Taiwan Literature: Special Issue on Animal Writing in Taiwan Literature

The works selected for translation here were recommended primarily by guest editor, Professor Chang. She has chosen works that highlight the local characteristics of animal literature in Taiwan as distinct from international animal literature. These works refer to the geographical environment and to memory of the unique cultural history of Taiwan. The two stories by Wu Ming-yi, “Koxing” and “The Compass of the Soul,” are excellent examples of this. Lee Chiao’s “A Sacrifice to the Asuras” was originally intended for the special issue on the author (No. 36, July 2015), but it turned out to be very appropriate for this issue on animal writing in Taiwan as it ponders animal life from a philosophical perspective.

• Kuo-ch'ing Tu, Editor

  Kuo-ch'ing Tu, born in Taichung, Taiwan. His research interests include Chinese literature, Chinese poetics and literary theories, comparative literature East and West, and world literatures of Chinese (Shi-Hua wenxue). He is the author of numerous books of poetry in Chinese, as well as translator of English, Japanese, and French works into Chinese.

• Terence Russell, Editor

  Terence Russell is Senior Scholar in the Asian Studies Center at the University of Manitoba. His research interest is in contemporary literature in Chinese, especially the literature of Taiwan’s Indigenous people. His publications include studies of Adaw Palaf, Auvini Kadresengan, and Syaman Rapongan. Dr. Russell has a strong interest in translation and translation theory, and has been a regular contributor to Taiwan Literature: English Translation Series. He was the guest editor of Issue 24 on Taiwan Indigenous myths and oral literature, and now serves as co-editor for the journal. His literary translations include novels by award-winning Chinese author Zhang Wei: September’s Fable (2007) and Seven Kinds of Mushrooms (2009); and most recently, The Spirit of Jade Mountain, by Husluman Vava (forthcoming).