Professor Huang MeiE, Director, Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature, National Taiwan University
The Taiwan Literature Toolkit has been designed to introduce local and international readers to outstandingworks of Taiwanese literature. For simplicity’s sake, works from Taiwan’s long literary history have been groupedinto sixteen categories: Taiwan Literature under Japanese Colonial Rule, Women’s Writing, Indigenous Literature,Writings from Military Dependents’ Villages, LGBT Literature, Class in Literature,Religious Literature, NativistLiterature, Diaspora Literature, Modernist Literature, Food in Literature, Young Adult, Landscape in Literature,Vernacular Poetry: Holo and Hakka, Science Fiction and Mystery, and Historical Narrative.
By grouping works into different thematic categories the MOC hopes to illustrate Taiwan literature’s forms,substance, and ideological content. Researchers and educators in related fields planned, selected, wrote, andtranslated introductions to each unit’s ten literary works. Each unit also features a “related content” section,featuring films, music, documentaries, and books. It is hoped that the website will increase readers’ understanding ofand appreciation for Taiwanese literature and highlight the intimate connection between Taiwan’s literary traditionsand other artistic forms.
The 160 works introduced in the Taiwan Literature Toolkit, include poems, essays, and fiction;chronologically, the works span centuries – from early examples of indigenous peoples’ oral literature throughwritings of the Japanese colonial period to works by young contemporary writers. Both serious literary works andpopular writings are represented. Also, as noted above, Taiwan literature encompasses changing eras, writers fromdifferent ethnic groups, and works written in a variety of languages. Therefore, in order to overcome the languagebarrier and attract international readers, the Taiwan Literature Toolkit has given priority to works that have beentranslated into English in recent decades, primarily featuring English translations of representative short works ofTaiwanese literature. Thus, international readers will find it easier to acquire these translated works and gain a betterunderstanding of their contents.
The Taiwan Literature Toolkit is userfriendly – readers may freely select categories and works of interest tothem. Each category is comprised of several sections, which can be approached step by step. First, “CategoryOverview” places works in their historical contexts and explains why they were chosen. Next, “Synopsis”summarizes the contents of the selections, providing readers with an understanding of the works and the eras inwhich they were written. “About the Author” then discusses writers’ backgrounds, lives, and times. Finally,“Related Content” offers links to films, drama, documentaries, writer interviews, contemporary newspaper clippings,books, and audio recordings of writers reading their work. The Taiwan Literature Toolkit – sixteen categoriesencompassing 160 works by 147 writers – affords readers in other countries swift and easy access to the multifacetedworld of Taiwan literature.
Literature is both a means of aesthetic expression and a mode of thought; it portrays social realities andexplores the limits of the human imagination. Every offering in the Taiwan Literature Toolkit provides a way forfriends in the global community to come to know and understand the land and people of Taiwan. Thus, in additionto showcasing the beauty of the island’s literary landscape, we also hope to generate interest in and concern forTaiwanese society and culture.
Wang Jung-Wen, CEO of Wordpedia.com Co., Ltd.
Huang MeiE, Professor and Director, Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature, National Taiwan University
Cai Yaxun, Professor, Department of Applied Language and Culture, National TaiwanNormal University
Chen Chianchoung, Professor and Institute Director, Institute of Taiwan Literature,National Tsing Hua University
Chen Huiling, Associate Professor and Department Chairperson, Department ofChinese Language and Literature, National Hsinchu University of Education
Chen Kuowei, Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature andTransnational Cultural Studies, National Chung Hsing University
Chi Tawei, Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature, NationalChengchi University
Dai Huaxuan, Assistant Professor, Department of Taiwanese Literature, AletheiaUniversity
Huang MeiE, Professor and Director, Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature, National Taiwan University
Jiao Tong (Ye Zhenfu), Associate Professor, Department of Chinese Literature,National Central University
Li Khinhuann, Professor, Department of Taiwan Culture, Languages, and Literature,National Taiwan Normal University; Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts, NationalTaiwan Normal University
Li Kueiyun, Associate Professor, Institute of Taiwan Literature, National Tsing HuaUniversity
Liao Shufang, Associate Professor, Department of Taiwanese Literature, NationalCheng Kung University
Su Shuobin, Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature, NationalTaiwan University
Paelabang Danapan (Sun Dachuan), Associate Professor, Graduate Institute ofTaiwanese Literature, National Chengchi University
Yang ChiaHsien, Assistant Professor, Department of Chinese Literature, NationalTsing Hua University
Ying Fenghuang, Professor, Graduate School of Taiwanese Culture, National TaipeiUniversity of Education
Yu Shengkuan, Professor, Department of Taiwanese Literature, National Cheng KungUniversity
Charlotte Chen Ackert, Vice Chairman, WNET New York Public Television, Taiwan PublicTelevision Services, Board Member
Yang Hsienching, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Theatre, National Taipei University of the Arts
Sterk Darryl Cameron, Assistant Professor, Graduate Program in Translation and Interpretation, National Taiwan University
Shiu Wenwei, Dean, Research and Development, Professor & Chairperson, Department of Sinophone Literatures, National Dong Hwa University