Mona Rudao

Mona Rudao, or Mouna Rudao (1882 – 1930) was the son of a chief of the Seediq tribe of Taiwanese aborigines. In 1911, he made a visit to Japan. He succeeded his father as a chief of the village of Mahebo and became one of the most influential chiefs of the area of Wushe.

He became famous for having carried out the revolt of Wushe in what is now Nantou County in 1930 against the Japanese colonial authorities. He ended up committing suicide by shooting himself with a pistol during the revolt to prevent the Japanese from capturing him alive. His remains were found at forest in 1933, and were taken to the Department of Archaeology of the Taihoku Imperial University where they were exhibited as a warning to future rebels. The bones were "identified" by his daughter and not positively confirmed by DNA. After the arrival of the Kuomintang the bones were placed in a warehouse until 1974 when they were reburied near Kawanakajima (川中島, current Qingquan (清泉) tribe). However, the Taiwanese viewed him as a hero for carrying out a revolt and he is now one of the figures on the NT coins.

Mona Rudao has been part of Taiwanese popular culture, entering books, manga, and his character recently took the part of protagonist in the film Seediq Bale.

See also

• (English) Mona Rudao
• (Chinese) Mona Rudao