Winner of the MLA Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Scholarly Study of Literature
"Ye Shitao’s A History of Taiwan Literature is a seminal work in establishing the field of Taiwanese literature and literary history in its own right. Although it is an outline of the history of Taiwanese literature, the study has an impressive scope, introducing English-speaking readers to the complexities of the literary field and discussing single authors, as well as literary societies, magazines, and cultural trends as they come together to create a national literature. Christopher Lupke’s masterful and fluid translation gives the reader the full flavor of the rhetoric and style of the original. The volume also includes extensive Japanese-language notes that, together with the introduction, ensure a better understanding of the significance of Ye Shitao’s book." —MLA Committee
"The significance of Ye’s A History of Taiwan Literature is at least twofold—its slight pre-emption, in terms of its publication time, of martial law and its Taiwan-oriented perspective.… Given the importance of Ye’s book, Lupke deserves extra credit for bringing it to an English readership with his clear, faithful, and fluent rendering. He is far more than just a translator, being more a translator-cum-scholar of Taiwanese literature. … With its extensive coverage of writers, literary societies, and journal titles, translating this book must have been challenging. For many terms, Lupke’s translation will likely be the first one available in English. His meticulous introduction and footnoting, which could be termed 'thick' translation (if we tweak Geertz’s 'thick description' slightly), are valuable for readers of the book and researchers in Taiwanese literature alike.… the glossary, along with Lupke’s translation of the extensive notes from the Japanese translation of Ye’s book, should be particularly useful. The Epilogue prepared by Lupke, which succinctly recapitulates the development of Taiwanese literature after the publication of Ye’s book, functions like an 8th chapter of Ye’s 7-chapter book. This structurally coherent addition not only makes Ye’s book much more relevant to us nowadays, it also aptly highlights two special characteristics—thematization of gender and eco-writing—of contemporary Taiwanese literature." —Taiwan Lit
“Ye Shitao (1925-2008), a pioneering writer and historian, specialized in the literary history of Taiwan and the lives of ordinary Taiwanese people. A History of Taiwan Literature is his most important work that conveys the uniqueness of Taiwanese culture, ethnicity, and historical experience in contrast to mainland China. In this masterful translation of Ye Shitao’s opus, which won the 2021 MLA Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a translation of a scholarly study of literature, Christopher Lupke allows readers to gain insight into the evolution of Taiwan literature throughout centuries of colonization and subjugation by foreign powers. He highlights the crucial link between literature and ‘a new consciousness that reflects an awareness of the historical legacy' of Taiwan (12). Framed by Lupke’s incisive introduction and epilogue, this book presents a rigorous, comprehensive treatment of Taiwan’s literary history in a fair and even-handed way. It devotes attention to major and minor writers whose accomplishments were ignored for decades since there was a virtual denial or ignorance of their literary worth. The work foregrounds Ye Shitao’s outlook as a ‘doubly marginalized’ (4) bentu (of this land) writer of southern Taiwan who advocated an understanding of Taiwanese culture and literature as separate from mainland China. Due to Lupke’s inclusion of extensive notes for each chapter, both by Ye Shitao and two Japanese scholars, as well as a rich bibliography and a helpful index, this work is a valuable resource for anyone interested in learning about the historical events, authors, literary journals, and texts that lie at the core of Taiwan’s literary heritage.” — Rocky Mountain Review
"This translation of Ye Shitao’s Taiwan wenxue shigang will challenge readers in productive ways. Few will be able to digest in one reading all of the information it offers on four centuries of writing in Taiwan.… Readers who want to make the most of this sea of information can use the extensive index and may also benefit from owning a searchable electronic version of the book.… Beyond the wealth of information it provides on individual writers and their works, it is this strong voice that makes Ye’s History so rewarding, and I expect that I will return to it many times in my research and teaching." —CLEAR
