In the thirty years since the 1980s, a significant volume of creative work and research in Taiwan has been produced under the general category of nature writing. There have been conferences and proceedings, M.A. theses and Ph.D. dissertations, research articles, books, and anthologies. There are four representative and well-recognized writers in the field: Liu Ka-shiang, who has dedicated himself to birdwatching and nature writing; Liao Hung-chi, who is known for his writings on whale and ocean experiences; Wu Ming-yi, who has concentrated on butterflies and broken new ground in ecological writing; as well as Syaman Rapongan, who has devoted himself to reconstructing the ocean-centric culture of the indigenous Taos people. It is in view of all the above that this issue of the journal has been dedicated to “Animal Writing in Taiwan Literature.” Recalling that our publication has a mission to “introduce the voices of Taiwan literature from recent publications to English readers, and especially to introduce the views of Taiwanese writers and scholars regarding their own literature,” we have asked Professor Chia-ju Chang of Brooklyn College to be guest editor of this special issue.
The works selected for translation here were recommended primarily by 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, “Koxinga” 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. Furthermore, three poems related to animal writing by Prof. Tu are collected in this issue. “A-he, A-he,” about a hippo, concerns attitudes toward animals as well as environmental consciousness and animal protection in Taiwan. “My Grief ” expresses the close relationship between a man and his dog. And the third poem, “Reincarnation of the Three Realms—After watching the movie God Man Dog,” considers the Buddhist concept of incarnation in the three realms of life, echoing Lee Chiao's Buddhist philosophy on life beyond this life.
