Literature of Taiwan
Encyclopedia
Taiwanese literature refers to the literature written by Taiwanese
, which can use any language ever used generally in Taiwan, like Japanese
, Taiwanese, Taiwanese Mandarin
.
See the full list of Taiwanese writers.
Similarly, there is a large poetry community in Taiwan, and there have been several anthologies of Taiwanese poetry in English translation.
Two areas of cross-pollination between literature and other arts in Taiwan include modern dance (particularly the modern dance troupe Cloud Gate Dance Theater
, founded and directed by author Lin Huai-min
) and filmmaking (including productions of stories by Huang Chunming
directed by the leading Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien
).
The 1990s saw the rise of a nativist Taiwan literature movement
.
Some books from mainland China still found their way into Taiwan before 1986 by different ways. As pirate editions, under both a different title and a pseudonym
for the author, under a different title, but with the author's name unchanged, under a pseudonym but with the title unchanged, or altered by changes in the text itself.
are popular and so are Bridget Jones's Diary
. Some non-western popular books are The Hooligan Professor, 流氓教授, by Lin Jian-long 林建隆, and Big Hospital Small Doctor 大醫院小醫師, by Hou Wun-yong 侯文詠. Both were adapted for television. Other popular non-literary works included books on mastering English
and attaining success.
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, which can use any language ever used generally in Taiwan, like Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Taiwanese, Taiwanese Mandarin
Taiwanese Mandarin
Taiwanese Mandarin is a variant of Mandarin derived from the official Standard Mandarin spoken in Taiwan Area of the Republic of China . The latter's standard lect is known in Taiwan as 國語 , based on the phonology of the Beijing dialect together with the grammar of Vernacular Chinese...
.
Novels, short stories, and poetry
Taiwan has a very active literary scene, with a large number of writers of novels and (especially) short stories enjoying a wide readership, many of them for many decades running. A short selection of prominent writers includes:- Chen RuoxiChen RuoxiChen Ruoxi , born 1938, is a Taiwanese author. A graduate of National Taiwan University, she among others helped found the literary journal Xiandai wenxue .- Mayor Yin :...
- Huang ChunmingHuang ChunmingHuang Chunming is a Taiwanese literary figure and teacher. Huang writes mainly about the tragic and sometimes humorous lives of ordinary Taiwanese people, and many of his short stories have been turned into films, including The Sandwich Man .-Career:Born in Ilan, Taiwan, Huang began his higher...
- Pai XianyongPai Hsien-yungKenneth Hsien-yung Pai , born July 11, 1937) is a writer who has been described as a "melancholy pioneer." He was born in Guilin, Guangxi, China at the cusp of both the Second Sino-Japanese War and subsequent Chinese Civil War...
- Wang WenxingWang WenxingWang Wenxing was born in Fuzhou, Fujian in 1939 and grew up in Taiwan. He obtained his B.A. in Foreign Languages & Literature from the National Taiwan University and received an MFA from the University of Iowa...
See the full list of Taiwanese writers.
Similarly, there is a large poetry community in Taiwan, and there have been several anthologies of Taiwanese poetry in English translation.
Two areas of cross-pollination between literature and other arts in Taiwan include modern dance (particularly the modern dance troupe Cloud Gate Dance Theater
Cloud Gate Dance Theater
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan is a modern dance group based in Taiwan. It was founded by choreographer Lin Hwai-min in 1973, and later he shared its management with his late protégé, Lo Man-fei , a renowned choreographer in her own right....
, founded and directed by author Lin Huai-min
Lin Hwai-min
Lin Hwai-min is a Taiwanese dancer, writer, choreographer, and founder of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. He was educated at National Chengchi University in Taiwan and University of Iowa in the US....
) and filmmaking (including productions of stories by Huang Chunming
Huang Chunming
Huang Chunming is a Taiwanese literary figure and teacher. Huang writes mainly about the tragic and sometimes humorous lives of ordinary Taiwanese people, and many of his short stories have been turned into films, including The Sandwich Man .-Career:Born in Ilan, Taiwan, Huang began his higher...
directed by the leading Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement.-Biography:...
).
The 1990s saw the rise of a nativist Taiwan literature movement
Taiwanese literature movement
The Taiwanese literature movement refers to the effort of authors, poets, dramatists, musicians, and publishers in Taiwan to establish recognition of a distinctly Taiwanese body of literature...
.
Literature relating to politics
With the establishment of the Communist regime in mainland China in 1949, books from mainland China were not often published in Taiwan and books from Taiwan were not often published in mainland China. In 1986, the first novel, Three Kings, written by a mainland Chinese writer, Ah Cheng, was openly published as such in Taiwan.Some books from mainland China still found their way into Taiwan before 1986 by different ways. As pirate editions, under both a different title and a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
for the author, under a different title, but with the author's name unchanged, under a pseudonym but with the title unchanged, or altered by changes in the text itself.
Popular kinds of books
Often books which have a movie based on them sell well in Taiwan. The Harry Potter SeriesHarry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
are popular and so are Bridget Jones's Diary
Bridget Jones's Diary
Bridget Jones's Diary is a 1996 novel by Helen Fielding. Written in the form of a personal diary, the novel chronicles a year in the life of Bridget Jones, a thirty-something single working woman living in London. She writes about her career, self-image, vices, family, friends, and romantic...
. Some non-western popular books are The Hooligan Professor, 流氓教授, by Lin Jian-long 林建隆, and Big Hospital Small Doctor 大醫院小醫師, by Hou Wun-yong 侯文詠. Both were adapted for television. Other popular non-literary works included books on mastering English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and attaining success.
See also
- Culture of TaiwanCulture of TaiwanThe culture of Taiwan is a blend of Confucianist Han Chinese, Japanese, European, American, global, local, and Taiwanese aborigines cultures, which are often perceived in both traditional and modern understandings...
- Culture of ChinaCulture of ChinaChinese culture is one of the world's oldest and most complex. The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities and provinces...
- List of Taiwanese authors
- National Museum of Taiwanese LiteratureNational Museum of Taiwanese LiteratureThe National Museum of Taiwan Literature is a museum located in Tainan City, Taiwan. It opened in 2003. The museum researches, catalogs, preserves, and exhibits literary artifacts...
External links
- Contemporary Authors Full-Text & Image System 當代文學史料影像全文系統 (in Chinese characters)
- Mimesis and Motivation in Taiwan Colonial Fiction
- National Museum of Taiwanese Literature
- On-line Alliance of Taiwan's Modern Poetry 臺灣現代詩網路聯盟 (in Chinese characters)
- Taiwan Fiction in Translation
- Taiwanese Literature (gio.gov.tw)
- Taiwan Literature - English Translation Series (journal)
- Taiwan Xiangtu (Hsiangtu) Wenxue (Taiwan Nativist Literature): the Sojourner-Narrator
- UCSB Taiwanese Literature Database
- honco newspaper
- government website
- taipetimes