I have six dreams
Today, the nature encyclopedia he is determined to write himself is tens of times thicker than the volume A Record of the Mountain Environments of Japan. In the Japanese occupation era some Japanese produced A Record of Plant Life on Tatun Mountain. Now, all of the segments in Lin's A Record of the Tatun Volcanic Mountain--on rivers, waterfall, snakes, tracking, hot springs, sulphur, shrubbery.... are appearing one by one in Mountaineering Magazine.
For half of every year Tatun Mountain is swept by winds from the northeast, and rain and fog delay the work of surveying and photographing. And, regardless of the season, finding money and qualified assistants is always problematic. Lin's Encyclopedic Survey of the Tatun Volcanic Mountains still has a long road before it.
But Lin has already mapped out five dreams that will follow completion of his work: completing a history of mountaineering in Taiwan, a Taiwan edition of the World Mountaineering Encyclopedia, a book introducing famous mountains in Taiwan, an encyclopedic survey of the natural surroundings in the mountains around Keelung, and a similar work for Taiwan's highest peaks. He figures he could be finished in 2020, "or perhaps never." He has already prepared himself psychologically for the journey to old age.
Looking back, Lin has been in dire financial straits several times, and worked so hard that he brought on hepatitis. But promoting the comprehensive survey of the natural surroundings of Taiwan's mountains has become his life's work. "At first I had no great ambitions, but now I know I can't look back." His greatest wish is to equal, or even surpass, the best work of the Japanese.
[Picture Caption]
p.38
Amidst grasses, dwarf bamboo, and broad leafed trees, how many valuable ecological resources are hidden in the Tatun volcanic mountain area of 30,000 hectares?
p.38
At the volcano crater on Little Kuanyin Mountain, Lin Tsung-sheng is testing an "anti-direction rock." This is a rock spit up by a volcano, which, because of its mineral content, affects the magnetic field and distorts compass directions.
p.40
Major mountain formations and waterways in the Tatun Mountain area
p.40
Dipteris conjugata along the Sulphur Trail. (photo courtesy of Lin Tsung-sheng)
p.40
A stone dwelling discovered on the Fushih Trail. (photo courtesy of Lin Tsung-sheng)
p.40
A rare snake of Taiwan: the Natrix miyajimae. (photo courtesy of Lin Tsung-sheng)
drawing by Liao Tzu-wen
information courtesy of Lin Tsung-sheng
p.41
Tayoukang is Taiwan's most impressive sulphur gorge. It used to be a flourishing area for the extraction of sulphur; now it has been virtually abandoned.
p.42
Enter a stone cave and find the residence of Formosan lesser horseshoe bats.
p.43
Caves along a stream-tracing route are also fascinating to Lin Tsung-sheng.
p.44
Lin trekked alone to the largest waterfall in the Tatun area--the Laomei Waterfall. In order to exhaustively survey the natural ecology of the Tatun Mountain area, Lin has explored every nook and cranny. (courtesy of Lin Tsung-sheng)
p.46
Lin has visited hot springs throughout the mountains.
P.47
Lin is firmly set on promoting the comprehensive study of nature in the mountains.
Enter a stone cave and find the residence of Formosan lesser horseshoe bats.
Caves along a stream-tracing route are also fascinating to Lin Tsung-sheng.
Lin trekked alone to the largest waterfall in the Tatun area--the Laomei Waterfall. In order to exhaustively survey the natural ecology of the Tatun Mountain area, Lin has explored every nook and cranny. (courtesy of Lin Tsung-sheng)
Lin has visited hot springs throughout the mountains.
Lin is firmly set on promoting the comprehensive study of nature in the mountains.