Penghu

See also: Pénghú and P'eng-hu

English

澎湖縣政府
PENGHU COUNTY HALL

Alternative forms

• P'eng-hu, Pênghu (also from Wade–Giles)

Etymology

From the Wade-Giles romanization of Mandarin 澎湖 (Pénghú), Wade–Giles romanization: Pʻêng²-hu².

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -uː

Proper noun

Penghu

1. An insular county of Taiwan.
   • [1845 June, Richard Collinson, “Sailing Directions for the Panghú, or Pescadore Archipelago, with notices of the islands.”, in The Chinese Repository‎^[1], volume XIV, number 6, Canton, →OCLC, page 249:

     We may remark here, that the Pescadore Group of islands forms one of the six districts which constitute Táiwán fú 臺灣府, the department of Táiwán, or Formosa. The Group is called by the Chinese, in their statistical works, Panghú ting, 澎湖廳, or the district of Panghú, and is under the immediate government of a magistrate, a subordinate of the prefect, or chífú, of Formosa. He resides at Mákung (Macon, as the place is called by foreigners), and has under his command a few hundred soldiers.]

   • 1978 December 17, “Home in Penghu for Vietnam refugees”, in Free China Weekly‎^[2], volume XIX, number 50, Taipei, page 2:

     A total of 829 Vietnamese refugees is now being cared for in Penghu (the Pescadores) with the assistance of the Free China Relief Association (FCRA) and military personnel on the islands between Taiwan and the mainland of China.
     . . .
     A special bank account has been opened at a post office in Penghu to collect the cash donations for future distribution to the refugees.
     The Penghu county government is planning to set up an overseas middle school on the island for young refugees.

   • 2014 July 23, “TransAsia Airways Taiwan crash leaves dozens dead”, in France 24‎^[3], archived from the original on 24 July 2014‎^[4]:

     The aircraft took off from Taiwan’s southern city of Kaohsiung, headed for the island of Makong, but crash-landed in Huxi township of Penghu County, the main island of an archipelago also known as the Pescadores.
     “It was thunderstorm conditions during the crash,” said Hsi Wen-guang, a spokesman for the Penghu County Government Fire Bureau.

   • 2022 September 1, George Liao, “High-speed ferry services between Taiwan’s Tainan and Penghu resume operation”, in Taiwan News‎^[5], archived from the original on 02 September 2022‎^[6]:

     The high-speed passenger ship Natchan Rera resumed operation on Wednesday (Aug. 31) to ply the route between Tainan’s Anping Harbor and the outlying island county of Penghu three days a week, according to a press release from Tainan’s Tourism and Travel Bureau.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Penghu.
2. Short for Penghu Island, the largest of the Pescadores, an archipelago in the Taiwan Strait, part of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
   • 1911, PESCADORES (Encyclopædia Britannica)‎^[7], volume 21, page 282:

     The anchorage is at Mako (Makyū or Makun) on the principal island of Penghu.

   • 1926, Hosea Ballou Morse, The Chronicles of the East India Company trading to China‎^[8], volume 1, Clarendon Press, page 48:

     From his base at Amoy the Emperor Kanghi dispatched a fleet of 600 junks against Formosa. In two naval battles, on July 1 and 7, 1683, they defeated the Formosans, and occupied Penghu, one of the Pescadores Islands, forming the key of Taiwan.

   • 1946, PESCADORES (The American Annual An Encyclopedia of the Events of 1945)‎^[9], Americana Corporation, page 593:

     The Japanese constructed a formidable naval base at Mako (Makung Harbor), on Penghu, largest of the islands.

   • 1975 July 18, “ULCCs plan goes ahead”, in Marine Week‎^[10], volume 2, number 29, London, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 7, column 2:

     Mr. Tung apparently plans to lay up 10 tankers at Penghu, an island off West Taiwan (see map, page 1).

   • 1996 March 15, Jonathan Mirsky, “Taiwan President visits islanders to bolster morale”, in The Times‎^[11], number 65,528, →ISSN, →OCLC, Overseas News, page 15, column 1:

     Mr Lee descended on Penghu, one of the Pescadores, with a population of 90,000, in the afternoon, immediately after military jets had buzzed the airstrip to ensure his safety. Penghu lies in the middle of the Taiwan Strait.
     Addressing a large rally, he compared himself to the native goddess Matsu, who gave her life for others. "Your President should love and protect the people like her," he said. "Matsu will not abandon Penghu, and I will not either."

3. Short for Penghu Islands, the Pescadores collectively.
   • 1947, Hollington K. Tong, editor, China Handbook‎^[12], page 33:

     FORMOSA
     During the Cairo Conference in November, 1943, it was agreed among President Chiang Kai-Shek, President Roosevelt, and Prime Minister Churchill that China should recover all the territories she had lost to Japan, including Fomosa (Taiwan) and the Pescadores (Penghu) Islands ceded to the invaders after the first Sino-Japanese War in 1894-95.

   • 1966 December, “Taiwan”, in Alice Taylor, editor, Focus‎^[13], volume 17, number 4, American Geographical Society, page 4:

     In the Penghu Islands, the fourth agricultural region, scanty rainfall, poor soils, and strong winds, limit agricultural production to sweet potatoes and peanuts.

   • 2004, Phil Macdonald, National Geographic Traveler: Taiwan, National Geographic Society, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 32:

     Koxinga's son Jheng Jing succeeded his father and ruled for the next 20 years until his death, when his son, only 12 years old, was placed on the throne. A year later, in 1684, the Jheng navy was all but wiped out near the Penghu Islands.

   • 2016 July 1, Austin Ramzy, “Taiwan Navy Accidentally Fires Antiship Missile, Killing Fisherman”, in The New York Times‎^[14], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 July 2016, Sinosphere‎^[15]:

     The supersonic missile flew for about two minutes toward the Penghu Islands, in the direction of China, but did not cross the midway line in the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China, said the official, Vice Adm. Mei Chia-shu.

   • 2022 August 15, Ryan Woo, Ben Blanchard, “Angry China stages more drills near Taiwan as U.S. lawmakers visit”, in Himani Sarkar, Robert Birsel, Raissa Kasolowsky, editors, Reuters‎^[16], archived from the original on 15 August 2022, Asia Pacific:

     The theatre command said the exercises took place near Taiwan's Penghu islands, which are in the Taiwan Strait and are home to a major air base, and showed close up video of the islands taken by a Chinese air force aircraft.

   • 2022 September 1, George Liao, “High-speed ferry services between Taiwan’s Tainan and Penghu resume operation”, in Taiwan News‎^[17], archived from the original on 02 September 2022‎^[18]:

     Penghu, an archipelago made up of 97 islands, is located in the middle of the Taiwan Strait.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Penghu.

Synonyms

• Pescadores

Translations

island group in the Taiwan Strait

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 澎湖 (paang⁴ wu⁴)

  Hokkien: 澎湖 (Phêⁿ-ô͘)

  Mandarin: 澎湖 (zh) (Pénghú)

• Japanese: 澎湖 (ほうこ, Hōko)

Further reading

• “Penghu”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• Penghu, P'eng-hu, Peng-hu at Google Ngram Viewer
• “Penghu”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “Penghu” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.
• Leon E. Seltzer, editor (1952), “Penghu Island”, in The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World‎^[19], Morningside Heights, NY: Columbia University Press, →OCLC, page 1449, column 3
• Saul B. Cohen, editor (1998), “Penghu Islands or Pescadores”, in The Columbia Gazetteer of the World‎^[20], volume 3, New York: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 2398, column 3