Modernism and the Nativist Resistance: Contemporary Chinese Fiction from Taiwan

256 Pages·1993·16.061 MB·English

by  Sung-sheng Yvonne Chang

Modernism
and the
Nativist
Resistance

Sung-shengYvonne Chang
Modernism
and the
Nativist
Resistance
Contemporary
Chinese Fiction
from Taiwan
Duke University Press
Durham & London
1993
© 1993
Duke University Press
All rights reserved
Typeset inJoannaby
Tseng Information Systems.
Printed in the United States of
America on acid-free paper
00
Library ofCongress Cataloging
in-Publication Data appear on
the last printed page of
this book.
Contents
Preface vii
ONE Introduction
TWO The Rise oftheModernistTrend 23
THREE AppropriationsofLiteraryModernism 5°
FOUR ModernistsReaching Maturity: Cultural Critique
and Textual Strategies 88
FIVE The NativistResistance toModernism 148
SIX Conclusion: Entering aNewEra 177
Notes 189
Select Bibliography 2°9
SourcesofEnglish TranslationsofLiterary
Worksfrom Taiwan 223
Glossary 227
Index 239

Preface
The Hsien-tai wen-hsiieh yiin-tung (Modernist literary movement) ofTai
wan's post-1949 erarepresents one ofthree extensive efforts made byChi
nese writers at active appropriation ofWestern literary modernism.1Just
as China's first modernist trend ofthe 1930S was interrupted by the Sino
JapaneseWarandvirtuallydiscontinuedbytheCommunistRevolution,the
recent surge ofinterestin modernism and postmodernismamongwriters
inthePeople'sRepublicofChinahasalsomarkedlydeclinedsincetheT'ien
an-menIncidentin 1989.Taiwan'sModernistliterarymovement, therefore,
has had the greatestlongevity ofthe three, and it may also claim the most
impressiveartisticoutput.
Sincethemid-1980s,therichlyintricateimplicationsofa"Chinesemod
ernism" have generated much interest among scholars inside and out
side China.The historical disconnectedness ofthe three waves ofChinese
modernism, however, poses certain difficulties for theorizing attempts.
Although resonances between the Chinese modernistartand literature of
thethirtiesandtheeightiesundoubtedlyexist, directconnectionsarehard
to find because ofthe intervention ofhalfa century's officially enforced
"socialistrealism."Thereare,however,immediatelytraceablelinksbetween
thefirsttwowavesofChinesemodernistliterature,forsomeofthemodern
istsofthethirtiesmovedtoTaiwanwiththeNationalistgovernmentaround
1949andplayedcrucialrolesininitiatingtheModernistliterarytrendthere.
Acomparativestudyofthelattertwomovementsalsopromisesinteresting
results, as bothare stillviable artistic currents and mutualinteractions are
viii Preface
inevitable, giventheincreasingcontactsbetweenwritersfrom Taiwanand
thePeople'sRepublic.
Although Modernist fiction in Taiwan bears unmistakable" imprints of
China's pre-Revolution periods, it must also be considered a product of
theuniquehistoricalrealityofTaiwanoverthelastfortyyears.The present
study, treating the subjectfrom both the Chinese and the Taiwanese per
spectives, is, above all, ascholarlyexamination ofthe complex phenome
non ofthe proliferation ofliterary modernism in anon-Western context.
For,inaserioussense,Taiwan'sModernistliterarymovementinthe 1960s
andthevirulentNativistresistancetoitinthe 1970Sareexemplaryofworld
literaryhistoryin the twentiethcentury, asignificantcomponentofwhich
is the global spread ofWestern social and cultural values along with the
expansionofcapitalism.
SeveraloftheModernistwritersdiscussedinthisbookhavebeenmylong
time mentors and good friends. Although I have constantly tried to re
assess Taiwan's Modernist literary movement in terms ofnew theoretical
perspectives, Iam convinced oftheworth ofthese writers' endeavors and
sharecertainvaluesendorsedinthismovement-valuesthathavesustained
changesinpublicopinionandshiftingintellectualtrends.Writingthisbook
in English is part ofan ongoing, collective effort to place contemporary
Taiwan's fine literary product on the map oftwentieth-century world lit
erature.This larger task could never have been accomplished without the
pioneeringworkofsuchoutstandingscholarsasC.T.Hsia,JosephLau,Leo
Lee,andHowardGoldblatt,whohavecontributednotonlycriticalwritings
but also translations and editorial work. To them my study is heavily in
debted. Inparticular,ifIhadnotbeenaskedtowriteonTaiwan'sliterature
for two special issues ofModern Chinese Literature in 1984 and 1988, I would
have continued my research on medieval Chinese poetry, the subject of
mydoctoralwork. As Iamnow convincedthatmyworkin contemporary
Chineseliteraturemeetsamoreurgentdemand, Iamespeciallygratefulto
thejournal'sfounderandgeneraleditor,HowardGoldblatt,forbringingme
intothefield.
TheunreservedconfidencethatReynoldsSmithatDukeUniversityPress
has shown in this project is heartily appreciated. The Asian Collection of
the University ofTexas GeneralLibraryand the unfailinghelp ofits direc-
ix Preface
tor,KevinLin,werealsoindispensableforthecompletionofthiswork.The
Pacific Cultural Foundation ofthe Republic ofChina supported the final
stageofmyworkonthemanuscriptwithawritinggrantinadditiontopro
vidingapublicationsubsidy.Iwouldalsoliketoexpressmygratitudetomy
friend and colleagueJeannette Faurot, who had to shoulderextrateaching
and administrative responSibilities while I took a research leave between
1989and 1990.Finally,theinexhaustiblepatienceandhigh-spiritedsupport
from my husband Fred Wang and our son Eric have made the process of
writingthisbookatrulymemorableexperienceinmyfamilylife.
Unless otherwise indicated, translations ofpassages from the Chinese
originalsaremyown.
DatesofMajorAuthors
Ch'enYing-chen (b. 1936)
Ch'i-chiin(b. 1917)
Ch'i-tengSheng(b. 1939)
ChuHsi-ning(b. 1926)
LiAng(b. 1952)
LiYung-p'ing(b. 1947)
LinHai-yin(b. 1919)
HuangCh'un-ming(b. 1939)
Ou-yangTzu (b. 1939)
PaiHsien-yung(b. 1937)
P'anJen-mu(b. 1920)
WangChen-ho (1940-1990)
WangWen-hsing(b. 1939)