Chapter 99 Section 6: The Bridge of Translation and Introduction of Taiwanese Literature——Pen Club of the Republic of China

Since I am an academic exchange person, I must first gain a firm foothold in Taiwanese literature.Since 1985 the Berlin After the experience, I was able to think about the existing structure and future development of Taiwanese literature from the perspective of Europe outside the United States.What shocked me deeply was that at the PEN Annual Conference held in Hamburg, Germany in 1986, the famous West German writer Günter Grass yelled at the East German writers who supported the authoritarianism of the Russian Communist Party: "Where is the literary conscience? " The PEN Annual Conference in Barcelona in 1992 was almost a forum for the city to fight for independence from Spain. Half of the documents we received were in the city’s Catalan language, to show the existence of their ancient language significance.And the strongest inspiration was the 1994 PEN Annual Conference in Prague, Czech Republic. The theme was "Nation, Race, Religion, Social Tolerance and Literature". It was hosted by Czech Writer President Havel, and there was a symposium The title is "Small Language and Great Literature, Problems for Writers of Small Language".The other scene is "How much do we know?" It was the first time I saw that languages ​​can be divided into big and small, and it was the first time I heard that after the disintegration of Soviet Russia, more than fifty writers returned to their independent countries. They did not state in Russian, but Reusing the creation of the mother tongue of a small language falls into another predicament.

I once wrote an article "My voice can only be heard by the cold wind" based on their words. In the article, I did not explicitly express my worries. The world's Sinology circles have shifted their attention to mainland China. Most important writers in Taiwan have stopped writing. The voice of the Chinese language is getting louder and louder, and people's enthusiasm for writing in Chinese is no longer there. Will one day we also face the situation of small language and small literature?From then on, my concern for Taiwanese literature is no longer simply to encourage and comment, but to its future development and positioning.In 1992, she officially took over the job of editor-in-chief of the English Quarterly of the Republic of China PEN. For nearly ten years, she was able to cultivate her literary creation in Taiwan, and she has a personal understanding of this big issue.

I have been a substantial consultant to this quarterly English-language magazine since its inception in 1972.After editing the anthology, I kept a real understanding of the development of Taiwanese literature by reading without omission.Zhao Tianyi, who left because of the "National Taiwan University Philosophy Department Incident" (1973), was arranged by the Ministry of Education to serve as an editor in the humanities group of the National Institute of Compilation and Translation.And Ke Qingming, who took over "Modern Literature", helped me get to know local writers deeply.At that time Taiwan Poetry Clubs were springing up like bamboo shoots after rain, and I have always been a subscriber reader. In the future, the editor-in-chief of the PEN English Quarterly will still maintain a fair attitude in the selection of manuscripts for the English Quarterly, especially without the position of "political correctness".

In the free world, literary authors do not need to have "meetings". Writing is a solo industry. There is no "forum" in the literary world, but sometimes there are things to talk about when literati get together.The International PEN (The International PEN) was established in London in 1921 by British and some European writers. PEN is the abbreviation of Poet, Essayist, Novclist. In 1924, the Republic of China PEN Club was established in Shanghai and joined the general association. The founders were Lin Yutang, Hu Shi, Xu Zhimo and others. The first president was Cai Yuanpei. He began to do various cultural exchanges, mutual translation of works, and mutual visits of writers Wait for pioneering work.

I have been reading every book since I was a child, and there are often unforgettable things after reading it. The fact that they invited the Indian poet Tagore to visit China has inspired my imagination for many years. During the Second World War, PEN member countries participated in the war, and their positions were opposed. The literary exchange was stopped until 1946, when it was reopened in neutral Sweden.The Republic of China PEN resumed its meeting in Taiwan in 1953. The first and second presidents were Zhang Daofan and Luo Jialun.Returned to the International Conference for the first time in 1959 to participate in the annual conference.

In 1970, Lin Yutang was elected as the chairman, and held the 3rd Asian Writers Conference in Taipei, inviting Kawabata Yasunari, Zhang Daqian and other important writers from South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and other countries to come. Nearly 100 writers from Taiwan participated in the event.Wang Lan, Peng Ge (Yao Peng) and Yin Zhang Lanxi (Nancy Ing) were in charge of handling the affairs. They organized the conference in the newly completed Grand Hotel with great fanfare and greatly improved Taiwan's reputation.Lin Yutang said that Taiwan should have an English journal to publish works, so that we can build a bridge between the East and the West.

In the autumn of 1972, the first issue of "Republic of China PEN Quarterly" was published.Yin Zhang Lanxi, who is a native English speaker, is the editor-in-chief, and Wang Lan and Peng Ge are editorial consultants.From the inception of the publication to 1992, Yin Zhang Lanxi supported it for 20 years, and I continued to edit it for 9 years. Peng Jingxi, Zhang Huijuan, Gao Tianen and the current Liang Xinrong are all young colleagues from the Department of Foreign Languages ​​and Literatures of National Taiwan University. There is only one editor, assistant editor and secretary. Ms. Liu Keduan for the first 15 years, and Xiang Renhui for the last 15 years. When the book was published, a work-study student was added. It is hard for a large publishing house to imagine that kind of "loneliness".In the past thirty-six years, the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter have operated, just like the earth. The "Republic of China PEN Quarterly" has issued 144 issues so far, and there has never been a season out of date. It is the most stable and durable publication of the International PEN. .In the literary circles of more than 100 member states, Taiwan is a place of credibility.

Yin Zhang Lanxi was the first person to translate Taiwanese literature into English.In 1961, the U.S. Information Service funded the English translation of novels and new poems by Heritage Press. Yin Zhang Lanxi was the editor-in-chief of "New Voice". ) and other works.Therefore, before writing the quarterly magazine of PEN, Yin Zhang Lanxi had the experience of fighting alone for several years. The name of Yin Zhang Lanxi and the quarterly magazine are almost inseparable.She selects manuscripts, translates the poems of each issue, looks for high-level translators, reads the translated manuscripts, proofreads them, and publishes them.Three years after the publication's inception, she began to use Taiwanese art works on the cover. It was introduced in the magazine that she added another challenge in this area. Wang Lan assisted the most in this aspect. After I took over as editor, Lin Wenyue, Ding Zhenwan and other friends.

The beautiful blond-haired and blue-eyed mother of Yin Zhang Lanxi married a Chinese classmate Mr. Zhang Chengbiao in 1917 (he served as the Auditor-General after coming to Taiwan), and moved from Virginia, USA to Hubei County, China to start a family and have children.More than ten years later, Lan Xi grew up and graduated from the Department of Foreign Languages ​​of West China University in Chengdu. In 1949, she came to Taiwan with her husband, Mr. Yin Zhihao, and founded a mainland engineering company. Because she went abroad for a meeting, she took her husband's surname, and her friends in the literary world only called Nancy.She loves literature and sometimes writes poetry. In 1971, she published a collection of poems called One Leaf Falls.

I moved from Taichung to Taipei in 1972. I happened to live in a neighboring alley with Lan Xi, and we often met street dogs.They are the chief editors of PEN Quarterly and "Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature", and there are always endless topics to talk about.The most basic topic is the manuscript worthy of translation.Talented English translators carefully consider the translation word by word, the overall arrangement, the effect of presentation, the reaction of international readers, etc., like a long river, never getting tired. Lan Xi is a cheerful and warm person, full of enthusiasm in busy life.Before the annual meeting held in various places every year, the collection theory

Wen, arrange speeches and discuss topics, prepare gifts, go to the venue to make friends with the world, and hold so many outstretched hands of friendship.After the Cultural Revolution, the "China PEN Club" in mainland China participated in the general meeting and excluded us many times at the venue.Lan Xi put away her natural and gentle smile, and took the stage to speak indignantly, defending the freedom and democracy of Taiwan's representative rights.After the Tiananmen incident in 1989.They no longer attend the annual meeting.Under today's political situation, the position of membership will still be put forward, but the international friendship established between Lan Xi and the representatives of the year, as well as the stable publication of our quarterly magazine for more than 30 years, and the rich professional image have made the Republic of China PEN an established institution. in an unassailable position.After the severance of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, Lanxi was invited to "Talk about Taiwan" (Talk about Taiwan) program on ten local TV stations in the United States. progress in all aspects of society.The quarterly PEN magazine in English is more helpful to increase understanding.In those years, Lanxi did a lot to speak out for Taiwan in the Western world, but few people in Taiwan knew about it.The most valuable thing is that these dedications and her 20 years of devotion in editing PEN Quarterly are all supported wholeheartedly by her husband, Mr. Yin Zhihao.The income of the quarterly magazine is only the hundreds of books donated internationally paid by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Information Bureau, and less than a hundred copies are sold in places such as Eslite in China. The main expenses such as manuscript fees, printing, distribution and personnel expenses are all funded by Mr. Yin .The site of the PEN Club was originally located at the location of the Continental Engineering Company. After the death of Mr. Yin, he began to rent a house on Wenzhou Street in 1996. When the food was about to be cut off, Yin’s "Haoran Foundation" began to provide funding, and it has been edited and published until now.