According to the 1999 Annual of Literature 臺灣文學年鑑 published
by the Council for Cultural Affairs, the nine major literary events
in Taiwan for 1999 were as follows:
1. Owing to the rise in nativist consciousness and the increasing
importance of local literature, the Penghu County government established
its own literary award in 1999 to encourage and develop local new
talents and cultural characteristics, becoming the 16th such city/county
government in Taiwan to do so. The other 15 cities and counties
set up their literary awards several years ago with the exception
of the Kaohsiung City government, which began holding its award
back in 1981. One of the best examples of the positive and reassuring
effect of these literary awards was when an inmate in Hualien County
received one for his work.
2. On February 6, 1999, the Taiwan Literature Association 臺灣文學協會
was established to help increase the accessibility of Taiwanese
literary works abroad by translating them into foreign languages.
The five main functions of the association are to (1) systematically
introduce fine Taiwanese literary works abroad; (2) plan and host
international academic activities; (3) arrange literary workshops;
(4) establish Taiwanese literary theories and concepts; and (5)
carry out other relevant tasks.
3. The controversial Symposium on Classical Taiwanese Literature
臺灣文學經典討論會 was held March 19-21, 1999. This symposium attempted to
identify--through public discussion--the best representatives of
Taiwan's classical literature, and in the end chose 30 works, including
Pai Hsien-yung's 白先勇 Tales of Taipei Characters 臺北人. However,
some literary groups questioned the criteria used to define a work
as being "classical," while others raised issues regarding
what makes an author "Taiwanese." A press conference held later
heavily criticized the symposium's credibility.
4. Both The Anthology of Su Hsueh-lin 蘇雪林作品集 and The
Diary of Su Hsueh-lin 蘇雪林日記卷, comprising a total of 15 volumes,
were published on April 10, 1999, in honor of the Chinese literature
professor's 104th birthday. The series revealed all of the major
events in Su's life from October 1, 1948, to October 20, 1996, covering
topics such as her academic thoughts, creative writings, literary
criticism, daily life, and comments on various newspaper and magazine
articles. Professor Su received this present while in the Intensive
Care Unit of Cheng Kung University Hospital 成功大學附設醫院 just before
passing away on April 21, 1999.
5. On June 15, 1999, the first modern literature museum in Taiwan
to be established by a high school was inaugurated. The museum,
the Modern Literature Hall 現代文學館, was set up by Ming-dao High School
明道中學 and is open to both students and the general public. Ming-dao
has spared no effort to promote modern literary education, and its
literary magazine, the prize-winning Ming-dao Literary Monthly
明道文藝, has been published since April 1976.
6. After the establishment of the first Department of Taiwanese
Literature at Aletheia University 真理大學 in 1997, National Cheng Kung
University was granted permission to recruit a maximum of 15 local
postgraduates and five foreign students for its newly established
Institute of Taiwanese Literature in 2000. The institute is ideally
located near the National Museum of Taiwan Literature 國立臺灣文學館. The
focus of the institute consists of (1) compiling and arranging documents
related to Taiwanese literature; (2) comprehensively studying Taiwanese
literature; (3) providing intensive training on literary theories
and research approaches; and (4) performing comparative studies
of regional literature.
7. At the end of 1999, Nanhwa University 南華大學 published A Summary
of Important Literary Events in Taiwan 臺灣文壇大事紀要, filling in
the gap between 1992 and 1995 not covered by A Summary of the
Important Literary Events After the Retrocession of the Taiwan Area
光復後臺灣文壇大事紀要 (October 1945 to December 1991) and the Annual of
Literature 臺灣文學年鑑 (1996 to present). The new Summary
includes the following topics: literary related policies; contemporary
literature teaching and research; the establishment and dissolution
of literary associations; literary awards; literary conferences,
camps, and courses; cross-strait literary exchanges and activities;
and appendices of doctoral dissertation and references.
8. Between September 22, 1999, and November 3, 1999, some 378 articles
were published on the massive September 21 earthquake. These articles
have ranged on everything from personal experiences with the temblor
to eyewitness reports about it. Since all writers have a certain
degree of social responsibility, the natural disaster paved the
way for many of them to participate more actively in society.
9. The Council for Cultural Affairs' 1999 Catalogue of ROC Authors
and Their Works 中華民國作家作品目錄 lists 1,800 contemporary poets, prose
writers, novelists, scriptwriters, and literary critics. The first
edition of the Catalogue was published in 1984 in two volumes,
while the second edition, which was published in the early 1990s,
covered 1,300 writers in four volumes. This valuable reference has
now been expanded to seven volumes.
