HAC Minister Yiong Con-ziin said that the translation of Hakka literature is a grand undertaking and expressed gratitude to the collaborating translators, translation teams, and publishing houses. Last year, HAC supported literature not only through commissioning translations but also by publishing complete collections of Hakka authors’ works. In particular, the complete collection of works by Lee Chiao, advocated by the Lee Chiao Literature Promotion Association, is nearing completion and will become available soon. In terms of literary creation, many people have started to use Hakka Chinese for their creative endeavors in recent years. Writing in Hakka is no easy feat, so interested authors are greatly encouraged to join the project and allow the world to appreciate Hakka literary history and literature. If a language cannot be used for literary creation, its revitalization will be extremely difficult. Any language with literature is endowed with a profound foundation and a vibrant cultural life force.
Minister Yiong shared his desire to translate literary critiques or other literary historic documents penned by Taiwanese Hakka authors of the Japanese colonial era. There is also an ongoing project where writers are invited to write works in Hakka. Moreover, classics of world literature are being translated to Hakka to facilitate exchanges between Hakka culture and the world. This is also a major mission of HAC’s establishment and promotion of Hakka revitalization. Supporting this series of literary pursuits can ultimately show the beauty of the Hakka language and culture to people from all around the globe.
HAC began to implement the Hakka Literature Translation & Overseas Promotion project in 2018, and 12 more works were included in 2021. Going forward, HAC will continue to translate yet more Taiwanese Hakka literary masterpieces into a wider variety of languages, so that Taiwanese Hakka culture is acclaimed worldwide.
