Written by Chee-Hann Wu. This article discusses Taiwan Travelogue and its US book tour earlier this year. It highlights the controversial marketing strategy, the extensive use of footnotes to enrich the historical context, and the categorisation of the novel as queer literature due to the evident, though subtle, romantic undertones between the two female protagonists.
Written by Wei-chi Chen. This article explores the terms “Black Cat” and “Black Dog” in colonial Taiwan during the 1920s and 30s. These terms, originating from a Taiwanese opera song, were used to translate the Japanese “moga” and “mobo,” describing emerging gender identities and a new social identity in modern urban culture. They also reflected a shift towards liberation and a contrast with existing gender norms at that time.
Written by Alex Hsu-Chun Liu. This article reviews the cultural inquiries of Taiwanese psychiatrists in the postwar years, a period that saw the birth of transcultural psychiatry. The stories of Hsien Rin and Tsung-Yi Lin revealed the shift from eugenics to socio-cultural psychiatry and contributed to the decolonialisation of psychiatry in a postcolonial society.
Written by Kate Allanson Conlon. This article traces the early development of women’s footbinding in the 18th century and subsequent ban during Japanese colonial period. As a tradition, footbinding has historical significance, demonstrating how distinct temporalities that viewed and treated women and their bodily freedom.
Written by Alex Yong Kang Chow. This article offers insights into the anti-imperial struggles of the Taiwanese and Hong Kong diasporas through the book Island X. This article contextualises the diaspora experiences historically through Cold War geopolitics and left-leaning activism since the 1970s.
Written by Ai-Ting Chung. This article examines the changing discourse around the Taoyuan Martyrs’ Shrine since it was built in 1938. The author argues that it demonstrates the transformation of Taiwan’s national identity shaped by coloniality and the impact of neoliberalism in turning identity as consumable products.
