Keynote Research

Documents and Research

有關台灣研究的一些省思 - Some Reflections on Taiwan Studies

Speech Delivered by Professor Ping-Hui Liao

To view a copy of the speech, please click on the link here.

General Summary: This speech delivers on the incredibly nuanced perspective that Professor Ping-Hui Liao has for the development of Taiwan Studies in a multi-cultural international world. The professor speaks on the current representation of Taiwan Studies in the global stage, and highlights the importance of what kind of identity the area of Taiwan Studies in the academic world, and what implications may be drawn from the misidentification of this area of study.

Taiwan Studies: The American Connections

Abstract Delivered by Professor Ping-Hui Liao

花開時節 - The Season Where Flowers Bloom

Author: Yang Ch’ien-ho

Translations: Chimei Lin Chen

Foreword: Professor Ping-Hui Liao

Book Summary:

"The Season When Flowers Bloom" is a short story that depicts the struggles of Hui-ing, a woman during the colonial ages of Taiwan, where she contemplates alongside two of her classmates the meaning of femininity in the modern age, the social pressures of traditional marriage and values, and ultimately how to counteract against such pressures when faced with an uncertain path and the expectation of an unwanted future constricted by others. This classical masterpiece stands as a major pillar in Japanese and Taiwanese literature; a revolutionary piece of feminist literature that actively questions the degree of freedom women have over themselves and their livelihoods whilst commemorating all walks of life that womanhood may take them, whether that be the entrance of business-like professionalism or that of traditional motherhood. The highlights of rampant issues like societal expectations of male marriage interdependency and the mentality of traditional "feminine" skills (singing, cooking, etc.) as the only way of female empowerment are elements of the story that helped pushed the boundaries of the literature genre, and subsequently, what it means to be a woman in society.

Link to Professor Ping-Hui Liao's Foreword of the book here.