Sinicization and Taiwanization in early postwar Taiwan (1945-1949) : the creation of an indigenous historical narrative within official cultural policy

Abstract

Taiwan’s early postwar cultural field saw a struggle between Chinese waisheng officials and Taiwanese bensheng intellectuals over the direction of Taiwan’s cultural rebuilding project, and how it should treat the legacy of fifty years of Japanese colonial rule. This thesis shows that during the period from its founding until the February 28 Incident in 1947, the magazine Taiwan Culture, in its unique inclusion of both Taiwanese and Chinese voices, secured a site of constructive, critical engagement on the question of what should constitute a Taiwanese identity through engagement with Taiwan’s history, the diversity of its colonial and anti-colonial experience, and its unique linguistic and literary traditions. By situating its two most influential bensheng editors Yang Yunping and Su Xin within the contemporary field, this thesis contrasts their individual political positions, analyzes their dispositions toward the KMT’s cultural renovation project, and contextualizes their written work to understand how they adapted their rhetoric and public appeals to Taiwan Culture as a semi-official site of debate. This thesis finds that, though participation in Taiwan Culture by Yang and Su required the moderation of certain political speech, it was seen as a crucial means by which to retain official support and acknowledgment of efforts to further realize a historically self-determined Taiwanese identity.