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Cheng Ch'ing-wen

チェン・チンウェン

Cheng Ch'ing-wen

Aliases: Tzeng Ching-wen / Cheng Ching-Wen
Pen Names:

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1932-09-16 （Taoyuan, Taiwan）
Died
2017-11-04 （Taipei, Taiwan） age 85
Nationality
Taiwanese (Republic of China, Taiwan)
Languages
Chinese (Mandarin), Taiwanese Hokkien, Japanese
Residence History
Taoyuan, Taiwan → Xinzhuang (Old Town), Taiwan → Taipei, Taiwan

Career

Occupations
Writer, Bank employee
Active Years
1958-2017
Influenced By
Ernest Hemingway, Taiwanese nativist literature movement
Influenced
Li Chiao (commented on Cheng's depiction of tragedy)

Education

National Taiwan University
Country: Taiwan
Graduation year and department not specified in sources

Awards

Kiriyama Prize
1999
Work: Three-Legged Horse (English translation, short story collection)
Organization: Kiriyama Prize (organizers)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Three-Legged Horse

1998 Short story collection

A translated collection of twelve short stories depicting social change and inner lives in Taiwan, using a plain style that conceals deeper meanings.

localismsocial change and the individualpsychological conflict
Translations
  • English translation 'Three-Legged Horse', published by Columbia University Press (editions listed 1998/2000 in sources)

Swallow Heart Berries

Fairy tale collection

A collection of fairy tales populated by talking birds, insects and animals, emphasizing cultivation of children's imaginative faculties.

fairy talesanthropomorphismcultivation of imagination

Sky Lanterns/Mother

Fairy tale collection

A collection of fairy tales drawing on Taiwanese folk sensibilities, mixing everyday scenes with fantastical elements.

folklorefantasy and everyday lifefamily

Picking Peaches

Fairy tale collection

A volume of fairy-tale short stories that use nature and animals to convey allegories about life.

allegorynaturecoming of age

Dustpan Valley

Short story

One of his early short stories depicting an individual constrained by social circumstances.

individual vs societynostalgia

Lonely Heart

1958 Short story

His early story first published in 1958, dealing with personal loneliness and inner psychological depiction.

lonelinessinteriority

Bibliography

  • Three-Legged Horse (English translation)
  • Swallow Heart Berries
  • Sky Lanterns / Mother
  • Picking Peaches
  • Dustpan Valley
  • Lonely Heart

Adaptations

  • Translations and English-language publication (e.g., Columbia University Press edition of Three-Legged Horse)

Translations of Works

  • Three-Legged Horse — English translation(s), published by Columbia University Press and others

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Concise, plain proseInfluenced by Hemingway's iceberg theorySeemingly simple surface that conceals deeper meanings
Recurring Motifs
Talking animals (birds, insects)Repeated place-name 'Old Town' referencing childhood localeNostalgia and social change

Legacy

Cheng Ch'ing-wen is regarded as a leading figure in Taiwan's nativist literature movement, praised for his plain prose that reveals deep interiority. His translated works brought international attention.

Museums

  • National Museum of Taiwan Literature Tainan, Taiwan Opened in 2003

Academic Societies

  • Taiwan Literature Society

Archives

  • Collections at the National Museum of Taiwan Literature

Quotes

  • Cheng is adept at depicting the process of tragedy.
    Source: Comment by writer Li Chiao

Trivia

  • Born with the surname Li, later adopted by an uncle and took the surname Cheng.
  • Worked forty years at Hua Nan Bank while continuing to write.
  • Received elementary education with instruction in Japanese and learned Chinese later.
  • Fluent in Taiwanese Hokkien.
  • English transliterations vary (Cheng Ch'ing-Wen, Tzeng Ching-wen).