A doyen of Taiwan’s “nativist literature movement,” Chung Chao-cheng (鍾肇政) passed away at his home in Taoyuan on Saturday, his family said. He was 95.
Chung’s son Chung Yen-wei (鍾延威) said the family discovered Chung not breathing at about 7pm.
Despite his father’s age, he was in relatively stable health over the past few years, Chung Yen-wei said.
Photo: Chen Ching-min, Taipei Times
The family said it is deeply saddened and shocked by his sudden passing, and is preparing for his funeral.
Born in Taoyuan’s Longtan (龍潭) in 1925 during Japanese colonial rule, Chung Chao-cheng, a Hakka, was widely considered the doyen of the literature movement. He was most famous for his works The Dull Ice Flower (魯冰花), the Turbid Waters Trilogy (濁流三部曲) and the Taiwanese Trilogy (台灣人三部曲).
Director Yang Li-kuo (楊立國) adapted The Dull Ice Flower into a film, released in 1989, that was nominated for six Golden Horse Awards and won two, Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song.
Chung Chao-cheng’s classics of Taiwanese literature depict the lives and fates of Taiwanese against the background of post-World War II Taiwan, following the end of the Japanese colonial period.
He wrote more than 30 novels and 150 short stories, as well as scores of essays, even though he taught at the Longtan Elementary School until 1979.
In mourning his passing, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed her condolences to his family and said his death was a great loss to the nation’s literary circle.
In a Facebook post, Tsai also praised Chung Chao-cheng for playing an important role in promoting Hakka culture and Taiwanese literature.
Chung Chao-cheng and other writers of his time had jointly published a regular newsletter during the post-war era called the Literary Bulletin, which proved essential to young and aspiring writers of the time, Tsai said.
Tsai said she would always remember him as an elder who saw her as his own child.
She pledged to bear his teachings in mind to continue the promotion of Hakka and Taiwanese culture so that his legacy would last for generations to come.
Writer Chen Fang-ming (陳芳明) said Chung Chao-cheng had a tremendous impact on the development of Taiwanese literature.
Chung Chao-cheng played a crucial rule during the transitional period in the 1950s after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) took over the governing of Taiwan from Japan, Chen said.
The Hakka Affairs Council said Chung Chao-cheng was not only a prolific writer, but a devoted promoter of Hakka affairs who helped promote awareness of Hakka culture at a national level.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS