1922
The novel
Where is she going? (kanojo wa dokoe? /ta yao wan ho-tsu
tsui?) was truly the first work of new literature by a Taiwanese
writer. The author Hsieh Chun-mu published it in Japanese
in the journal Youth in July, 1922. Unfortunately,
he wrote no more literary work since. He later became an important
member of the Taiwan People's Party (Taiwan minsyuto/T'ai-wan
min-tsung tang), and the chief writer of Taiwan People's
Newspaper (Taiwan minpo/T'ai-wan min-pao).
1924 -
1926
Chang
Wo-chun, who was studying at Peking Normal University
at the time, wrote a series of articles attacking traditional
poem and the old literature. He introduced new literary concepts,
the advantage of adopting vernacular Chinese as a new literary
medium and the social function of literature in the modern
age. In addition to the above mentioned articles, Taiwan
People's Newspaper (Taiwan minpo/T'ai-wan min-pao)
reprinted works by Chinese new literature writers, such as
Lu Shun, Ping Hsin, Kuo Mo-jo, etc.
The debate
on New Versus Old Literature (sin kyu bungaku lonsen/hsin-chiu
wen-hsueh lun-chan) was thus triggered, which in turn hastened
the birth of the Taiwanese New Literature Movement(Taiwan
sinbungaku undo/T'ai-wan hsin wen-hsueh yun-tung).
Taiwanese
New Literature movement promoted modern Taiwanese literatures
in order to break away from the traditional practice of classical
Chinese. This movement had two distinctive characteristics,
namely multilingual expression and political consciousness.
The new generation of Taiwanese youth adopted nonviolent forms
of struggle against the colonial rule.
Lai Ho (1894-1943), a physician, regarded as the "father of Taiwanese New Literature", published his first work Without Title (mudai/Vu-dii) and a poem titled Sacrifice with Preparedness (kakugoka no gisei/chue-wu-hsia de hsi-hsen) in Taiwan People's Newspaper in 1925. The poem was written in support of the helpless sugar cane farmers' struggle against the colonial ruler. It is said that he had to first write his works in Han literary language, then translate them into the Chinese vernacular, and finally revise them again
to Taiwanese colloquial style.
1927
Japanese invasion of Manchuria brought to Taiwan war-like environment
with limiting further restriction of civil liberty of the people.
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