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Historical novel by Lee Wang-tai receives Taiwan History Novel Award honorable mention

  • Date:2021-04-17
Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te

The New Taiwan Peace Foundation (NTPF) held the award ceremony of the fifth Taiwan History Novel Award on April 17 in Taipei. The 72-year-old writer Lee Wang-tai (李旺台) received honorable mention and a cash prize of NT$200,000 for his novel about Japanese-era Hakka physician Chhi Pong-hin (徐傍興).

Lee Wang-tai used to work in media. After retirement, he has dedicated to fiction writing, and this is the third time that he received honorable mention in the Taiwan History Novel Award competition.

His 157,000-word novel focuses on the selfless dedication of Dr. Chhi Pong-hin (1909-1984), founder of Ping Tung Private Meiho Senior High School (美和中學).

Lee said that Dr. Chhi had lived through the era of transition from Japanese rule to Chinese administration. "It was the time in Taiwan’s history that the cultural foundation underwent fundamental changes," he pointed out, adding that "I spent a lot of time studying this period, hoping that everyone will come to know Dr. Chhi’s achievement and its significance to Taiwan."

Addressing the award ceremony, NTPF Chairman Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) expressed his hope that more people will know about Taiwan’s past through historical novels.

"With knowledge of history, one may know how to approach the future, and through historical novels, one would know about the hardship and happy moments in Taiwan’s past," Koo said.

Attending the ceremony to show his support, Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te thanked Koo for promoting the establishment of the literary award. Lee maintained that it is important for the people of a country to have a sense of history, and that writing historical novels should be encouraged.

Lee indicated that the winning novel The Chen Cheng-po Code (陳澄波密碼) from the third Taiwan History Novel Award is a favor that he has read over and over, and the novel helps him understand the life of Taiwanese painter Chen Chengpo (陳澄波) and his paintings.

Poet Li Min-yong (李敏勇), one of the judges of the competition, pointed out that the premise of the novel is history, detailing the people and events in an objective way, and it also contains fictional situations. Li expressed his hope that the foundation will continue to sponsor the competition as an incentive for creating more interesting novels cherished by the public.

Focused on the promotion of Taiwan-themed novels, the Taiwan History Novel Award is held biennially since its launch in 2015 by the foundation’s executive director Wang Mei-hsiu (王美琇). Wang said that it is hoped that novelists will explore untold Taiwanese stories, which will enrich Taiwan’s historical memory and provide source material for Taiwanese dramas, comics, and movies.