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Title |
The Idea and Practice of “Southern Culture”─Study on the Literary works of “Literature in Taiwan” |
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Author |
Lin, Hui-Chun |
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Associate Professor, Center of General Education, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology |
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Abstract |
The political, military and cultural policies adopted by the Japanese government after 1937 imposed great restrictions on the language and contents of literary works. The control over the literary circle in Taiwan also shifted to the hands of Japanese writers in Taiwan. “Literature in Taiwan”, a literary group led by Nishikawa Mitsuru, had the most profound impacts. The magazine advocated the “development of southern culture”, by extending the southern cultural policy of Imperial Japan to the southern culture in Taiwan Literature. This paper analyzes the works published in the 38 issues of the magazine, and finds that the term “south” was limited to Taiwan, and Taiwan was considered part of the southern culture under Japan. “The Taiwanese Culture” did not mean the local culture of Taiwan. Rather, its existence served the purpose of supporting the literature of the southern part of the imperial kingdom. Given the unique geographic characteristics of Taiwan as a colony, it was not impossible to create the southern culture as part of Imperial Japan. However, the growing intervention and control of the state machine, the literary group finally had to synchronize with the literature at the core of Japan by responding to the wartime and writing/editing propaganda. In the imaginary world depicted by the holy war and the Great East Asia Coprosperity Sphere, the realization of the southern culture by Taiwan Literature, which was proud to be the only southern feature in Japan, was no more than empty posturing bowing to serve Imperial Japan. |
