ABSTRACT

In the mid-20th century, literary modernism in Taiwan underwent substantial development, making Taiwan’s literature a significant constituent of modern Chinese literature. Similar to the efforts Hu Shi made as early as January 1917 with his modern Chinese poems and a list of “Eight Points for Departing from Traditional Literature” (bashi) in New Youth (Xin qingnian), Taiwan’s modern poetry has, from the very beginning, been at the forefront of literary experiments and cultural trends. The poetry movements in Taiwan, especially from the 1950s to the late 1970s, witnessed the birth of modern poetry on the island and its “rebellion” against the influence of classical poetry. Despite their stylistic diversity, authors of Taiwan’s modern poetry were keen to experiment with innovative literary forms to represent the new post-war social reality. Although Taiwan was under the Nationalist Party’s authoritarian rule during those decades, politics has not played a dominant role in Taiwan as is the case in post-1949 Mainland China. Despite the repressive social atmosphere, Taiwan has enjoyed a more cosmopolitan culture, and its poets were able to carve out a relatively free space of their own. Many poets are well-educated and fluent in two (or more) languages.