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Title |
Narration, Representation, Enlightenment: The Cultural Significance of Lin Xian-tang’s Diaries in 1927 and Travel Notes Around the World |
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Author |
Lin, Shu-Hui |
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Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Taiwan Culture, Languages and Literature, National Taiwan Normal University |
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Abstract |
As one of the elite intellectuals of Taiwan during the first half of the twentieth century, Lin Xian-tang sits on a prominent position in the field of cultural history of Taiwan. His large volumes of diaries recorded many significant historical incidents and events of Taiwan, and his personal opinions in the diaries are also of great values. He was the first Taiwanese intellectual to take extensive travels to the European countries and the United States during the Japanese occupation; therefore, his travel notes are the richest among his contemporaries and treasures for the academic studies. The significance and impact of Lin Xian-tang’s diaries and travel notes to Taiwan literature and culture studies are the emphasis of this essay. The following essay will mostly refer to Lin Xian-tang’s diaries in 1927, his book Travel Notes around the World and other concepts and theories on travel experiences and narration. The discussion will involve three themes, “Self-narration from the diaries to the travel notes”, “The reemergence of the historical memories of the world”, “The discussion of the cultural enlightenment in the diaries and the travel notes”. |
