彰化八卦山紅毛井

April 6th, 2015

Hongmao Well (紅毛井) is a historical site located behind the Changhua Arts Museum in Changhua City. Situated at the foot of Baguashan, this well allegedly dates back to the mid-1600s and the Dutch colonial era. The Dutch sunk this well to provide for soldiers and missionaries passing through the area but never actually controlled this land. The name derives from âng-mô͘, which is literally “red hair” in Hokkien or Taiwanese, an obvious visual contrast to the black hair of Chinese people.

Red Hair Well at the foot of Baguashan in Changhua City.

The Dutch ruled much of southern Taiwan from 1624 to 1662 before they were unceremoniously kicked off the island by Koxinga (鄭成功), who founded the short-lived Kingdom of Tungning (東寧王國) in modern-day Tainan, the center of Dutch colonial power. When the well was dug this part of Taiwan would have been part of the Kingdom of Middag, an alliance of Taiwanese Indigenous peoples based in Dadu, just across the river from Changhua City in west Taichung.

Washing clothes in the waters of the Dutch well.

Nowadays the well is also the site of a small shrine to Tudigong (土地公), the Earth God of Chinese folklore. On every occasion I’ve swung by the well I have seen old women washing clothes in the water the runs out of the well. There’s no particular need for this with the preponderance of modern laundries around so I suspect it has something to do with good luck or tradition.