Chung Chao-cheng

Taiwanese writer (1925–2020)

Chung Chao-cheng (Chinese: 鍾肇政; Hakka Chinese Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chûng Sau-chṳn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Cheng Tiāu-chèng 20 January 1925 – 16 May 2020) was a Taiwanese novelist and Hakka native born in the Hsinchu Prefecture during the Japanese rule period (now part of Lungtan District, Taoyuan City). Revered as the "Mother of Taiwanese Literature" in Taiwan, he is also frequently mentioned alongside Taiwanese writer Yeh Shih-tao, collectively known as "North Chung, South Yeh".[1]

The Japanese-style dormitory at Longtan Elementary School, where Chung Chao-cheng worked as a primary school teacher, has been renamed as the "Chong Chao-cheng Literature Life Park Resident Workstation".

Chung was born on 20 January 1925,[2] in Longtan District, Taoyuan.[3][4] Under Japanese rule, the subdivision was classified as a village by the name of Ryūtan, itself a part of Daikei, in Shinchiku Prefecture. His father was a schoolteacher and principal.[3] Chung was sixth of ten siblings, and the only son.[4] He enrolled successively at the Tamkang Middle School [zh] and then the Changhua Normal School, and later studied at National Taiwan University, but did not complete a degree in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, due to a bout of malaria.[3] He learned to speak Taiwanese Hokkien at an early age, and was educated in the Japanese language.[5] Chung taught at Longtan Elementary School until 1979,[2][6] switching from Hakka to teaching in Mandarin at the request of the Kuomintang-led government.[5] His knowledge of languages made Chung a member of the translingual generation.[5]

## Career[edit]

His first work was published in 1951, within the pages of the magazine Rambler.[7] His first novel appeared as a serial within United Daily News,[7] and over the course of his career, Chung published over thirty novels.[3] In 1961, he published the Muddy Torrent Trilogy (濁流三部曲), a landmark in Taiwanese epic novel writing, establishing him as the first author of Taiwanese epic novels.[8] He paid meticulous attention to the depiction of desire, a recurrent theme in his works. In 2002, at the age of seventy, he began writing The Passionate Goethe (歌德激情書), exploring the erotic world within the mind of the German literary giant Goethe.[9]

From 1957 to 1958, he collaborated with a group of enthusiastic Taiwanese writers to publish Literary Friends Communications (文友通訊). During this time, many writers from the Japanese rule period faced challenges with language transition due to the change in political power, starting to learn to write in Chinese again. Literary Friends Communications provided a platform for these writers to create and mutually encourage each other in their literary pursuits.[10][11]

In addition to his creative work, Chung actively highlighted the achievements of Taiwanese predecessors. Starting from the late 1970s, he participated in various activities promoting and establishing memorial halls for many Taiwanese writers, showing concern for the literary environment and cultural development, including Chung Li-He Museum.[12] After martial law was lifted, he actively engaged in social movements, advocating for the rights of the Hakka community in Taiwan, including the "Restore Our Mother Tongue Movement", and the founding of the Taiwan Hakka Association for Public Affairs and the Formosa Hakka Radio.

His literary output also includes many essays, over 150 short stories, and more than forty works translated from Japanese.[13] He promoted Taiwan nativist literature. Known as the doyen of Taiwanese literature,[14] Chung's novel The Dull Ice Flower was adapted into a Golden Horse-winning film released in 1989. He was a recipient of both the Wu San-lien Literary Award [zh] and the National Literary Award [zh], among others.[2][6] Chung fell the week before his death, and subsequently lapsed in and out of consciousness.[2] He died on 16 May 2020 at home in Taoyuan.[15][16]

Chung received the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon in 2000 from the Lee Teng-hui presidential administration. Lee's successor Chen Shui-bian awarded Chung the Order of Propitious Clouds with Grand Cordon in 2004. Posthumously, the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon was conferred upon Chung, alongside a presidential citation from Tsai Ing-wen.[17][18]

## See also[edit]

* Muddy Water Trilogy
* List of Taiwanese authors

## References[edit]

1. ^ Chung, Chao-cheng's Concern for Taiwan (2020). 鍾肇政的臺灣關懷 [Chung Chao-cheng's Concern for Taiwan]. Taipei: Yuan-Liou Publishing. ISBN 978-986-5659-39-4.
2. ^ a b c d 許, 倬勛 (16 May 2020). "獨家》「客家文學之母」鍾肇政辭世 享壽96歲". Liberty Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 16 May 2020.
3. ^ a b c d "The River Runs Wide: The Literary Carreer [sic] of Chung Chao-cheng". Taiwan e-Learning and Digital Archives Program. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
4. ^ a b "Chung Chao-cheng: the author who launched Taiwan's roman-fleuve". Hakka Affairs Council. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
5. ^ a b c Han Cheung (24 May 2020). "Taiwan in Time: A great loss for Taiwanese literature". Taipei Times. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
6. ^ a b "Writer | Chung Chao-cheng". Ministry of Culture. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
7. ^ a b "Chung Chao-cheng". Paper Republic. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
8. ^ Lin, Mei-hua (2003). 鍾肇政大河小說中的殖民地經驗 [Colonial Experience in Chung Chao-cheng's Epic Novels]. National Cheng Kung University. p. 9.
9. ^ Dai, Hua-Hsuan (2017). "如何測量情色的深度——李喬與鍾肇政、葉石濤的情色論對話" [Measuring the Depth of Eroticism: A Dialogue on Eroticism between Li Chiao and Chung Chao-cheng, Yeh Shih-tao]. Journal of Taiwan Literary Studies (24): 41–67.
10. ^ Wang, Jing-chan (2004). "穿越語言的斷層：鍾理和的精神食糧－－《文友通訊》" [Crossing the Language Gap: Chung Li-ho's Spiritual Sustenance – The Literary Friends Newsletter]. Newsletter of the National Museum of Taiwan Literature (6): 56.
11. ^ Chung, Chao-cheng (1998). 鍾肇政回憶錄（一）徬徨與掙扎 [Memoirs of Chung Chao-cheng (Part One): Wandering and Struggling]. Taipei: Vanguard. ISBN 957-801-156-3.
12. ^ Shih, Yi-lin (2003). "臺灣文壇的傳燈者" [The Torchbearer of Taiwan's Literary Scene]. Newsletter of the Taiwan Literature Museum (1st): 7.
13. ^ Tu, Kuo-ch'ing (2014). "Foreword to the Special Issue on Chung Chao-cheng" (PDF). Taiwan Literature: English Translation Series. No. 33\. Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica. Retrieved 16 May 2020. Record of publication held at the Institute of Taiwan History
14. ^ Chin, Jonathan (16 August 2018). "Novelist, son 'dumbstruck' by restoration of old home". Retrieved 16 August 2018.
15. ^ Chiu, Chun-chin; Su, Lung-chi; Chen, Ping-hung; Wu, Hsin-yun; Yeh, Joseph (17 May 2020). "Doyen of Taiwan's nativist literature movement passes away at 96". Central News Agency. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
16. ^ "Novelist who told stories of post-war life in Taiwan passes away aged 95". Taipei Times. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
17. ^ "Presidential order, posthumous citation conferred to literary great". Ministry of Culture. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
18. ^ "Tsai awards posthumous state honors to iconic Hakka novelist". Taiwan Today. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.

## External links[edit]

* The Sound of Taiwan – Chung Chao-cheng, presented at the Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival

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