{"id":915,"date":"2015-03-11T13:14:18","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T05:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/?p=915"},"modified":"2026-10-20T16:36:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T08:36:30","slug":"20150311-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/20150311-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Bonesetter Shih Kuo-tsui, Born in 1884, Was a Qing Subject and Then Japanese, Was Arrested During 228 \u2014 and Died Still Not Knowing What Country He Belonged To"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"915\" class=\"elementor elementor-915\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d1281c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6d1281c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;jet_parallax_layout_list&quot;:[]}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-02498e8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"02498e8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Shih Kuo-tsui was a renowned practitioner of Chinese medicine, skilled in bonesetting and therapeutic massage, and a devout Catholic. Shih Ming Te was the fourth child of Shih Kuo-tsui and his second wife, Chen Ying. He had three elder brothers, Shih Ming-cheng, Shih Ming-ho, and Shih Ming-hsiung; a younger sister, Shih Ming-chu; and a younger brother, Shih Ming-hsin. He was born in the Shih family home on Daren Road in Yanchengpu. At home, everyone called him Aki-Nori.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>The Shih Kuo-tsui family was wealthy, and each child had a wet nurse of his or her own. When American planes bombed Taiwan, the family moved to the countryside; after the Second World War they moved back to Kaohsiung, to a row of five adjoining shop-houses directly across from Kaohsiung Railway Station. It was here that Aki-Nori witnessed the Kaohsiung students who, wave after wave, never retreating, bravely resisted tyranny in the 228 Incident.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ebd34e0 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ebd34e0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2015-03-11-\u4e0b\u53485.02.36.png\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6ODk2LCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3LnNoaWhtaW5ndGUub3JnXC9lblwvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDdcLzIwMTUtMDMtMTEtXHU0ZTBiXHU1MzQ4NS4wMi4zNi5wbmcifQ%3D%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"553\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2015-03-11-\u4e0b\u53485.02.36.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-896\" alt=\"Black-and-white aerial photograph of several small airplanes flying in formation above a sea of clouds, with part of a wing visible in the lower right corner.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2015-03-11-\u4e0b\u53485.02.36.png 553w, https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2015-03-11-\u4e0b\u53485.02.36-300x260.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 553px) 100vw, 553px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7ca919f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7ca919f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>Suddenly, a piercing siren split the silent sky. The child knew the American planes were coming to bomb again. \u201cK\u016bsh\u016b\u201d (air raid) was probably the first and most vivid Japanese word this child ever learned.<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>He sprang up and ran for the air-raid shelter dug into the side of the hill. Soon his parents and brothers ran in too, each clutching some valuables. After the urgent alarm came the rumble of engines drawing nearer, and the roar of a great fleet of planes, like the wailing of ghosts and gods, blanketed the earth and choked the innocent people fleeing. Everyone seemed to have been sentenced to death, waiting for the executioner. In the deathly stillness, his mother\u2019s trembling voice reciting prayers broke the silence in the shelter, and old and young alike began, without meaning to, to pray along with her\u2026.<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>Bomb after bomb exploded, wave after wave of shocks shook the earth, and wind and flying sand poured in through the mouth of the shelter, blowing out the faint candlelight. The darkness doubled the terror, and the family held one another all the tighter. \u201cGod protect us,\u201d \u201cHoly Mary, have mercy on us\u201d \u2026 old and young could only plead helplessly with Heaven\u2026.<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>At last the earth was quiet again. Holding his father\u2019s hand, the child filed out of the shelter with the rest of the family. On the way, the child asked his aged father:<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cPapa, why do the Americans keep coming to kill us?\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cThey aren\u2019t trying to kill us. They\u2019re fighting the Japanese,\u201d his father said.<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cBut this is Taiwan, not Japan.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cYes, but Taiwan is a Japanese colony.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cWhat does colony mean?\u201d The child did not understand.<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cSilly boy, you\u2019re still little; even if Papa explained, you wouldn\u2019t understand. To put it simply, it means Taiwan and the Taiwanese all have to be ruled by the Japanese.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cWhy do we have to be ruled by the Japanese? Why can\u2019t we Taiwanese rule our own Taiwan ourselves?\u201d the child asked again. \u201cIf we Taiwanese ruled our own Taiwan, would the Americans stop coming to kill us?\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cSilly boy, we Taiwanese have been ruled by others for three hundred years already. The red-haired foreigners, Koxinga, the Manchu Qing, the Japanese \u2014 they\u2019ve all ruled Taiwan. Silly boy, when you grow up, you\u2019ll slowly come to understand how pitiful it is to be Taiwanese.\u201d The old man seemed deeply moved.<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>The child paused. He was still too young to truly grasp the unfairness and injustice of human society.<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cPapa, don\u2019t you always say that God loves the world and we are all God\u2019s children?\u201d The child seemed to have run into another puzzle. \u201cThen are the Japanese and the Americans God\u2019s children too?\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cYes, all human beings are God\u2019s children. In the Lord\u2019s eyes, the Japanese, the Americans, and the Taiwanese are all equal; they\u2019re all one family.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cIf everyone is God\u2019s child and we\u2019re all one family, then why do the Japanese come to rule us? Why do the Americans come to kill us?\u201d The child came back to the same old question. He longed for his father to resolve the puzzle in his young heart.<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cBecause our Taiwan is someone else\u2019s colony. We have no country of our own.\u201d The old man\u2019s face grew darker still.<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cBecause we have no country of our own, the Japanese can bully us? The Americans can kill us?\u201d the child asked. \u201cThen why don\u2019t we Taiwanese build a country of our own?\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cSilly boy, don\u2019t talk nonsense! If the Japanese hear you, Papa will be taken away.\u201d The old man tried to frighten the child.<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cPapa, there aren\u2019t any Japanese here to hear us.\u201d The child said, \u201cThe Japanese bully us and the Americans kill us \u2014 can\u2019t we kill them for revenge?\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>\u201cNo!\u201d The old man turned stern. \u201cThe Lord loves all people and does not allow people to kill one another. God loves peace, not war. God wants all people to love one another like brothers and sisters.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1ef4f23 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1ef4f23\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\u2014 From the political will Shih Ming Te wrote in 1980 while facing the death penalty,<\/p><p>in which he recalled this conversation with his father during an air raid.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6df4f4e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6df4f4e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;jet_parallax_layout_list&quot;:[]}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7ca9c65 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"7ca9c65\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2015-03-11-\u4e0b\u53485.41.05.png\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6ODk3LCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3LnNoaWhtaW5ndGUub3JnXC9lblwvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDdcLzIwMTUtMDMtMTEtXHU0ZTBiXHU1MzQ4NS40MS4wNS5wbmcifQ%3D%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"366\" height=\"523\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2015-03-11-\u4e0b\u53485.41.05.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-897\" alt=\"Portrait of an older person wearing a suit with a wide white collar.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2015-03-11-\u4e0b\u53485.41.05.png 366w, https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2015-03-11-\u4e0b\u53485.41.05-210x300.png 210w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 366px) 100vw, 366px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9f01803 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9f01803\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Papa \u2014 Shih Kuo-tsui (1884\u20131953), practitioner of Chinese medicine in the Japanese era and examiner for the Chinese-medicine licensing examinations.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shih Kuo-tsui was a renowned practitioner of Chinese medicine, skilled in bonesetting and therapeutic massage, and a devout Catholic. Shih Ming Te was the fourth child of Shih Kuo-tsui and his second wife, Chen Ying. He had three elder brothers, Shih Ming-cheng, Shih Ming-ho, and Shih Ming-hsiung; a younger sister, Shih Ming-chu; and a younger brother, Shih Ming-hsin. He was born in the Shih family home on Daren Road in Yanchengpu. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"post_folder":[19],"class_list":["post-915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-23"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=915"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3193,"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions\/3193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=915"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shihmingte.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}