Cambria Press A History of Taiwan Literature (Literature from Taiwan)

A History of Taiwan Literature by Ye Shitao, an important public intellectual in Taiwan, was published in the crucial watershed year of 1987 when the end of martial law on the island was signaled. Ye’s work was clearly a product of that period and would have been less timid, considering the fact that the rule book on public expression had yet to be written, if it had been written later. The book is a rigorous, comprehensive treatment; it goes to great lengths to devote attention to all major writers in the history of Taiwan as well as many who were not as prominent. Ye has been fair and evenhanded in the writing of his literary history of Taiwan; there is little, if any, tendentiousness in the book. This is arguably one of the most important intellectual works of literary history, made even more impressive by Ye’s inclusion of copious notes, including Japanese-language ones.       In this translation, Christopher Lupke has painstakingly translated both Ye’s main text and notes, making this valuable resource available to English readers for the first time. Lupke also provides an introduction that contextualizes Ye’s work as well as an epilogue that outlines some of the major historical and literary developments after 1987, along with a brief mention of some of the most important literary figures of Taiwan. In addition to a glossary and index, Lupke offers a select bibliography that lists works that Ye referenced in his own notes as well as some books that Lupke consulted in completing this translation.    A History of Taiwan Literature is a most important resource for those interested in the intellectual history of East Asia, world literature, and Taiwan studies. This book is part of the Literature From Taiwan Series, a collaboration by Cambria Press with the National Museum of Taiwan Literature and National Taiwan Normal University. About the Author Ye Shitao (1925-2008) was a leading voice in literature from Taiwan for almost fifty years. A native of Tainan, he spent his life in southern Taiwan. He was educated in Japanese and classical Chinese, only beginning to learn baihua vernacular Chinese in the late 1940s. A prolific writer of fiction, including the classic Red Shoes, Ye's work features ordinary people struggling against economic and political exploitation portrayed in empathetic and subtle ways. His own literary style is most influenced by French and Russian fiction of the 19th century. He also is known for his works of literary criticism and scholarship, of which A History of Taiwan Literature is the most important. Ye was instrumental in encouraging countless young Taiwanese writers to develop their skills and publish their work. In the early 1950s, Ye was imprisoned for three years during the White Terror period in Taiwan but survived it and went on to flourish as a major literary figure in Taiwan for over thirty more years. Christopher Lupke (PhD, Cornell University, 1993) is Professor of Chinese Cultural Studies and Chair of the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Lupke has studied the literature and cinema of Taiwan since first living there in 1980. In addition to being part of the editorial team that produced the five-volume Wiley Blackwell Companion to World Literature, Lupke is the author of The Sinophone Cinema of Hou Hsiao-hsien: Culture, Style, Voice, and Motion and coeditor of Chinese Poetic Modernisms.