Yu Kwang-chung, also romanised as Yu Guangzhong (; 21 October 1928 – 14 December 2017) was a
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
writer, poet, educator and critic.
Life
Yu was born in 1928 in
Nanking
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
to Yu Chaoying and Sun Xiujun, but fled with his family during the
Japanese invasion. After returning to Nanjing many years later, he again was forced to flee due to the Communist victory in the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
. Yu and his family fled to Taiwan via
British Hong Kong in 1950 with the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
-led Government. Yu entered the
University of Nanking
The University of Nanking, known in Chinese as Jinling University (金陵大学, Jinling being the ancient name of Nanking) was a private university in Nanjing, China sponsored by American churches. Founded in 1888, it effectively become defunct i ...
for English Major in 1947, and then transferred to
Amoy University. He enrolled at
National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan.
The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...
and was one of the first students to graduate with a degree in foreign languages. He held a master of fine arts degree from the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...
.
After graduation, he began his career as a university teacher in 1956. Yu became a reader within the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university ...
in 1974.
He joined the faculty of
National Sun Yat-sen University
National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU; ) is a public research-intensive university renowned as an official think tank scholars' community, located in Sizihwan, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. NSYSU is listed as one of six national research universities, ...
in 1985 as dean of arts.
He taught in the United States, including at
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...
. He was awarded a National Award for Arts in 1989 and a National Cultural Award in 2014.
Yu died on 14 December 2017 from
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
, at
Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital
Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital (), also known as Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, is a teaching hospital in Sanmin District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It was established on 16 June 1957 to provide clinical training, heal ...
in
Kaohsiung. He was married to Fan Wo-tsun from 1956 until his death.
Works
He published 17 poetry collections and 12 prose collections. Yu's poetry since the 1970s had focused on the theme of longing for China felt by many Mainland Chinese soldiers and Nationalist Government workers who fled to Taiwan after the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
.
Yu's works often focused on four fundamental aspects of literature; namely poetry, prose, translation, and commentary. Among writers using Chinese, Yu Kwang-chung became well-received to readers by showing innovative humour in his essays, exhibiting wit in his appreciations, and evincing his understanding of humanistic culture in his poetry.
A former professor at the Chinese language and literature faculty at the
Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university and ...
, Yu was internationally acclaimed for his command of traditional Chinese as well as modern literature. Besides his proficiency in the English language, for which he had been appointed professor at departments of English in Taiwan and the US, Yu was also an eager learner of languages, especially European ones. He spoke French, German, Spanish, and Italian, languages which he sometimes cited in his Chinese essays when juxtaposing the Chinese and Western cultures. He also learned Russian.
He targeted the
Taiwanese literature movement
The Taiwanese literature movement (also Taiwan literature movement, Nativist literature movement) refers to the effort of authors, poets, dramatists, musicians, and publishers in Taiwan to establish recognition of a distinctly Taiwanese body of ...
in an August 1977 publication titled "The Wolf Is Coming", comparing
nativist writings to "worker-peasant-soldier arts and literature" and linking them with
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
. Coupled with a editorial that appeared in the ''
Central Daily News'', Yu's piece engendered heavy criticism of nativist literature that lasted until January 1978.
See also
*
List of Taiwanese authors
This is a list of authors from Taiwan.
See also
*List of Taiwanese people
* Literature of Taiwan
* National Museum of Taiwanese Literature
*Culture of Taiwan
The culture of Taiwan is a blend of Confucian Chinese and indigenous Taiwanese c ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Kwang-chung
1928 births
2017 deaths
National Sun Yat-sen University faculty
Taiwanese poets
Republic of China poets
Writers from Nanjing
National Taiwan University alumni
University of Iowa alumni
Poets from Jiangsu
Recipients of the Order of Brilliant Star
Chinese Civil War refugees
Taiwanese people from Jiangsu
Deaths from pneumonia in Taiwan
Chinese University of Hong Kong faculty
Gettysburg College faculty