Children's literature in Taiwan has come a long way in the last two decades, in line with the rising affluence and sophistication of the society. But there is still considerable room for further development with the help of educators, government officials, and parents.
Sam was a little boy. He met Lily under a tall tree just as the sun was beginning to set. His new friend was being treated for cancer. One afternoon before she returned to the hospital, Lily showed him a shiny lock that she said could bring good luck. Sam hung the lock on the tree for her. She was supposed to come back to the tree with the boy on her birthday to open the lock with her key, but Sam did not see the girl again.
This story is the theme of the book Happy Birthday to You, winner of the first Mandarin Daily News Children's Literature Award for illustration in 1995. The author, Fang Su-chen, has been writing children's stories for more than twenty years. Born in 1957, she won the second Hung Chien-chuan Children's Literature Award, another of Taiwan's major honors in this field, when she was only eighteen. "Writing for children was a lonely job when I first started," she says. "My father used to be quite skeptical about my career choice, but now he can be proud of his somewhat famous daughter." Fang notes that although children's literature is still "outside the mainstream of the publishing industry," it has developed into a profitable business due to the rapid social changes in Taiwan over the past few decades.
Current annual sales in Taiwan of children's books--defining "children" as those under twelve years old, the usual age for graduation from elementary school--are estimated by Hao Kuang-tsai, publisher of the Grimm Press, at about NT$5 billion (US$143 million). That amounts to less than one-tenth of the total NT$60-billion (US$1.7-billion) book publishing market, compared to about one-seventh of the total in more developed markets such as the United States and Japan. "Taiwan has seen considerable progress in the field of children's literature during the past fifteen years, although there is still much room for improvement," says Hao, whose company is a leading publisher of children's picture books. "In addition to the increased affluence in Taiwan, which means the general public can afford to buy the more elaborate editions of illustrated stories for kids, the more liberated political environment has also contributed to expanding the number of young readers."
Although children's literature would seem to have little to do with political affairs, Hao sees a direct relationship between the creative spark that inspires authors and the extent of freedom of expression and freedom of speech in a society, a decidedly political phenomenon. "Children's literature never exists on its own," he observes. "It's always connected to a broader literary and social context." Lin Wen-pao, chairperson of the Graduate Institute of Children's Literature (GICL) at National Taitung Teachers' College, is even more explicit regarding this social connection. "If you want to evaluate a country's economic, technical, cultural, and educational development," he says, "one of the most effective ways is to look at the quality and quantity of its publications for children."
Based on the connection to larger social trends, Lin divides the history of children's literature in Taiwan into four stages. The first ran from the end of the Japanese colonial period in 1945 through the consolidation of Kuomintang (KMT) rule in the 1950s, and the second covered the era of economic take-off from the mid-sixties through the seventies. The third stage, starting in the early eighties, saw the formation of numerous civic organizations--among them important groups devoted to promoting books for young readers, including the ROC Society of Children's Literature (SCL), established in 1984. And the final, ongoing stage was ushered in by the abolition of martial law in 1987.
During the fifty-year Japanese occupation, educational opportunities for Taiwanese youngsters were severely limited, and even after the island's return to the Republic of China, it took time for the KMT government to build up a solid educational system. "If kids weren't receiving a proper education," says Yang Shou-jung, professor of sociology at Taipei's Soochow University and director of the SCL, of that period, "how could they be able to appreciate works of literature?" After the ROC government was relocated to Taiwan in 1949, the general level of education began to rise rapidly. In 1951, the Taiwan Provincial Government's Department of Education started to publish a semimonthly magazine for elementary students that has been called the fount of domestic children's literature. About a decade later, the same organization, utilizing United Nations funding, established a task force to compile reading materials for children.
In 1968, by which time Taiwan had entered Lin Wen-pao's second stage of development, the government inaugurated a system of nine-year compulsory education. "That created a more urgent need for reading matter for children," says Yang. "Translating foreign works and rewriting classical Chinese stories constituted the two major sources for filling the demand."
According to Lin Huan-chang, a veteran writer of children's poems and one of the founders of the SCL, a lack of creativity is typical of the early stages of literary development. "At that time, even the foreign works were translated badly," Lin says. "But the ability to create something authentic from local cultural and historical roots would emerge in due course." That began to occur during Lin Wen-pao's third stage. By this time, the better-educated, post-war generation was coming into its own. Among the members of that generation were writers and editors of children's books, including the author of Happy Birthday to You. Their skills and creativity would blossom in the atmosphere of cultural ferment that has existed since 1987.
In 2001, according to the GICL, a total of 206 children's books by local authors and 135 translated ones--picture books excluded--were published in Taiwan. Despite their smaller numbers, however, the translations tend to dominate lists of the best children's books of the year, such as those compiled by the China Daily News and the United Daily News . The "urban middle-class taste" that these booklists reflect is only one reason for that tendency, says Lin Wen-pao. "Western countries have accumulated hundreds of years of experience writing for children," he says. "Besides, our publishers undoubtedly pick the best ones, especially prize winners, for translation." That competition between foreign and local works is widely seen as a positive development. "I'm glad to see our young readers exposed to a variety of themes and styles," says Fang Su-chen. "I'm not afraid of the so-called 'cultural invasion.' I just expect the day to come when our works will compete with the best ones internationally on an equal footing."
Today, Taiwan not only imports foreign works for children but also is capable of exporting its own productions. Fang's Happy Birthday to You is an example, having been licensed to a US publisher. In the international arena, the Grimm Press has achieved the most impressive record. Financed mostly by foreign investors and utilizing illustrators of various nationalities, Grimm takes pride that its books have won several major international awards for children's literature. "People always ask me why we don't employ more Taiwanese authors, but it's simply a question of business priorities," Hao Kuang-tsai says. "It's not important whether our books concentrate solely on local themes or if they're written or illustrated by local authors. What we care about is quality, for we intend to become the leading production center in the world for children's books."
One great advantage for the development of children's literature in Taiwan, Lin Wen-pao points out, is that almost all primary school teachers took relevant courses during their student days in teachers' colleges. For that reason, a reading movement promoted by the Ministry of Education last year among elementary pupils was quite successful, he says. In addition to the sympathetic teachers, another positive factor cited by Lin is the literary consciousness now incorporated into many educational materials. "Many authors of children's books have also become editors of primary school textbooks in recent years, ever since the government lifted restrictions on private-sector involvement in textbook publishing," the professor notes.
One of the most significant government efforts to promote children's literature is the Government Information Office's program, in effect since 1983, to recommend extracurricular reading materials to primary and secondary school students. The resultant booklists are distributed to schools, libraries, teachers, and parents. In 1996, the GIO established the Little Sun Award for the best works by Taiwanese authors from among the recommended titles. Prizes are given to the best writer, illustrator, editor, and art designer in a variety of categories, and the winning titles are promoted at the annual Taipei International Book Exhibition and at the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
Despite the gains, children's literature appears to have remained of marginal concern among academics. "This marginality can be seen from the fact that our first graduate institute of children's literature was established in eastern Taiwan, quite far from the center of national political and economic life," says GICL Chairperson Lin Wen-pao. Another problem lies with the parents. According to a 2000 survey conducted by the GICL, the number of elementary students in Taiwan who read with their parents is under 20 percent. "Adults should not look down on children's literature," says Yang Shou-jung. "Children's books are full of insights and inspiration that adults can also happily appreciate." At the end of Happy Birthday to You, the author invites readers to wonder whether the girl will ever come back to open the lock that brings good luck. By the same token, Yang suggests, parents hold a magic key that can unlock the wonderful world of literature for their children.
Pottermania
As in other countries around the world, the Harry Potter craze has hit Taiwan. Translated versions of the four-book series have sold more than 2 million copies, and the initial print run of 500,000 copies for the third book was a record in the island's publishing history. The stunning success has taken even the publisher, Crown Culture Corp., by surprise.
"We had been hesitant about publishing children's books," recalls Ping Yun, vice president of Crown. "Also, the fantasy genre was never very popular before among Chinese readers." After publishing the first book in the series in mid-2000--three years after the young student of wizardry was introduced to the reading public in Britain--Crown started publicizing it in the usual manner with press conferences and media promotion. But almost immediately the impact of Harry Potter's enormous international popularity propelled it to the top of bestseller lists in Taiwan.
Ping has found the series typical of stories that transcend geographical, cultural, racial, and educational boundaries. "Like those in other parts of the world, Taiwan's readers were captivated by the magical world and imaginary scenes, but most of all they were enthralled by the writer's style of storytelling," he says. "Of course, the translator's skills have also helped a lot." The term "muggle," for example, has been rendered as the made-up word magua, which has entered everyday vernacular on the streets. Magua, which rhymes with a term meaning a "fool,"conveys a whimsical feeling in Chinese while approximating the sound of "muggle."
More significantly, the Potter series has inspired the public to rethink its approach to children's literature. "Before the books came along, it was unconceivable that kids would shun their beloved TV shows and video games just to read through hundreds of pages of a book," says Lin Wen-pao, a professor at National Taitung Teachers' College. "It proves that children have the patience to read well-written stories." Such stories do not need to have a moral or underlying educational value, which most teachers and parents in Taiwan expect from children's books. "Reading should be for the sake of pure pleasure," Ping Yun insists. "Thanks to Harry Potter, children are happily transported to an imaginary world where they can enjoy themselves." The biggest lesson behind Harry Potter's phenomenal success is to have fun reading.