Quick Facts
Biography
Liao Tianding (Chinese: 廖添丁; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Liāu Thiam-teng) (1883 – 1909) is a legendary Taiwanese Robin Hood figure who foiled oppressive rulers when Taiwan was under Japanese rule.
He was born in a town (大肚上堡) in Taiwan Prefecture, Qing Taiwan (modern-day Qingshui, Taichung, Taiwan) in 1883, and caught the attention of Japanese authorities repeatedly, for larceny and robbery, as well as the murder of Chen Liang-chiu (陳良久). Liao died in 1909, trapped in a cave in present-day Bali District, New Taipei City, with an accomplice, Yang Lin, who had colluded with the police.
Liao Tianding was the subject of an extremely popular modern dance composition by Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan. He was also the inspiration for Ma Shui-Lung's Liao Tianding Orchestral Suite, which has been recorded by the Prague Symphony Orchestra. Hanmin Temple in Bali was constructed to memorialize Liao.