, pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin used in the... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. ... Lianjiang (連江; 连江; Liánjiāng; Lien²-chiang¹) is a county on the coast of Fujian Province, China. ... National motto: None Official name (Traditional Chinese: 中華民國; Simplified Chinese: 中华民国; Wade-Giles: Chung-hua Min-kuo, Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuá MínGuó, Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó, Taiwanese: Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok) Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked... The Matsu Islands (馬祖列島 or less frequently, 馬祖群島 Pinyin: Mǎzǔ) are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County (連江 Pinyin: Liánjiāng), Fujian Province of the Republic of China (ROC, based on Taiwan). ...

Administration

Both islands have villages as the first-level division within:

• Sijyu Island
  • Cingfan Village (青帆村 Qīngfán)
  • Siciou Village (西坵村 Xīqīu)
  • Tianwo Village (田沃村 Tiánwò)
• Dongjyu Island
  • Daping Village (大坪村 Dàpíng)
  • Fujhen Village (福正村 Fúzhèn)

History

Dongjyu and Sijyu Islands were Dongcyuan (東犬 Dongquan) and Sicyuan (西犬 Xiquan) Islands, meaning "Eastern Dog" and "Western Dog" respectively. Sometimes they called the Baicyuan Islands (白犬島 Baiquan) or Baiken Islands (白肯島 Baiken).

They were renamed after the speech Chiang Kai-shek quote, "forget not that you're in Jyü" (毋忘在莒). It refers to the City of Jyu (Ju) during the Zhou Dynasty, where Qi (齊) King prepares a counterattack that retook his State from the State of Yan (燕). This is an analogy of Matsu and Taiwan as bases of the Republic of China to regenerate itself and one day recover mainland China. Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887–April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. ... The Zhou Dynasty (周朝; Wade-Giles: Chou Dynasty) (late 10th century BC to late 9th century BC - 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... An analogy is a comparison between two different things, in order to highlight some form of similarity. ... National motto: None Official name (Traditional Chinese: 中華民國; Simplified Chinese: 中华民国; Wade-Giles: Chung-hua Min-kuo, Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuá MínGuó, Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó, Taiwanese: Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok) Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked... In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ...

Geography

Dongjyu, the southernmost of the Matsu Islands, is 2.63 km² and Sijyu 2.36 km². Islets includes like Yongliou (永留嶼 Yongliu) near Dongjyu. Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ...

There is one accessible seaport on Sijyu, and two on Dongjyu. Dongjyu is shaped like a dagger, while Sijyu a triangle, so seemingly bigger on maps. For the typographical mark, see dagger (typography). ... For alternate meanings, such as the musical instrument, see triangle (disambiguation). ...

Some cliffs of Dongjyu is severely corroded by wind, creating a strangely aesthetic appearance. Wind is the quasi-horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by a horizontal pressure gradient force. ...

Tourism

The 19.5-metre (54-step) lighthouse on northern Dongjyu, made during the late Qing Dynasty with granite. The guiding light is in the shape of a clam and can reach 16.7 nautical miles. Dongjyu Lighhouse is a second-level national historic building. In front of the lighthouse, there used to be four mist-cannon for signaling, but has now been removed and placed in the Cultural Museum of Matsu History (馬祖歷史文物館 Matsu Lishi Wenwuguan). The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner Asia, establishing the... Maxima clam (Tridacna maxima) Clams are shelled marine or freshwater molluscs belonging to the class Bivalvia. ... A nautical mile is a unit of distance, or length, as physical scientists like to call it. ...

The 42-character Dapu Stone Inscription (大埔石刻), in Dapu Seaport of Dongjyu, was made during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, concerning the capture of pirates alive. Remembering-the-Past Pavilion (懷古亭 Huaigu Ting) was constructed in 1966 sheltering the stone. The Ming Dynasty (Chinese: 明朝; Pinyin: míng cháo also called 大明帝国 The Great Ming Empire) was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, though claims to the Ming throne (now collectively called the Southern Ming) survived until 1662. ... A pirate is one who robs or plunders at sea without a commission from a recognised sovereign nation. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ...

In the sea south of the Sijyu, there is Snake Mountain (蛇山). The main island has a small Green-sail Seaport (青帆港), two water reservoirs and a middle-elementary school, but are not major tourist attractions. Middle school and junior high school cover a period of education that straddles primary education and secondary education and serve as a bridge between them. ... Primary or elementary education is the first years of formal, structured education that occurs during childhood. ...

See also

• political divisions of the Republic of China