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Title |
Modernity with Disability: On the Intersection of Disabilities and Taiwanese Literature during the Martial Law Period |
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Author |
Chi, Ta-Wei |
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Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature, National Chengchi University |
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Abstract |
This article undertakes close readings of representative short stories by three major writers—Zung Seu-Ziin (1925-2020), Wang Chen-Ho (1940-1990), and Hong Hsing-Fu (1949-1982)—in order to investigate the intersection of disability and Taiwanese literature during the Martial Law period. It argues that the Martial Law era constitutes a critical turning point in the literary representation of disability. Prior to this period, particularly under Japanese colonial rule, characters with disabilities were not absent from literary texts; however, they were generally afforded little opportunity to articulate their inner voices, rendering their subjectivity difficult to discern. By contrast, the works of these three Martial Law era authors not only depict disability more visibly but also highlight the tensions between disability and the institution of heterosexual pairings. These tensions exemplify what this article conceptualizes as "modernity with disability." While modernity is conventionally associated with progress, disability paradoxically produces forms of regression for many literary characters. In other words, these disabled characters are caught in a profound dilemma between advancement and setback. This article does not merely identify the presence of disability in the works of the three authors; it further delineates three distinct tendencies. First, works such as Zung's "A-Zhi and His Woman" (1978) trace a trajectory in which disabled subjectivity shifts from subtlety to greater clarity. Second, works such as Wang's "Miss Sulan Is to Be Married" (1976) portray how individuals with disabilities (and their caregivers) rely on media—such as newspapers—to indirectly fulfill their aspirations for modernity. Third, works such as Hong Xing-Fu's "Our Land" (1978), while ostensibly celebrating "Restoration of Taiwan from Japan" simultaneously expose modernity's underlying anxiety about "regression," that is, the inverse of "progress." |
