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Title |
SARS Epidemic Writing in Taiwanese Classical |
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Author |
Li, Chih-Hau |
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Director and Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature and Innovation, National Chung Cheng University |
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Abstract |
In 2003, Taiwan faced the SARS epidemic caused by a novel coronavirus. Although the entire outbreak lasted for less than four months, this period has left a significant impact on Taiwanese society. Taiwanese classical poets also used the internet and poetry magazines to publish their works, depicting their experiences and feelings. They adopted a documentary writing style to fulfill the roles of poetry as historical evidence and a means to supplement history. In these poems, you can see the initial fear and shock experienced by the poets and society when the epidemic broke out, as well as the changing sentiments of people as the epidemic evolved. Initially, people reduced their social interactions out of fear of infection, or used traditional supernatural phenomena to describe the virus's hazard, fully displaying the atmosphere of fear in the early stages of the epidemic. As the government began to implement preventive measures, poets incorporated these measures into their works, expressing support for these actions. They combined classical and modern vocabulary, allowing their writing to reflect the unique characteristics of the times. Some poets went further to describe the transformation of people's mental states and the emotional ruptures in interpersonal relationships caused by the epidemic and preventive measures. For instance, measures such as hospital lockdown and home quarantine, while helping control the epidemic, led to stigmatization of healthcare workers and related personnel as bearers of the disease. This demonstrates that the epidemic not only caused physical health damage but also left emotional trauma in terms of interpersonal relationships. As the epidemic gradually subsided, the poets also documented the government's efforts to provide emotional solace to the families of the deceased and the general public, stimulate economic recovery in the post-epidemic era, and prepare for potential future virus threats. At different stages of the SARS epidemic, Taiwanese classical poets, through their documentary-style writing, left behind a testimony to Taiwan's history. |
