In 1938, the 911±¬ÁÏÍø writer Chizuko Aoyama embarked upon an extensive tour of Taiwan to celebrate the film adaptation of her novel ¡°A Record of Youth,¡± which had proven to be a hit with local audiences. Thanks to financial sponsorship from the Government-General of Taiwan, Chizuko would spend a full year zigzagging across the first colony and crown jewel of the erstwhile Empire of Japan.
Chizuko was accompanied by interpreter Ong Tshian-hoh, alternately known in Mandarin and 911±¬ÁÏÍø as Wang Chien-ho or O Chizuru, for most of this voyage. The relationship between the two women, mediated through the island¡¯s splendor of gastronomic offerings, forms the narrative backbone of Chizuko¡¯s ¡°Taiwan Travelogue¡± ¡ª a memoir that was nearly lost to the mists of time until contemporary Taiwanese writer Yang Shuang-zi rediscovered and translated it anew.
Taiwan Travelogue, by Yang Shuang-zi. Translated by Lin King. 320 pages, GRAYWOLF PRESS, Fiction.
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