Imagine. Century Taipei

This thesis studies Taiwan urban novels in the 80-90s of the 20th century. The title "Taipei imagination at the End of Last Century" shows the time and spatial scopes of the study, and in particular "imagination" highlights the subjective and fictional factors in the writing. Taking a perspective of "cities in literary", the study pays special attention to the interaction between cities and literary, breaks the empiricism and restoration emphasized in the traditional urban literary studies. It emphasizes the role in the writing of Taipei played by imagination, memory, narration and social trends of thoughts. Getting started with the post-modern imagination in Taiwan urban novels at the end of last century, "Taipei imagination at the End of Last Century" shows the post-modernity of Taipei in the novels by this. This imagination portray of "post-modernity", forms a strong post-modern identity of "Taipei in literary" by a rhetoric strategy of exaggeration in such nature of Taipei.Contents of each chapter: Preface shows achievements of past studies on Taiwan urban literary, elaborates the title, and points out characters of the study. Chapter 1 comprehensively discusses the characters of Taipei imagination at the end of last century, follows different cultural meanings of cities shown in the development of contemporary Taiwan literary, and the cultural meanings of introduction of "post-modernity" by Taiwan theory circle and literary circle at the end of last century, and the literal works of nostalgic writers. Chapter 2 discusses the plot strategy of Taiwan urban novels, and points out its co-existing relationship with post-modern urban cultures. Chapter 3 discusses the construction of post-modern urban spaces in Taiwan urban novels, represented by the personalization of private spaces, consumption attribute of public spaces, and the construction of urban imagination and virtual spaces in science fictions. Chapter 3 discusses the construction of post-modern urban spaces in Taiwan urban novels, represented by the personalization of private spaces, consumption attribute of public spaces, and the construction of urban imagination and virtual spaces in science fictions. Chapter 4 discusses post-modern characters of the imaginations of figures, presented by "emerging middle class" and "new generation" becoming leading role, demonstration of carnal desire of figures, and change of carnal concepts in the writing of female urban writers. Chapter 5 discusses nostalgic writers' memory and fantasy of Taipei, and resting on that, analyzes the cultural meanings of "locality and colonization" of Taipei culture and the "old soul" way of figure portrayal shown in their works. Conclusion is the reveal of the fundamental psychological causes and thinking modes underlying the "Taipei imagination" in the whole thesis. It is shown in the Conclusion that, while the cultures of "modernity" and "post-modernity" interlaced and overlapped at the end of last century, the Taipei writers found it hard to be exempt from the influence of time they were living in. Therefore, what was dominating in the back of the writing of "post-modernity" fantasy writers was the lingering "modernity" thinking modes, while the nostalgic writers, in resistance to the "post-modernity" fantasy, were also deeply influenced by the "post-modernity" thinking. Their literal works jointly gave birth to a multicultural landscape of "Taipei in literary" at the end of last century, showing a multi-element and complex Taipei.