From nativism to nationalism: Taiwanese fiction of the Japanese occupation

This dissertation focuses on the fictional productions of Taiwan during the Japanese occupation, the interpretation of which is now dominated by two national discourses with the two different, even conflicting views of Chinese nationalism and Taiwanese nativism. I first examine the identities reflected in Taiwanese fiction. They are significant in the search for a national identity, especially since the Taiwanese were stripped of their original Chinese identity, while a Japanese identity was unpromising and unwelcome. Through examining these fictional texts, which can be regard as historical as well as cultural evidence, I attempt to pull back the veil of colonialism, so as to determine the imagined community in which the Taiwanese of the time lived.; Then I examine previous studies on Taiwanese occupation fiction from both Taiwanese and Chinese scholars to determine the way in which the object of investigation can be twisted and adapted to support various purposes and claims; When authors try to provide interpretations of historical and cultural texts, their work, together with what can be learned about their own background, frequently illuminates how national identity can be invented or recreated.; In general, I argue that collective identity is not inherent but is invented or imagined. That is, as Benedict Anderson asserts: "Communities are to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined." Furthermore, I also argue that subjective standards, such as feelings based on common historical experiences, are more important than objective standards, such as language or blood, in the formation of the collective identity.