In the early days of Shezi Island, it was an agricultural society with relatively scarce living supplies. Farmers usually wore casual clothing. The most common outfits were a bucket hat, a light jacket and shorts. They usually walking on barefeet. Mr. Wancheng Chen, an elderly man in Shezi Island, said when he was a child, he had to walk the cattles after school and wait until they were full, so they could go home. Cattle was an important labor force for the farmer at that time. Therefore, feeding theem was also an important job. Even in rainy days, people have to walk the cattles. The ancient raincoat of the peasants is known as "brown coat”. It is woven from palm leaves. Before the advent of plastic raincoats, it was quite practical for farmers.
Shepherd in dungarees and dippers cows in the rain
In the rural areas of the 1950s, young children had to help with farming, some carrying heavy loads, some carrying not only young brothers and sisters, but also buckets. Little boys are often dressed in shaved heads and bare feet. Mr. Chen Wancheng once said: At the time, not everyone in the school could have uniforms; in fact, even if they did, they might be picking up old clothes left by their brothers and sisters.
A farmer and his cattle
Little pickers
Mr. Bifeng Chen mentioned that before 1965, the drinking water of the houses along the coast of Shezi Island was directly taken from river water. Only those who were far away from the river bank would use wells to draw water. It can be seen from the photos that washing clothes is no exception. In the past, there was no washing machine for washing clothes. Most of the mother-in-law at home carried large and small wash basins and rubbed them carefully and hard!
Washing clothes by Tamsui river
Tamsui River Bank
Washing clothes by Tamsui river 2
From the photos taken by amateur photographer Mr. Deng Nanguang in Taipei County in the 1950s, it can be seen that the bamboo poles on the clothes hangers are all white undershirts, and the simple style of the farmhouse at that time can also be seen.
The scene of drying clothes
Reference source：
Chen Wan-Cheng. Personal interview. May 02, 2005.
Shezi Island Aesthetic Association."Interview with celebrities in Shezi Island.", 2007.
Taiwan e-Learning & Digital Archives Program. "Business photo gallery and amateur works during the Japanese rule." [Online] https://catalog.digitalarchives.tw/Organization/List.jsp?CID=58636
- Q1: In the past, I could only wear very simple clothes. Only a few husbands could afford cotton clothes. But now everyone only buys brand-name clothing. If you live this kind of life, you may live too luxuriously. The hard work of the peasants. Q2: OK: This requires less fabric and a smaller amount of laundry detergent. Bad: There are many chances of catching a cold, so that as long as the farmer catches a cold, there is no way to farm.(FU-MING)
- In the past, people had to wear light clothing in order to cultivate the field, because it was convenient to walk and work; today people can wear beautiful clothes every day, instead of going to farm and cattle, which is a big difference.
- Speaking of cows, the former Shezi Island had cows in every household. I think it ’s fun. If I was born earlier, would I be a shepherd boy? Then when I was a shepherd boy, when it rained, my body Can I wear a jacket? Is it easy to catch a cold?
- But there is no way to do it! But the boys in our class should be very happy because they are very afraid of heat.(YI-XUAN)
