Original manuscripts from Taiwan’s “father” of modern literature donated to Tainan Museum
Original manuscripts from Taiwan’s “father” of modern literature donated to Tainan Museum
2023-05-26
Born in 1894 in Changhua, the poet Lai Ho is hailed as the "Father of Modern Taiwanese Literature." After his death in 1943, he left behind many valuable manuscripts. And now his family has decided to donate hundreds of them to the National Museum of Taiwan Literature in Tainan. This includes an original draft of one of his noted novels. The museum plans to use technology from the Tainan National University of the Arts to make reproductions for daily displays, so that the writer’s ideas will be seen by members of the public.
Lai Ho, dubbed the “Father of Modern Taiwanese Literature,” left behind many valuable manuscripts after his death. In order to preserve these national treasures, his family has decided to donate hundreds of these manuscripts to Tainan’s National Museum of Taiwanese Literature.
Lai Yueh-yen
Laiho Cultural and Educational Foundation
Because of heavy rains in Changhua, the dehumidifiers in the place where the manuscripts were stored became waterlogged. We explained this to the National Museum of Taiwanese Literature and they said they could do the storage themselves.
The handover comes just before Lai’s 129th birthday. The culture ministry presented a certificate of appreciation to his family, thanking them for the long-term preservation of his works, which shed light on a key period in Taiwan’s history.
Shih Che
Minister of culture
I hope that these original manuscripts will get passed down from generation to generation. They are not only literary classics, they also reflect Taiwan’s rise. They are a testimony of Taiwan’s modernization and enlightenment, and can be passed on.
Nikky Lin
National Museum of Taiwan Literature
In the future we can bring these manuscripts to life. We don’t want to just leave them lying somewhere in the museum. We want to use them actively, so that the public can see them.
The museum hopes that even more multimedia cooperation projects can further promote Lai’s literature. The Tainan National University of the Arts is already using realistic reproduction technology to restore eight manuscripts, which has been of assistance to the daily displays at the Lai Ho Memorial Hall.
Luo Hung-wen
Tainan National University of the Arts
The more difficult aspects are that the original manuscripts may have some creases and tears. After processing, we will make a reproduction, and then do more processing by hand. For example, there could still be some tears and rough edges. We’ll compare the reproduction with the original manuscript, and then add annotations.
In addition to scanning the original manuscripts and fine-tuning the printing, the signs of aging on the manuscript have to be recreated by hand. Through the replicas, the original manuscripts can be properly preserved, to keep Lai’s spirit and wordsmithery alive.
臺灣新文學之父賴和家屬 捐贈上百件文物給臺灣文學館
2023-05-26
臺灣新文學之父賴和，離世後留下許多珍貴手稿，為了持續保存國家珍寶，家屬決定將小說〈豐作〉原稿等上百件文物，捐贈給臺灣文學館，並透過南藝大的擬真複製技術，協助日常展示，繼續傳遞作家的文字力量。
臺灣新文學之父賴和，離世後留下許多珍貴手稿，為了持續保存國家珍寶，家屬決定將上百件文物，捐贈給臺灣文學館。
[[賴和紀念館暨文教基金會創辦人 賴悅顏]]
“我們典藏的地方，因為有一次是彰化那邊暴雨，結果這些恆濕恆溫設備的排水，就被倒灌了。也跟臺灣文學館反應，那他們也說這樣子典藏的部分，其實可以讓文學館來做。”
適逢賴和129歲冥誕前，選擇把作品交給專業單位典藏，文化部也致贈感謝狀，感謝家屬長期守護，為大時代作見證。
[[文化部部長 史哲]]
“希望一代傳一代，把這樣子的一個原稿，不只是文學上的造詣，而且是反映了大時代臺灣，整個現代化啟蒙的一個見證，可以延續下去。”
[[國立臺灣文學館館長 林巾力]]
“後續我們可以活化這些文物，我們讓這些文物，不只是躺在這個博物館裡面，我們希望它可以，進一步地可以活用運用，然後讓社會大眾看見。”
期盼未來促進更多跨界合作，進一步推廣賴和文學。而南藝大也透過擬真複製技術，將其中的8件手稿還原，協助賴和紀念館的日常展示。
[[南藝大博物館學與古物維護所助理教授 羅鴻文]]
“比較困難的點是說，原稿可能有一些摺痕、有一些裂痕，打樣輸出之後我們會把複製件，還要做一些手工的一個加工，譬如說是有一些裂痕、有一些毛邊，經過跟原稿的比對，再加註上去。”
除了掃描原稿、精細調色印刷，還得手工刻劃歷史痕跡，透過擬真複製品，不只原始文物可妥善保存，也能繼續傳遞作家的精神和文字力量。
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