Ts'ao Yung-ho

Ts'ao Yung-ho (; 27 October 1920 – 12 September 2014) was a Taiwanese historian known for his work on the early history of Taiwan. An autodidact and polyglot who failed his university entrance examinations, Ts'ao went on to become the preeminent Taiwanese expert on the Dutch and Spanish colonial eras in Taiwan.

Early life Ts'ao was born in modern-day Taipei City's Shilin District in 1920, to a family that had produced several generations of educators. In 1939, he graduated from Taihoku Prefecture Second Junior High School, but failed his university entrance exams. He later developed a relationship with Iwao Seiichi of Taihoku Imperial University, who had spent time in England and the Netherlands. Iwao taught Ts'ao Dutch, which was essential for Ts'ao to read the archived material from the Dutch Formosa era.

Academic career Ts'ao studied a number of languages in pursuit of his understanding of early Taiwanese history, meaning he could make use of ten languages: Taiwanese, Japanese, English, German, Mandarin Chinese, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin. The long-running historical journal, the Taiwan Bank Periodical was masterminded by Ts'ao, while he was also heavily involved in the monumental series of Chinese source material on Taiwan and Fujian history, the Taiwan Documents Collection .

Works