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Title |
Inexpressible Dissent: The Wansei in Ryu Ei-Sou's Novel "The Garden of Wax-apple" |
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Author |
Kiyama Motoaki |
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Doctoral Student, Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature, National Chengchi University |
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Abstract |
"The Garden of Wax-apple" is a 1943 novel written by Ryu Ei-Sou (1911-1999), who in the novel depicts not only the harmony but also the entanglements between a Taiwanese protagonist and a Naichi (Japanese) Fujisaki family. As it is a story about interaction between different ethnic groups in the wartime background, academic discussions often centered on ethnic harmony or the Japanese colonial policies in Taiwan. However, the premise that the Wansei are included in the Naichi side deserves further careful attention. Since many symbols are presented in the novel, this article employs the analysis framework of semiotic and discusses the complex references to the Fujisaki family and their individual identities in the text. The article finds that the Wansei are different from the generalized Naichi people in Taiwan. Also, it seems that the characteristics of the Ryu (Hakka/Min/Japan) and the Wansei (Naichi/Taiwan/ Nanpō) are somewhat similar, since they both share the double, or fluid, consciousness of their identity. It can be inferred that Ryu, living in a strict wartime, tried to create the possibility of negotiating space by detours between the lines. By exploring the literary representations of the Wansei (or the Japanese in Taiwan) in the text, we would like to bring different points of view on the imagination of the nation. |
