Chung Chao-cheng

Chung Chao-cheng (Chinese: 鍾肇政; 20 January 1925 – 16 May 2020) was a Taiwanese Hakka writer.

Chung was born on 20 January 1925,[1] in Longtan District, Taoyuan.[2][3] Under Japanese rule, the subdivision was classified as a village by the name of Ryūtan, itself a part of Daikei, in Shinchiku Prefecture. His father was a schoolteacher and principal.[2] Chung was sixth of ten siblings, and the only son.[3] He enrolled successively at the Tamkang Middle School and then the Changhua Normal School, and later studied at National Taiwan University, but did not complete a degree in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, due to a bout of malaria.[2] He learned to speak Taiwanese Hokkien at an early age, and was educated in the Japanese language.[4] Chung taught at Longtan Elementary School until 1979,[1][5] switching from Hakka to teaching in Mandarin at the request of the Kuomintang-led government.[4] His knowledge of languages made Chung a member of the translingual generation.[4] His first work was published in 1951, within the pages of the magazine Rambler.[6] His first novel appeared as a serial within United Daily News,[6] and over the course of his career, Chung published over thirty novels.[2] His literary output also includes many essays, over 150 short stories, and more than forty works translated from Japanese.[7] Together with his contemporary Yeh Shih-tao, the pair is known as "North Chung South Yeh."[3] He promoted Taiwan nativist literature. Known as the doyen of Taiwanese literature,[8] Chung's novel The Dull Ice Flower was adapted into a Golden Horse-winning film released in 1989. He was a recipient of both the Wu San-lien Literary Award and the National Literary Award, among others.[1][5] Chung fell the week before his death, and subsequently lapsed in and out of consciousness.[1] He died on 16 May 2020 at home in Taoyuan.[9][10]

Chung received the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon in 2000 from the Lee Teng-hui presidential administration. Lee's successor Chen Shui-bian awarded Chung the Order of Propitious Clouds with Grand Cordon in 2004. Posthumously, the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon was conferred upon Chung, alongside a presidential citation from Tsai Ing-wen.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. 許, 倬勛 (16 May 2020). "獨家》「客家文學之母」鍾肇政辭世 享壽96歲". Liberty Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  2. "The River Runs Wide: The Literary Carreer [sic] of Chung Chao-cheng". Taiwan e-Learning and Digital Archives Program. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  3. "Chung Chao-cheng: the author who launched Taiwan's roman-fleuve". Hakka Affairs Council. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  4. Han Cheung (24 May 2020). "Taiwan in Time: A great loss for Taiwanese literature". Taipei Times. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  5. "Writer | Chung Chao-cheng". Ministry of Culture. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  6. "Chung Chao-cheng". Paper Republic. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  7. Tu, Kuo-ch'ing (2014). "Foreword to the Special Issue on Chung Chao-cheng" (PDF). Taiwan Literature: English Translation Series (33). Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica. Retrieved 16 May 2020. Record of publication held at the Institute of Taiwan History
  8. Chin, Jonathan (16 August 2018). "Novelist, son 'dumbstruck' by restoration of old home". Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  9. Chiu, Chun-chin; Su, Lung-chi; Chen, Ping-hung; Wu, Hsin-yun; Yeh, Joseph (17 May 2020). "Doyen of Taiwan's nativist literature movement passes away at 96". Central News Agency. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  10. "Novelist who told stories of post-war life in Taiwan passes away aged 95". Taipei Times. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  11. "Presidential order, posthumous citation conferred to literary great". Ministry of Culture. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  12. "Tsai awards posthumous state honors to iconic Hakka novelist". Taiwan Today. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
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