A statue of a man holding a carp dating back to the Japanese colonial era was unearthed in Hualien City, local officials said on Monday.
The 1.5m statue, which is a symbol of good fortune and prosperity, was originally installed in the late 1930s in a square in front of the old Hualien Railway Station (now the Hualien Railway Culture Park).
In the 1980s, the city’s railway station was moved to its current location further west, on Guolian 1st Road, and the statue was buried and replaced with a water fountain.
Photo: Wang Chun-chi, Taipei Times
Last month, workers unexpectedly unearthed the statue when they were renovating the fountain, the city said.
“The Japanese had placed the statue in front of the old Hualien Railway Station, because it faces the Pacific Ocean and is close to Hualien Port,” cultural historian Huang Chia-jung (黃家榮) said.
“The idea was that it symbolized the prosperity of local commerce, as large ships would come into the port for trade,” Huang added.
Huang said the statue showed signs of wear and damage due to age, and suggested that it be restored and placed in its original location, or put on display somewhere in the city.
“It would be nice to leave it here so people can learn more about Hualien’s history,” he said.
The unearthed statue is one of three carp statues from the era in the county, he said.
The other two are at the Catholic church in the county’s Sincheng Township (新城) and Shoufeng Junior High School in Shoufeng Township (壽豐), he said, adding that all three statues have historical significance.
Hualien Mayor Wei Chia-hsien (魏嘉賢) said the city’s residents had long known that the statue was buried somewhere near the fountain, and there were calls for workers to exercise caution when renovation on the fountain began last month.
The mayor said that finding the statue was a good omen for the city, and that he was happy to see it unearthed before he leaves office.
As he prepares to hand over the mayorship, he said he hopes the incoming mayor would continue to work with cultural and historical workers, and that experts and academics would work together to preserve cultural relics in the city.
Restoring the statue in its original location, or preserving it in another way that allows people to relive their memories of the statue, would be best, he said, echoing Huang’s suggestion.
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