Madou District
A district in Tainan City, Taiwan
Madou District (Chinese: 麻豆區; pinyin: Mádòu Qū; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Môa-tāu-khu) is a district of about 43,071 residents in Tainan special municipality, Taiwan. It owes its name to the Siraya language word Mattau. Mattau was one of the four core Sirayan villages during much of Taiwan's colonial history and figured heavily in the formation of colonial policy in Dutch Formosa. Currently, it is a well-known town in Tainan for its local culinary specialties and historical sites, and has become more prosperous in recent five years due to the presence of two universities. As an example of the increased attention Madou is receiving, the New Year Countdown Night for 2006 in Tainan was held at Madou Junior High School.
History
In the 17th century, Mattau was a village of about two to three thousand; the name was also spelled variously Matau, Mataw, Mattouw, Mathau, Matthau, Mattauw and Mandauw. Mattau was the largest and most powerful of four main aboriginal villages near Taoyuan, and had been the most troublesome for the Dutch, "massacring soldiers, destroying buildings, and uprooting crops". Located about 25 km northeast of the former Dutch base of Fort Zeelandia, the place later grew into a market-town called Moa-tau.
Republic of China
After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, Madou was organized as an urban township of Tainan County. On 25 December 2010, Tainan County was merged with Tainan City and Madou was upgraded to a district of the city.
The public source identifies “Madou District” as a district in Tainan City, Taiwan. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Madou, District and district.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Madou District”, the useful work is to connect “a district in Tainan City, Taiwan” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q706732. Authority coordinates are 23.183, 120.248. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2006, 1945 and 2010.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Madou District”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Madou District primary sources, Madou District archive and Madou research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Madou District”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Madou District” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.