It's oppressively hot under the southern Taiwan sun; it's as if the
land were on fire. But arriving at the National Museum of Taiwanese
Literature provides a cool sense of relief. A national historic site,
the Tainan District Hall is a profoundly elegant building. In the
spacious plaza in front of the building, two flame trees blocking the
sun bathe one in a sense of greenery before one even has a chance to
enjoy the beauty of literature.
A new landmark for Taiwanese literature, the National Museum of
Taiwanese Literature opened on October 17, 2003. (On that same day 80
years before, the Taiwan Culture Association was established.) In
addition to looking ahead at what the future may bring, the museum aims
to celebrate the glories of Taiwan's past, from its indigenous tribes,
to the colonial rule of the Dutch and Spanish, to the rule of the Ming
loyalist Zhen Cheng-gong, on up to Qing dynasty Chinese rule, Japanese
rule, and the R.O.C. era.
The National Museum of Taiwanese Literature shoulders the
responsibilities of assembling its collections, carrying out research,
pursuing cultural preservation, organizing exhibitions, and putting on
promotions. In the three years since it opened, the museum has
displayed its permanent exhibitions, regularly offered special
temporary exhibitions, organized weekend panel discussions on
literature, and from time to time put on various other activities. It
is also publishing anthologies of Taiwanese poetry, as well as the
collected works of Lu He-ruo, Yang Yun-ping and other authors.
Old building given new life: Preserving the Japanese colonial architectural legacy
The National Museum of Taiwanese Literature (originally Tainan District
Hall) was constructed in 1916. Moriyama Matsunosuke, the most
representative architect of Taiwan’s Japanese colonial era, designed
it, and he drew from a copious architectural vocabulary. Over the
course of its 80-year history, from the Japanese era, through the early
years of Nationalist Chinese rule, to the current era of local control,
it has gone through many changes in function.
The National Museum of Taiwanese Literature is hosting a special
exhibition: “Old Architecture, New Life,” which clearly explains the
architectural history of the building. Traditionally Japanese
wood-frame buildings stress ventilation. Although the Tainan District
Hall was constructed of bricks due to its Taiwanese location, it still
employed a vented basement. After renovations, the Tainnan District
Hall’s structure of ground beams and footings was exposed to reveal the
special structure of the building and the skill with which it was
restored.
Many old bricks were reused for the walls of the museum, so as to allow
museumgoers to see the differences between the new and the old. The
retrofitting of this old building to a new use was very successful, and
in 2003 the building was declared a national historic site.
A river of words leads readers into Taiwanese literature
Words flow like water in currents of sound: “Taiwan is the Taiwanese
people’s Taiwan” or “better that there be no illnesses in the world and
that doctors starve.” Those previous quotes were from the river of
words in the museum’s “Taiwanese Literature Development Exhibit.” As a
modern museum, the National Museum of Taiwanese Literature employs the
newest of concepts and the liveliest of exhibition methods, so as to
give literature a three-dimensional feel with images and sound.
Take a journey on the river of words. Touch the Taiwanese Literature
Wall, which is composed of movable lead type. The content is taken from
Chung Zhao-zheng’s “Where Is Taiwanese Literature Going.” The history
of Taiwanese literature is an epic made of blood, sweat and tears.
Whether known as xiangtu (hometown soil) or bentu (native soil), it
refers to Taiwanese literature written by Taiwanese people. At its
essence is a determined love and concern for the land and people of
Taiwan.
If you touch some of these intaglio printing type characters, such as
"Taiwan," "Time" and "blood and tears," phrases from poems will appear.
Those who work in Taiwan’s literary fields are a lot like the water
buffalo plowing its rice paddies. Therefore, the water buffalo is the
most dominant image in Taiwanese literature, and Zhan Bing’s pattern
poem “Water Buffalo” is used to symbolize the museum. When museumgoers
walk on this poem, the water buffalo in the floor will nimbly raise its
head, bend its four legs and kneel. Many visiting children may never
have read poetry but their eyes light up as they watch these written
characters move with the water buffalo.
In the early period after the return of Taiwan to Chinese rule,
Japanese-literary creation and Chinese-literary creation comprised the
two main literary camps. But Taiwan’s unique history has often meant
“one literature, many tongues.” As a result, Taiwanese literature
includes Dutch literature, and Hokklo (southern Fujianese) Chinese
literature, Mandarin Chinese literature, and the literature of
indigenous peoples. In the exhibit “The Many Voices of the Group’s
Glory,” you can hear the historian Weng Jia-yin, who is fluent in
Dutch, read "The Fort Zeelandia Journal." There are also lullabies in
various languages. Sadly, the poet Ye Di passed away not long ago. The
museum features numerous recordings of his reading Japanese poems. The
gentle voice is still heard, but the poet himself is gone.
"The Writer's True Footprints Room" is climate controlled with a steady
humidity and temperature. Here you can view a manuscript of a poem by
Yang Mu on "Eastern Sea Garden" paper, as well as the handwriting of
San Mao, Zhang Xiou-ya and others.
The “Long Hall of Time” exhibition features a long corridor depicting
the history of Taiwanese literature from ancient times to the present.
From the “Dong Yin Poetry Society” in the 17th century to the 20th
century “Literature Taiwan” magazine, there are numerous images of
authors and photos of literary association periodicals. Organically
strung together, the exhibit gives the public a concrete feel for the
appearances and sounds of Taiwanese authors and the tracks of their
creations.
The museum's collections bring people close to primary documents
The collections are the life of the museum. Since planning began for
the museum nine years ago, the successive directors of the planning
committee appealed for donations from outsiders. Unlike the collections
of most museums, all of the items in the collections of the National
Museum of Taiwanese Literature have been donated. Writers’ handwritten
drafts are not something that you can buy on the open market.
Therefore, the stories connected to the items in its collections are
numerous. Currently, the museum holds about 800,000 items. Among the
most precious are works and drafts by the Japanese era writers Long
Ying-zung, Huang De-shi, Wu Yung-fu, and Yang Chi-chang. Books of early
period writers, such as Zhu Xi-ning, and Zhang Xiou-ya are also part of
the museum’s collections. Among the items that Huang De-shi willed to
the museum was the wheelchair that he used in his later days.
The collection is gradually getting digitized. In particular, over
10,000 manuscripts and audio-visual materials collected in 2002 and
2003 have been digitized. Just type in the key words on the museum’s
artifact collection web page, and you will be able to see handwritten
drafts written by authors long ago. You can peruse the penmanship of
Huang De-shi and the handwritten drafts of Ye Shi-tao, and see
postcards that Zhang Ai-ling sent to Zhu Xi-ning.
It’s worth mentioning that in order to provide researchers with more
detailed information, beginning in September these digitized materials
will all be turned into paper copies. These will be available for
general readers in the “Special Collections Area” in the basement of
the museum. Although they are copies, they will also be of great use to
researchers, as they are full of the warm true tracks of the writers.
Deep understanding, exciting discoveries
In earlier eras there were taboos against Taiwanese writing, so that it
existed in obscurity, without exposure to the general public and
lacking unifying themes. Like Taiwan's history, the development of its
literature has been turbulent and eventful. Because it represents the
merging of many different ethnic groups, it offers a greater array of
possibilities. The colonial regimes of various foreign powers and the
impacts of many different cultures have given authors especially
powerful material. Taiwan literature is a place of a great diversity of
voices.
There may have been a lack of understanding in years past. When you
turn back to look at Taiwanese literature, there are great surprises.
Regular visitors make new discoveries each time they come. When walking
through the permanent exhibitions for the umpteenth time, perhaps there
will be a new insight about an author or a passage of writing, or a new
historical understanding where there had been confusion. The National
Museum of Taiwanese Literature is no longer just a landmark for
Taiwanese literature, but also a bastion of life for those who deeply
love Taiwan and want to understand Taiwan better.
Written by Yang Yi/ Formosa Culture Magazine
Translated by Jonathan Barnard
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