TranslingualNarrationisastudyofcolonialTaiwanesefiction,itstranslationfromJapanesetoChinese,andfilmsproducedduringandaboutthecolonialera.ItisapostcolonialinterventionintoafieldlargelydominatedbystudiesofcolonialTaiwanesewritingaseitherabranchofChinesefictionorpartofalargerempireofJapaneselanguagetexts.RatherthanreadTaiwanesefictionassimplybelongingtooneoftwodiscourses,BertScruggsarguesfordisengagingthenationfromtheformercolonytobetterunderstandcolonialTaiwananditspostcolonialcritics.
FollowingearlychaptersontheidentitypoliticsbehindChinesetranslationsofJapanesetexts,attemptstoestablishavernacularTaiwaneseliterature,andcriticalspace,Scruggsprovidesclosereadingsofshortfictionthroughthecriticalprismsoflocativeandculturalorethnicidentitytosuggestthatculturalidentityisevidenceoffreewill.Storiesandnovellasarealsoviewedthroughthecriticalprismofclass-consciousness,includingthewritingsofYangKui(1906–1985),whounlikemostofhiscontemporarieswrotepoliticallyengagedliterature.ScruggscompleteshiscoreexaminationofidentitybyreadingshortfictionthroughtheprismofgenderidentityandpositsaresemblancebetweengenderpoliticsincolonialTaiwanandpre-independenceIndia.
Theworkgoesontotestthelimitsofnostalgiaandsolastalgiainfictionandfilmbylookingathowboththecolonialfutureandpastarerememberedbeforeconcludingwithpoliticalusesofcinematicmurder.Filmsconsideredinthischapterincludecolonial-eragovernmentpropagandadocumentariesandpostcolonialrepresentationsofcolonialcosmopolitanismandoppression.Finally,ideasborrowedfromtranslationandmemorystudiesaswellasindigenizationaresuggestedaspossibleavenuesofdiscoveryforcontinuedinterventionsintothestudyofpostcolonialandcolonialTaiwanesefictionandculture.
WithitsinsightfulandinformedanalysisofthediversenatureofTaiwaneseidentity,TranslingualNarrationwillengageabroadaudiencewithinterestsinEastAsianandpostcolonialliterature,film,history,andculture.
