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Theory No.1 |
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| The earliest inhabitant is the Wabu in Lane Two of Jhongjheng Road. Legend has it that an indigenous person walked past this area and saw people plowing the fields, he approached them and said “Alian”, which means “brother” in the indigenous language, therefore the name of the area “Alian”. |
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Theory No.2 |
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| Before being developed, Alian Township was full of mango trees and birds, which nested among the trees and the birds’ chirping would resonate throughout the region. Later immigrants arrived and turned it into farmland, the birds left because their habitat was threatened, the dialect of A Wu Lian Cyu (birds have flown away) became popular and hence the name Alian. |
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Theory No.3 |
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| According to the History of Taiwanese Toponyms, published by the Information Office of Taiwanese Provincial Government, any toponym with a character “mouth” next to it is direct translation of indigenous toponyms. Hence Alian may also come from such translation. From the large number of people’s names containing the word A, perhaps the toponym was named after the first developer of the land. |
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Theory No.3 |
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| According to the report by Taiwan Indigenous Voice Bimonthly, Alian is the Pingbu Siraya pronunciation of Alien. Ali means the Ali God, worshipped by people of Siraya Tribe from the plains of Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung. While en means location, hence Alien represents the location of the Pingbu Siraya people’s Ali God. |
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