By Jolene Tien
Usually when you spend an afternoon in the library you expect a certain amount of silence. However, this was not the case on the second Monday of the semester. You would have been astonished to see so many people standing in line to get into the conference hall located in the basement of the library. What could have happened? They were there to see Pai Hsien-Yung (白先勇), a famous contemporary novelist and alumnus of NTU, who came for a symposium about his early work, “Crystal Boys (孽子),” a novel recently adapted into a TV series about homosexuals in Taiwan during the 1970s. Pai was born on July 11, 1937 in 桂林. His father was a well-known KMT general. He spent part of his childhood living with his family in Chongqing, Shanghai, and Nanjing, and moved to Hong Kong in 1948 and then Taiwan in 1952. Pai started his studies at Cheng Kung University, where he studied hydraulic engineering for two semesters. But inside himself he knew that his real interest was in literature and writing. Pai’s former high school Chinese teacher, aware of his literary capabilities, suggested to him that if he really wanted to be a writer, he should study foreign literature at NTU. Pai decided to follow her advice and in 1958 he enrolled at NTU, and in that same year, his first short story, “Madam Jin,” appeared in the magazine Literature. Many of his early works were published in the following years. “Crystal Boys” was published in 1985, and was dedicated to the “castaway children wandering lonely in the streets in the darkness of the night.” The novel vividly portrays the 70s gay hustlers who gathered in Taipei’s New Park. The story focuses as well on an eighteen-year old teenager called A-Ching, who after being caught in an immoral act in school, was kicked out of the house by his father. Away from home, he discovered the underground world of Taiwanese gay subculture in and around the New Park. Through A-Ching and the spaces where the story develops, we can visualize the feelings and experiences of the gay community of the time. Through this novel, Pai illustrates the adventures and struggles of gay Taiwanese boys, who where judged severely by a conservative society which considered homosexuality an unforgivable sin. The novel not only describes homosexuals’ dark corner in the New Park but also depicts the values, beliefs, and everyday life of Taiwanese society in the 1970s. Through his novel, Pai wanted to express the conflicts, drama, and love between fathers and sons, and the mental scars in gay men caused by a judgmental society. “Crystal Boys” has been translated into many languages. The English version was translated by Howard Goldblatt in 1990. For your information: In 1997, the 228 Memorial park (the New Park), the space where most of Pai’s novel takes place, was the site of the first Gay Pride Festival in Taiwan, celebrated by many people and gay organizations. a
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
|