Linking Publishing's (
"Quick, let me buy Gao's books for you," a middle-aged woman said to her son, explaining, "He's a Nobel Prize winner. He's famous." And as a result of the huge hype that has surrounded Gao's visit to Taiwan, he has become a household name.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
But this is not Gao's first visit by any means. Prior to this trip, which was timed to coincide with the TIBE and was a consequence of his entry into the elite Nobel club, he had visited Taiwan on six previous occasions. During these visits, he had made a few friends with such literary luminaries as Chang Ta-chun (
The contrast between Gao's virtual no-name status prior to the announcement of his Nobel Prize five months ago and the massive and still-growing hype surrounding his current visit couldn't be more drastic.
Over the past five years, the Chinese edition of Soul Mountain sold less than 1,000 copies. Two years ago, Linking Publishing listed the book for clearance sale, off loading stock at half price. Over the last four months, after the announcement of Gao's Nobel Prize, sales for the book skyrocketed, reaching 120,000 copies. One Man's Bible, Gao's other major literary work, has also sold nearly 90,000 copies over the same period. Gao's other works, including five essay and drama collections have together sold more than 30,000 copies, according to Chen Chiu-ling (
"This year at TIBE, our sales business has grown five fold. Gao accounted for more than 70 percent of our sales," she said.
As his book sales have grown, so has the number of Gao's "old friends."
Over 70 literary heavyweights and artists turned up at a reception held in Gao's honor at Taipei's Grand Hotel last week. Although many had only recently become aquatinted with Gao, many gave him an affectionate hug, a form of demonstrative affection uncommon among Taiwanese writers.
Speaking to the Chinese media, author Li Ang recalled how Gao was treated last year by these "friends." "Last year when he visited, he was put up at a university guest house, not even a hotel. And when he tried to gather friends for a dinner, [Gao] Xingjian made 20 more calls but only eight people showed up," Li said.
Feng Yi-kang, founder of the Comedian's Workshop (
This change has been brought about partly due to the massive support of two of Taiwan's leading dailies, the United Daily News (
With reporters now dogging his every move, Gao's celebrity status may have curtailed his personal freedom, which is ironic for someone who has spent most of his life and literary career living quietly in his own corner.
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50