[腳本/video script] 主持稿 Host Script ｜華語文學 Sinophone Literature｜Pai Hsien-yung 白先勇｜他們在島嶼寫作 The Inspired Island: A Series of Eminent Writers from Taiwan｜TaiwanPlus

Pai Hsien-yung 白先勇                                          

Hello, everyone, welcome back to the literature world with some savory storytelling. I’m your host, Arnaud Campagne. 

 

This week, we will present Pai Hsien-yung (白先勇), one of the greatest living writers of Modern Sinophone fiction, who said that he “put into words the silent pain of the human soul.” 

 

Pai, born in Guilin (桂林), China in 1937, moved to Taiwan at 15. At 23, he founded Modern Literature (現代文學), a magazine that published Mandarin fiction. Ever since Pai has begun his writing career over six decades.

 

When it comes to LGBT literature gamechanger, you can’t miss Pai. In 1983, he published Crystal Boys (孽子), the first fiction on the homosexual community in Taiwan. It shares an engaging account of his personal life and the suffering of the sexual minority in silence. 

 

Pai also writes intensively on Kunqu (崑曲), the exquisite traditional Chinese performance. It showcases the elegance, sentiments, and symbolic gestures, which is why he is madly in love with it. He adapted Kunqu and produced the stage plays, Peony Pavilion—Young Lovers’ Edition(牡丹亭青春版) and Wandering in the Garden (遊園驚夢). He educated young Kunqu talents, invited the young audience and international visitors to enjoy Kunqu, and explored his cultural root as much as possible. His passion for Kunqu, no doubt, made him one of the masters in Kunqu, and still active nowadays.  

 

Because of his artistic value, his publications were widely translated into different languages and adapted into TV series, films, and stage shows. 

 

Auguste Renoir’s saying, “The pain passes but the beauty remains,” explains why Pai is inspiring. In the trying times, Pai Hsien-yung insists to endure the pain and sculpt incredible beauty in his words. 

 

Now, let’s enjoy Pai Hsien-yung’s heartfelt writing and feel moved together.