An Unlikely Trajectory
Literary and Cultural Leftism in Taiwan
Published on 1. April 2026
Book
Hardback
344 pages
979-8-8558-0628-1 (ISBN)
Description
Examines various case studies to provide a multifaceted understanding of Taiwan's literary and cultural leftism, emphasizing its transnational, diverse, and highly malleable nature.
An Unlikely Trajectory addresses a significant gap by foregrounding the often repressed or understudied literary and cultural leftist practices in Taiwan. Its twelve chapters explore how Taiwanese authors, directors, and intellectuals strategically navigated the complexities of colonial Japanese rule and authoritarian nationalist governance to articulate visions of a more just and oppression-free future for Taiwan. Taiwan's leftist practices matter because they offer essential insights into the island's social fabric and the intricate processes of identity formation as well as the broader international and geopolitical dynamics shaped by ongoing ideological conflicts. Through detailed case studies, this volume demonstrates how these leftist practices were influenced by diverse multicultural sources and have maintained their relevance and adaptability amid shifting sociopolitical landscapes. Furthermore, it explores how leftist ideologies intersect with other critical issues, including gender, class, and ethnicity.
An Unlikely Trajectory addresses a significant gap by foregrounding the often repressed or understudied literary and cultural leftist practices in Taiwan. Its twelve chapters explore how Taiwanese authors, directors, and intellectuals strategically navigated the complexities of colonial Japanese rule and authoritarian nationalist governance to articulate visions of a more just and oppression-free future for Taiwan. Taiwan's leftist practices matter because they offer essential insights into the island's social fabric and the intricate processes of identity formation as well as the broader international and geopolitical dynamics shaped by ongoing ideological conflicts. Through detailed case studies, this volume demonstrates how these leftist practices were influenced by diverse multicultural sources and have maintained their relevance and adaptability amid shifting sociopolitical landscapes. Furthermore, it explores how leftist ideologies intersect with other critical issues, including gender, class, and ethnicity.
Reviews / Votes
"The essays in this important anthology contribute to the field of Taiwan studies, especially in shedding new light around such crucial topics as anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, sociopolitical activism, national movements, labor unionisms, and state media, among others, to discuss the ways in which Taiwanese intellectuals and writers have responded to American, Chinese, and Japanese leftist influences." - Ping-hui Liao, University of California, San Diego"An Unlikely Trajectory is a great addition to Taiwan studies. The dominant themes are the diversity and the transnationality of the leftist legacy in Taiwan. Taiwan presents a unique case due to its geographical, cultural, and temporal positions at the crossroads of Chinese, Japanese, British, and American empires. The volume thus makes a special contribution to the broader international scholarship on leftist and socialist movements in Asia and across the globe. Specialists on socialist literature or political movements worldwide will find this volume a rewarding read." - Dominic Meng-Hsuan Yang, Department of History, University of Missouri-Columbia
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Illustrations
1 Tables, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
710 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-8558-0628-1 (9798855806281)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2026
State University of New York Press
€39.49
Available for download
Persons
Pei-yin Lin is Associate Professor at the School of Chinese, University of Hong Kong. She is the author Colonial Taiwan: Negotiating Identities and Modernity Through Literature and coeditor, with Wen-chi Li, of Taiwanese Literature as World Literature. Po-hsi Chen is Assistant Research Fellow at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
Content
Acknowledgments
Notes on Romanization
Introduction
Pei-yin Lin and Po-hsi Chen
Part I. The Colonial Era
1. Literary Leftism in Colonial Taiwan: The Cases of Lai He, Yang Kui, and Lue Heruo
Pei-yin Lin
2. Butterflies! The Revolutionary Muses: Wang Baiyuan's Poetry Translation in Shanghai, 1936-1946
Liu Liu Shu-chin, translated by Pei-yin Lin, Po-hsi Chen, and Blake Brownrigg
3. Rereading Jiang Weishui's Revolutionary Politics and Contribution to Anti-Imperialism
Nick T. C. Lu
Part II. The Early Postwar Era (1945-1960s)
4. The Dissemination of Early Postwar Leftism Through the Reception of Lu Xun in Taiwan (1925-1949)
Huang Ying-che, translated by Yi-hung Liu
5. Identities, Genealogy, and Political Actions of Left-Wing Female Political Victims of the White Terror in the 1950s
Li Shu-chun, translated by Alec Martin
6. Revelation and Evocation: On Su Beng's 400-Year History of the Taiwanese People as National History
Rwei-ren Wu
Part III. The 1970s and 1980s
7. The Dialectics of Revolution and Betrayal: Chen Yingzhen's Socialist Christianity in "The Story of Judas Iscariot"
Po-hsi Chen
8. Guo Songfen, "Moon Seal," and the Rift in Mid-Twentieth Century
Sung-sheng Yvonne Chang
9. A Critical Topography of Work: Baigongtu's Alternative Media Activism in 1980s Taiwan
Lawrence Zi-qiao Yang
Part IV. The Post-Martial Law Era
10. Remembering Taiwanese Socialism: Xie Xuehong in Cross-Strait Historical Memory
Mark McConaghy
11. Delocalizing Sinophone, or the Literature of Left-Wing South: Ng Kim-chew's Stories of Malayan Communists
Ling Kang
12. The "Postcolonial Left" and "Ethnicity-Oriented Class Narrative" in Taiwan's Literary Historiography
Lin Yun-hung, translated by Pei-yin Lin
Glossary
List of Contributors
Index
Notes on Romanization
Introduction
Pei-yin Lin and Po-hsi Chen
Part I. The Colonial Era
1. Literary Leftism in Colonial Taiwan: The Cases of Lai He, Yang Kui, and Lue Heruo
Pei-yin Lin
2. Butterflies! The Revolutionary Muses: Wang Baiyuan's Poetry Translation in Shanghai, 1936-1946
Liu Liu Shu-chin, translated by Pei-yin Lin, Po-hsi Chen, and Blake Brownrigg
3. Rereading Jiang Weishui's Revolutionary Politics and Contribution to Anti-Imperialism
Nick T. C. Lu
Part II. The Early Postwar Era (1945-1960s)
4. The Dissemination of Early Postwar Leftism Through the Reception of Lu Xun in Taiwan (1925-1949)
Huang Ying-che, translated by Yi-hung Liu
5. Identities, Genealogy, and Political Actions of Left-Wing Female Political Victims of the White Terror in the 1950s
Li Shu-chun, translated by Alec Martin
6. Revelation and Evocation: On Su Beng's 400-Year History of the Taiwanese People as National History
Rwei-ren Wu
Part III. The 1970s and 1980s
7. The Dialectics of Revolution and Betrayal: Chen Yingzhen's Socialist Christianity in "The Story of Judas Iscariot"
Po-hsi Chen
8. Guo Songfen, "Moon Seal," and the Rift in Mid-Twentieth Century
Sung-sheng Yvonne Chang
9. A Critical Topography of Work: Baigongtu's Alternative Media Activism in 1980s Taiwan
Lawrence Zi-qiao Yang
Part IV. The Post-Martial Law Era
10. Remembering Taiwanese Socialism: Xie Xuehong in Cross-Strait Historical Memory
Mark McConaghy
11. Delocalizing Sinophone, or the Literature of Left-Wing South: Ng Kim-chew's Stories of Malayan Communists
Ling Kang
12. The "Postcolonial Left" and "Ethnicity-Oriented Class Narrative" in Taiwan's Literary Historiography
Lin Yun-hung, translated by Pei-yin Lin
Glossary
List of Contributors
Index