Yeh Shih-tao
Yeh Shih-tao (Chinese: 葉石濤; pinyin: Yè Shítāo; Wade–Giles: Yeh Shih-t'ao; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ia̍p Se̍k-tô͘; 1925 – 11 December 2008) was a pioneering Taiwanese writer and historian, who specialized in the literary history of Taiwan and the lives of ordinary Taiwanese people.[1] He was considered a seminal figure in Taiwanese literary criticism.
Yeh Shih-tao | |
---|---|
葉石濤 | |
Born | 1925 |
Died | 11 December 2008 Kaohsiung, Taiwan |
Nationality | Republic of China |
Occupation | Writer, historian |
Yeh Shih-tao was born in Tainan, Taiwan, in 1925 at a time when Taiwan was under Japanese rule.[1] His early writings were in Japanese, but he switched to Chinese after the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek gained control of Taiwan following the end of World War II.[1] He was arrested by the Chiang Kai-shek regime in 1951 and imprisoned for three years for allegedly harboring "communist agents."[1]
Author of No Land, No Literature (沒有土地, 哪有文學), The Dilemmas of Taiwan Literature and History of Taiwanese Literature (台灣文學史綱), he chronicled 300 years of the island's literary history and gained renown "for his searing portrayals of ordinary Taiwanese".[2][3] His best known work was likely The Chronicle of Taiwanese Literature, a compilation of Taiwanese historical literature published in 1987.[1]
Yeh later served as an adviser of the Teacher Human Rights Advocate Committee in Kaohsiung, and was appointed a national policy adviser to the Chen Shui-bian government.[1]
Yeh Shih-tao died of intestinal cancer in Kaohsiung, on 11 December 2008, at the age of 83.[1] He had been continuously hospitalized since February 2008.[1] Yeh was survived by his wife and two sons.[1]
Yeh's works of fiction have been translated to a number of languages, among them English, Japanese, Korean, Malay, and Vietnamese.[4]
See also
- List of Taiwanese authors
- Yeh Shih-tao Literature Memorial Hall
References
- "Taiwanese writer Yeh Shih-tao dies". Taiwan News. 11 December 2008. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
- "Obituaries". The Washington Post. 14 December 2008. Yeh Shih-tao Taiwanese Writer. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
- "Taiwanese writer Yeh Shih-tao dies". China Post. Associated Press. 12 December 2008. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
- So Li Nah; William Yen (23 April 2019). "Works by renowned Taiwan writer published in Malay: official". Central News Agency. Retrieved 24 April 2019. Republished as "Yeh Shih-tao's stories translated for Malaysians". Taipei Times. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.