Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Kinmen
*** Shopping-Tip: Kinmen
{{ Infobox ROC county
| englishname = Kinmen County
| chinesename = 金門縣
| emblem = Kinmen_County_emblem.gif
| abbreviation = Kinmen (金門)
| map = ROC_Quemoy
| capital =
Jincheng
| region = Southern Fujian
| countymagistrate = Lee Chu-feng (�炷烽)
| totalarea = 153.056
| arearank = 16
| percentwater = 0
| totalpop = 61,614
| poprank = 17
| density = 403
| citiesno = n/a
| townshipno = 6
| countyflower =
Cymbidium Four-season orchid
| countytree =
Ceiba Cotton tree
| countybird = n/a
| website = kinmen.gov.tw
}}
'''Kinmen''' ({{zh-cpw|c=金門|p=Jīnmén|w=Chin-men}};
Taiwanese_language#Scripts_and_orthographies POJ: Kim-mn̂g; also romanized '''Quemoy''' from
Min-nan Southern Min (in early Spanish romanization); literally "Golden Door" or "Golden Gate") is a small
archipelago of several
islands administered by the
Republic of China (ROC) government on
Taiwan: Greater Quemoy (大金門),
Lesser Quemoy (小金門), and some
islets. Administratively, it is '''Kinmen County''' of
Fujian (Fuchien) province. The county is claimed as part of
Fujian's
Quanzhou Prefecture by the
People's Republic of China. Some islands of other counties, such as
Wuchiu Wuciou, were transferred to the jurisdiction of Kinmen County by the ROC government following its
Chinese Civil War retreat to Taiwan.
Matsu Islands Matsu is the other set of islands on the Fujian coast controlled by the ROC.
Image:Juguanglou.JPG thumb|left|The Jüguang ("Brightness of Jü") Tower is a famous Kinmen landmark.
Many of the inhabitants speak the
Min-nan Southern Min language. Quemoy is geographically very near
Xiamen (also known as Amoy).
History
As part of Fuchien, Kinmen was not colonised by Japan, as the island of
Taiwan and the
Pescadores were.
The island was the site of extensive shelling between PRC and ROC forces in the
1950s and
1960s and was a major issue in the
U.S. presidential election, 1960 1960 United States Presidential Election between
John F. Kennedy Kennedy and
Richard Nixon Nixon. In the 1950s, the United States threatened to use
nuclear weapons against the PRC, if it attacked the island. See
List of battles over Quemoy.
Image:Jinchengtownview.JPG thumb|left|Jincheng is the county seat of Kinmen.
The island was a military preserve until the mid-
1990s when it was returned to civilian government and travel to and from
Taiwan was allowed. Because of its military situation, development on Quemoy was extremely limited and
it is now a popular weekend tourist destination for Taiwanese and is known for its quiet villages and beaches. Direct travel between
mainland China and Quemoy was opened in
2002, and there has been extensive tourism development on the island in anticipation of Mainland tourists. Direct travel was suspended in
2003 as a result of the
SARS outbreak, but has since resumed.
Politics
The island consistently votes for the
pan-blue coalition. Until the early 1990s, proponents of
Taiwan independence argued that they would consider handing Quemoy to the PRC in any negotiated settlement. This did not sit well with residents, and the
Democratic Progressive Party has sharply backed away from that position to the extent that it added Quemoy and the other small islands to its party flag which contains a map of Taiwan.
Townships
Image:Wuwangzaiju.JPG thumb|The calligraphy of [[Chiang Kai-shek etched on a stone in Kinmen states, "forget not that you're in Jü" as an analogy to the
Warring States Period where the
State of Qi, cornered to the City of Ju, successfully counterattacked and retook his country from the
State of Yan. Other slogans alluding to "retaking the mainland" can still be found in Kinmen.]]
Kinmen County is subdivided into six
township (Taiwan) townships:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
Hanzi !!
Hanyu Pinyin !!
Wade-Giles !!
Tongyong Pinyin !! English meaning
|-
|金城鎮|| JÄ«nchéng || Chin-ch'eng || Jīnchéng ||Golden City
|-
|金沙鎮|| JÄ«nshÄ? || Chin-sha || Jīnshā || Golden Sand
|-
|金湖鎮|| JÄ«nhú || Chin-hu || Jīnhú || Golden Lake
|-
|金寧鄉|| JÄ«nnÃng || Chin-ning || JīnnÃng || Golden Tranquility
|-
|烈嶼鄉|| LièyÇ” || Lie-yü || Lièyǔ || Heroic Islets
|-
|烏坵鄉|| WÅ«qiÅ« || Wu-ch'iu || Wūqiū || Black Mound
|-
|}
All those townships on Greater Quemoy Island start their names with ''Jin'' ("gold"). Lieyu Township encompasses the entire Lesser Quemoy Island, and is closest to
Xiamen.
Wuchiu Wuciou Township is comprised of Greater Ciou Islet (大坵) and Lesser Ciou Islet (小坵).
Jincheng and Jinsha are the largest of the six counties. Altogether, there are 37 Quemoy villages, Three of which -- all in ''Jhen'' (鎮, ''Zhen'') -- are ''Li''-village (里), the rest are ''Cun''-villages (村).
See also:
Political divisions of the Republic of China
External links
-
Government website | [http://www.kinmen.gov.tw/eng/eng.htm (English)]
-
Complete list of the villages in each township
-
maps
-
Satellite image of Greater Quemoy and Lesser Quemoy by Google Maps
{{ROC divisions}}
category:Quemoy
zh-min-nan:Kim-mn̂g
de:Kinmen
ja:金門県
pl:Kinmen
zh:金門
*** Shopping-Tip: Kinmen
