‘Better emulate the Irish resistance’: Influences of the Irish literary revival on Taiwanese literature and politics during and after the Japanese occupation

Abstract

The Irish Literary Revival emerged in response to centuries of cultural suppression and linguistic marginalisation in Ireland under British rule, alongside disillusionment with the Home Rule movement. It sought to define Irishness, revive the Irish language, and construct a distinct national literature, ultimately contributing to the Easter Rising of 1916 and the formation of the Irish Free State. This movement resonated in colonial Taiwan under Japanese rule (1895–1945), where Irish nationalist writing was widely read and discussed, shaping anti-colonial intellectual currents and independence aspirations. From 1898 onwards, over 600 articles on Ireland appeared in Taiwan, and activists such as Lin Xiantang 林獻堂 drew inspiration from Irish resistance strategies via exchanges with Liang Qichao 梁啟超 in Japan. This culminated in cultural organisations and petitions for a Taiwanese parliament modelled on Irish self-determination. Post-1920s translations of Irish literature and adaptations of Irish nationalist theatre, including works by W. B. Yeats and J. M. Synge, circulated across the Japanese Empire and influenced Taiwanese literary production. Following the end of the Second World War, after Taiwan was returned to the Republic of China under Kuomintang rule, postcolonial Irish literary models continued to inform Taiwanese cultural discourse. This paper examines how Ireland functioned as both an explicit and implicit model for Taiwanese national identity formation and literary resistance, providing examples from relevant literary works over time.