The English translation of Yang Shuang-zi’s (楊?子) Taiwan Travelogue (臺灣漫遊錄) made history after it became the latest winner of the US National Book Award for Translated Literature.
The novel, translated from Chinese by Lin King (金翎), was recognized at an award ceremony on Wednesday in New York, making it the first work by a Taiwanese author to receive the honor since the category was established in 1967.
The National Book Awards are considered among the world’s most prestigious literary prizes, alongside the Man Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature, the New York Times said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Cultural Center in New York via CNA
In her acceptance speech, Yang reflected on Taiwan’s complex identity, drawing similarities between its current relationship with China and its historical ties to Japan.
She highlighted the divided identities of Taiwanese, saying: “Some think they are Chinese, just as some thought they were Japanese 100 years ago. I wrote this book to explore what it means to be Taiwanese.”
Taiwan Travelogue tells the story of a Japanese writer who visits Taiwan in 1938 and embarks on a culinary journey across the island with her local interpreter.
The narrative, set against the backdrop of Taiwan’s railway network, “unburies lost colonial histories and deftly reveals how power dynamics inflect our most intimate relationships,” according to the award’s Web site.
Yang said that she often faces questions about why she writes about events from a century ago.
“[I] wrote about the past to move on to the future,” she said, emphasizing that Taiwan has long faced challenges from powerful neighboring countries.
“As early as at least 100 years ago, there were Taiwanese saying Taiwan belongs to its people,” she added.
Yang Shuang-zi is a pen name shared by twin sisters Yang Jo-tzu (楊若慈), who focused on writing, and Yang Jo-hui (楊若暉), who specialized in conducting historical research and Japanese translations.
The pen name, meaning “twins” in Japanese Kanji, was adopted to reflect their collaboration.
Despite Jo-hui’s death from cancer in 2015, Jo-tzu continued to use the pseudonym in honor of her sister.
Translator Lin King began working on Taiwan Travelogue as a graduate student.
She described the book as “translation literature about translation literature,” emphasizing her efforts to capture the essence of the original text without overly Westernizing it.
King expressed gratitude to Yang for her trust, as well as to the editor and staff at Graywolf Press, the book’s US publisher.
“I hope this book introduces Taiwan’s culture and history to readers around the world,” King said.
Born in the US, but raised in Taiwan, King has previously received the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, according to the award’s Web site.
Taiwan Travelogue was first published in Chinese by SpringHill Publishing in 2020.
A Japanese translation was released last year, with more than 10,000 copies printed so far, according to the book’s Taiwanese publisher.
Talks are under way for additional translation rights, with a Korean edition already confirmed following the book’s shortlisting for the National Book Awards in September.
In May, the Japanese version of the novel became the first Taiwanese work to win Japan’s Best Translation Award.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS