Taiwan Fiction and
Postwar Urban Experience
Week 8:
Chen Ying-chen and
the Washington Building Stories
[Oct 31st, 2013]
Instructor:
Richard Rong-bin Chen, PhD.
Adjunct Assistant Professor,
Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature, NTU
Unless noted, the course materials are licensed under Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Taiwan (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chenyingzhen.jpg
2
Nativist-realism
[hsiang-tu hsieh-shih, 鄉土寫實]
• “鄉土”: literally means Native Soil [hsiang-tu].
• Realism: not only a reflection of reality, but also
a criticism of the problems in reality.
• The nativists (the people from the countryside)
usually tend to be exploited by oppressors like
government officials, businessmen, and city
people. [good vs. evil; naïve vs. sophisticated]
• It proposed a local Nationalism to replace to
Westernized elitist individualism of the 60s.
• The opposition between Modernism of the 60s
and Nativist-realism in the 70s culminated in the
Debate of Taiwan Nativist Literature from
1977 to 1978 [台灣鄉土文學論戰].
• Wang Tuo [王拓] and Chen Ying-chen vs.
Peng Ko [彭歌], Chu Hsi-ning [朱西甯], and
Yu Kuang-chung [余光中].
• Wang Tuo and Yang Ching-chu [楊青矗] were
arrested and indicted in 1979 for the involvement
with the Formosa Incident [美麗島事件], but it
did not silence the Nativist-realists.
Wikipedai Ch.Andrew
This work is licensed by 文訊雜誌社 for the use of “Course
Database of General Education TW” ONLY. The copyright
belongs to the above mentioned creator and we do not have
the authorization right.
•聯合知識庫 2008-01-05 攝影者: 林宜靜
This work is licensed by 聯合知識庫 for the use of “Course
Database of General Education TW” ONLY. The copyright
belongs to the above mentioned creator and we do not have the
authorization right.
Wikipedia Rico Shen
The City in Literature
Two-way Migration
National Taiwan University Richard Rong-bin Chen
9
Nativist-realism vs. Urban Fiction
•
•
•
•
•
•
The city in literature
“The Taste of Apples” [蘋果的滋味]
“Hsiao Lin in Taipei” [小林來台北]
“The Drowning of an Old Cat” [溺死一隻老貓]
“Night Freight” [夜行貨車]
“One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker” [上
班族的一日]
• Urban Literature
• “A Guided Tour of an Apartment Complex” [公寓
導遊]
• “A History of Condo Sales” [房地產銷售史]
10
 1937: born in Miaoli, raised in Ying-ko,Taipei
County.
 1960: graduated from Department of English,
Tamkang College of Arts (now Tamkang U).
 Arrested and imprisoned in 1968 for engaging in
“pro-communist activities.”
 1975: President Chiang Kai-shek died, Chen was
released from the prison due to an amnesty.
 1985: established Renjian zazhi [《人間雜誌》], a
journal famous for its reportage which was closed
in 1989 for financial reasons.
 Suffering from strokes after 2006, he is now living
in Beijing.
11
This work is from
http://blog.yam.com/munch/article/6676460,b
ut the original source is from《人間雜誌》
(1985-1989) 40期 and the magazine had
ceased publication . It is used subject to the
fair use doctrine of the Taiwan Copyright Act
Article 52 and 65 by GET
This work is from
http://blog.roodo.com/johnnyschannel/archives/1
6437445.html,but the original source is from《人
間雜誌》(1985-1989) 20期 and the magazine
had ceased publication . It is used subject to the
fair use doctrine of the Taiwan Copyright Act
Article 52 and 65 by GET
This work is from http://trendfoundation.pixnet.net/album/photo/128511992-img006%E9%99%B3%E6%98%A0%E7%9C%9F%E8%88%87%E3%80%8A%E4%BA%BA%E9%96%93%E
3%80%8B%E9%9B%9C%E8%AA%8C%E7%A4%BE%E5%85%A8%E9%AB%94%E5%90%8C%E4
%BB%81-%E5%87%BA%E8%87%AA,but the original source is from《人間雜誌》(1985-1989) 39期，
黃淇攝影 and the magazine had ceased publication . It is used subject to the fair use doctrine of the
Taiwan Copyright Act Article 52 and 65 by GET
• Against the background of Taiwan’s being isolated
in the international community since the 70s, the
discourse of Nativist-realism implied the problem
of subjectivity, which inevitably led to the literary
and cultural movement of localization [bentuhua].
• Actually Nativist-realism can be traced back to its
prewar period, with its representative writers like
Lü Heruo [呂赫若], Lai He [賴和], and Yang
Kui [楊逵].
• The anthology: Oxcart: Nativist Stories from
Taiwan: 1934 - 1977. Translated and introduced by
Rosemary M. Haddon, and published by a German
publisher named Projekt Verlag in 1996.
• Exiles at Home: Short Stories by Chen Ying-chen.
Translated by Lucien Miller, and published by Center
for Chinese Studies, U of Michigan, 1986.
• Miller is Professor of Comparative Literature,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
• “A Break in the Chain: The Short Stories of Ch’en
Ying-chen” by Lucien Miller, collected in Chinese
Fiction from Taiwan: Critical Perspectives, edited by
Jeannette L. Faurot, published by Idiana University
Press in 1980.
• “From Oppression to Dependency: Two Stages in
the Fiction of Chen Yingzhen” by Jeffrey C. Kinkley.
Modern China. Vol. 16, No. 3 (Jul., 1990), pp. 243-268
Short Introduction to the Translation
Ch'en, who spent seven years in prison on
political "subversion" charges, is known for his
often brutal honesty about rural poverty and the
bland hypocrisies of the middle class. Deeply
moral, Ch'en's nine stories here capture his
personal alienation, touching on issues of racism,
business ethics, and social nonconformity that
continue to worry Chinese society on both
sides of the straits.
(from the back cover of Exiles at Home: Short
Stories by Chen Ying-chen)
Table of Contents
• 1960—”My Kid Brother, K’ang-hsiung” [我的弟弟
康雄]
• 1960—”The Country Village Teacher” [鄉村的教師]
• 1960—”The Dying” [死者]
• 1964—”A Couple of Generals” [將軍族]
• 1964—”Poor Poor Dumb Mouths” [悽慘的無言的嘴]
• 1966—”The Last Day of Summer” [最後的夏日]
• 1967—”The Comedy of Narcissa T’ang” [唐倩的喜劇]
• 1967—”Roses in June” [六月裡的玫瑰花]
• 1978—”One day in the life of a white-collar Worker” [
上班族的一日]
“A Couple of Generals”
• Love Story. A 40-year-old mainlander and a
skinny teenage Taiwanese girl.
• Girl from Taitung. It implies that the girl might be
aboriginal, which is the reason why she was sold by
her parents to a brothel for 25 thousand dollars.
• Suicide. After the girl ran away from home, she
met the mainlander in a funeral band, where
musicians all had to wear uniforms like generals.
The mainlander gave her money to buy her
freedom, but she became a prostitute anyway.
Five years later, after their reunion, they
committed suicide together.
“Roses in June”
• War victim. Chen wrote a lot about the tragic
lives of conscripted soldiers, like this one and
“The Country Village Teacher.”
• Love story. It is a love story between a Taiwanese
bar girl and an African-American sergeant.
• Psychological breakdown. Mental illness seems
to be a common feature of Chen’s soldiers. After
an ambush, the sergeant named Barney was able
to escape, but he killed innocent Vietnamese girl
later and this experience traumatized him
greatly. Barney died in the end, left the pregnant
bar girl behind.
“Washington Building” Stories
• “Night Freight” [夜行貨車]. March 1978.
• “One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker”.
[上班族的一日] September 1978.
• “Clouds” [雲]. August 1980.
• A Story famous for depicting the lives of female
workers, and their attempts at calling a strike and
organizing a factory union.
• “God of Merchants” [萬商帝君]. December 1982.
• A story on the god-like power of Capitalism, which
not only defeats nationalism, but also drives a
character crazy.
• Oppressed Workers. From 1978 to 1982, Chen used his
Washington Building series [華盛頓大樓系列] to depict
the lives of Taiwanese workers oppressed by both their
foreign and local supervisors.
• Love story. In “Night Freight,” we see the love triangle
among Lin Jung-ping, Liu Hsiao-ling, and Chan Ihung and the oppression from Mr. Morgenthau, head
of the Taiwan Malamud Electronic Company.
• Ideal and reality. In “One Day in the Life of a Whitecollar Worker,” Huang Jing-hsiung was a capable
Taiwanese, and had a dream of making a movie. One
day, Huang didn’t get the promotion he deserved, so he
decided to quit, and planned to fulfill the dream after
his resignation, but eventually he went back to his
work.
Night Freight [夜行貨車]
• Characters
• Mr. Morgenthau (Head of Taiwan Malamud)
• Mr. Solon O. Bowdell (Director of Finance of
the Pacific Division of Malamud Electronic
Company)
• Lin Jung-ping (J.P.) (Head of the financial
department of Taiwan Malamud)
• Liu Hsiao-ling (Linda)
• Chan I-hung (James)
• Mr. Morgenthau: a native of Maryland, had
habits of teasing female coworkers, telling dirty
jokes, and good at loud-mouthed cursing.
• Mr. Solon O. Bowdell: short for SOB.
• J.P.: a 38-year-old sturdy fellow from a farming
family in Southern Taiwan with a balding crown,
and a brow often touched with slight melancholy.
• James: a capable young man, head of a new
Capital Accounting Sub-department, who had
unkempt long hair and broad shoulders. A man of
few words, a chain-smoker when working,
uncouth, arrogant, cynic, and rebellious.
• J.P. and James in a strong contrast
• Linda: “In the past you said that society, your children,
your relatives——but one thing you never
mentioned: your new position in the company.” (p.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1983). Joseph S.M. Lau(Eds.),
110) Source:
The Unbroken chain : an anthology of Taiwan fiction since 1926.
Bloomington : Indiana University Press
• Dialogue between Linda and James
• “James . . .”
• “I’m not any fucking ‘James.’ I am Chan I-hung.” (p.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1983). Joseph S.M. Lau(Eds.),
112) Source:
The Unbroken chain : an anthology of Taiwan fiction since 1926.
Bloomington : Indiana University Press
• James used Taiwanese when speaking to J.P.: “Let’s
not quarrel in front of the barbarians. . . . I don’t know
about you. As for me, I can’t take this kind of rotten
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1983). Joseph S.M. Lau(Eds.),
life anymore.” (p. 132) Source:
The Unbroken chain : an anthology of Taiwan fiction since 1926.
Bloomington : Indiana University Press
•
•
•
•
•
•
Title of the sections.
The themes or implications?
I. “The Stuffed Long-tailed Pheasant”
II. “The Warm, Supple Breasts”
III. ”The Desert Museum”
IV. “The Enameled Bronze Ring”
Differences in Business Culture
• Morgenthau: “The office in Tokyo, J.P., can
never understand that public relations expense
in as rational expense in China . . . Any expense
that brings efficiency and profits counts as
rational management.”
• J.P.: “Let’s play politics with Tokyo . . . This year
we’ve made good grades in three quarters,
enough to please them. . . . As soon as they’re
pleased, the accounts can be easily dealt with.”
(“Night Freight,”p. 103-4)
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1983). Joseph S.M. Lau(Eds.),
The Unbroken chain : an anthology of Taiwan fiction since 1926.
Bloomington : Indiana University Press
“One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker”
• Characters
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ching-hsiung Hwang (Olive)
Bertland Yang (B.Y.), manager of Accounting Division
Rose (Oliver’s mistress)
Grace (Oliver’s wife)
Mr. Bottmore, President of Morrison Mutual Ltd.
General Rong, Director of Taiwan Morrison
Edward K. Chao (Rong’s nephew)
Mr. McNell
Kenneth
• American Influence in Taiwan
• Bank of Florida, Harvey’s Western Restaurant, and
Washington Building
• Cigarettes: Kent, Dunhill, More, Salem.
• Edward K. Chao’s resume:
• Graduate of Campbell College with a master’s
degree in business administration
• Head accountant of the New York branch of
Morrison
• Worked in Morrison’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in
Manila
Corruption and Corporate Culture
• “The General Rong needed Bertland Yang was patently
obvious to Olive. Many a time B.Y. had handed Olive a
thick stack of receipts from the general. B.Y. didn’t
need to say a thing: right away Olive would
meticulously record these bills as proper company
expendidtures. And that B.Y. needed Olive was equally
obvious. . . . Olive would then expunge the accounts
from the record, so that even the auditing agency sent
from New York couldn’t find anything. He had also
established a secret account: B.Y. was deceiving the
parent company and investing in several
manufacturing and business firms . . .”(“One Day,” p.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
176) Source:
Exiles at home : short stories. Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
The process of corruption
• “During those years he had been a dreamer.
A star of ambitious hope had kept beckoning
him as it glittered about the horizon. He had
experienced boundless passion as well.
Before long he become a lowly slave to that
fickle door of the assistant manager’s office,
that narrow, lacquered teakwood door which
had closed, then opened, and now had shut
him out at last. He had been a minor actor in
an ugly, rotten drama directed by Bertland
Yang, a man consumed by lust.” (p. 193)
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories. Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
More Implications of Filmmaking
• Life is like scenes in a movie.
• “This vacated office had been within his reach,
and then suddenly had vanished over the horizon
like some fleeting scene from a movie.” (p. 173)
• Working is real and unbearable, and filmmaking is
ideal and impossible.
• “Yesterday, right after he had sworn in his rage
that he would quit, he realized that in fact he had
long since fallen into a great formless net of daily
drudgery in which every white-collar worker was
caught.” (p. 190)
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories. Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories.
Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
• Usually “it was during these lonely rides, when
he was poor and hopelessly longed for a camera
of his own, that he got the idea of using the
bicycle as a theme for a documentary . . .” (p.
177), but now his creativity waned, and he could
only associate the bicycle with his pathetic whitecollar worker life.
• Another example is that even when he was
watching the short video of his wedding, he
asked “’Why is it that life then was full of a
different kind of vitality?’ he said in a subdued
voice.” (p. 191)
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories.
Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories.
Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
The Problem of Overworking
“For over ten years, he thought, the same
monotonous routine of going back and forth to
the office. . . . Five years ago he had secured a
spot in Morrison’s spacious, elegant, and fully
air-conditioned offices. . . . To the white-collar
worker . . . home was like a hotel—someplace
you went back to in order to sleep. For the past
ten years, all of his creative energies and the
very essence of his existence had been centered
on his work at an office” (p.176)
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories. Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
Loneliness and Alienation
• Loneliness as the consequence of work-collar
workers’ being consumed by work, and
meaningful relationship among friends and
family became impossible.
• After calling his friends from the college, Olive
feels “friendless and isolated, as though
everybody has abandoned him. He had come to
the realization long ago that the whole world
was a huge and powerful, well-meshed machine
which he could not comprehend.” (p.179)
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories. Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
• What Olive’s friends thought is completely
different from his own perception of the
resignation.
• One of his friends said that Olive was "enjoying
his peace and quiet at home” and continued to
comment that "you high-level white-collar
workers sure live better than we do." (p.179)
• Most of them found Olive's resignation
incomprehensible, complaining that "it's really
tough to make a living this year" and that they
"work themselves to death just for a bowl of
rice." (p.179)
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories. Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories. Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
• Ironically, the meaning of the position of an
assistant manager for Olive is neither about
money nor prestige, he thought "a high salary, a
car-such amenities were really secondary.”
• “Olive yearned to have the assistant
manager's chair because it meant a lighter
work load, because at last he would have the
abundance of freedom and drive necessary
to work on the documentary film he had
never been able to complete while in
college." (p.177)
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories.
Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
• Concept of Love
• Rose once said to him that “’Chinese are
relatively more intelligent, but they are third rate
lovers. They don’t dare love” (p. 187) and Olive is
a typical example, who’s always playing safe.
• The general manager of Taiwan Morrison, Mr.
McNell, had it all in his life, “yet he threw away
his career, wife, and children, and drifted to
Africa with his doleful Kenneth, so young and
pale.” (p. 186) However, the love between
Kenneth and Mr. McNell ended up with their
drifting to Africa, and then the suicide of McNell.
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories. Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories. Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
• Main messages
• The conflict between real life and ideal.
• The corrupted working environment of
white-collar workers.
• The deceitful life.
• “White-collar work, hardly anybody
realizes what a huge hoax it is. How many
talented, ambitious men have been
destroyed by a ridiculous feeling of
security?” (p. 178)
Source: Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986). Lucien Miller(Eds.),
Exiles at home : short stories.
Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
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Wikipedia C.I.K.
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chenyingzhen.jpg
2013/10/28 visited
5
Wikipedai Ch.Andrew
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Huang_Chunming_NIU_20100928.jpg
2013/10/28 visited
6
This work is licensed by 文訊雜誌社 for the use of “Course Database of General Education
TW” ONLY. The copyright belongs to the above mentioned creator and we do not have the
authorization right.
7
•聯合知識庫 2008-01-05 攝影者: 林宜靜
This work is licensed by 聯合知識庫 for the use of “Course Database of General Education
TW” ONLY. The copyright belongs to the above mentioned creator and we do not have
the authorization right.
8
Wikipedia Rico Shen
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2008TIBE_Day1_Hall1_Opening_TouhWang.jpg
2013/10/28 visited
12
This work is from http://blog.yam.com/munch/article/6676460,but the original source is
from《人間雜誌》(1985-1989) 40期 and the magazine had ceased publication . It is used
subject to the fair use doctrine of the Taiwan Copyright Act Article 52 and 65 by GET
Copyright Declaration
Page
Work
Licensing
Author/Source
12
This work is from http://blog.roodo.com/johnnyschannel/archives/16437445.html,but the
original source is from《人間雜誌》(1985-1989) 20期 and the magazine had ceased
publication . It is used subject to the fair use doctrine of the Taiwan Copyright Act Article
52 and 65 by GET
13
This work is from http://trendfoundation.pixnet.net/album/photo/128511992-img006%E9%99%B3%E6%98%A0%E7%9C%9F%E8%88%87%E3%80%8A%E4%BA%BA%E
9%96%93%E3%80%8B%E9%9B%9C%E8%AA%8C%E7%A4%BE%E5%85%A8%E9%
AB%94%E5%90%8C%E4%BB%81-%E5%87%BA%E8%87%AA,but the original source
is from《人間雜誌》(1985-1989) 39期，黃淇攝影 and the magazine had ceased
publication . It is used subject to the fair use doctrine of the Taiwan Copyright Act Article
52 and 65 by GET
24
In the past you said that
society… your new
position in the company
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1983) . Night Freight
Joseph S.M. Lau(Eds.) The Unbroken chain : an anthology of Taiwan fiction since 1926
(p. 110). Bloomington : Indiana University Press
24
I’m not any fucking
‘James.’ I am Chan Ihung.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1983) . Night Freight
Joseph S.M. Lau(Eds.) The Unbroken chain : an anthology of Taiwan fiction since 1926
(p. 112). Bloomington : Indiana University Press
24
Let’s not quarrel in front
of the …kind of rotten
life anymore
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1983) . Night Freight
Joseph S.M. Lau(Eds.) The Unbroken chain : an anthology of Taiwan fiction since 1926
(p. 132). Bloomington : Indiana University Press
26
Let’s play politics with
Tokyo . . . the accounts
can be easily dealt with.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1983) . Night Freight
Joseph S.M. Lau(Eds.) The Unbroken chain : an anthology of Taiwan fiction since 1926
(pp. 103-4). Bloomington : Indiana University Press
Copyright Declaration
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29
The General Rong …
manufacturing and
business firms . . .
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 176). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
30
During those years he
had …directed by
Bertland Yang, a man
consumed by lust.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 193). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
31
This vacated office had
been …some fleeting
scene from a movie.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 173). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
31
Yesterday, right after he
had sworn in his …
worker was caught.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 190). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
32
it was during these lonely
rides, … theme for a
documentary . . .
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 177). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
32
’Why is it that life then
was full of a…he said
in a subdued voice
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 191). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
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33
For over ten years, he
thought, the …. centered
on his work at an office
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 176). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
34
After calling his friends
from …machine which
he could not comprehend.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 179). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
35
One of his friends said
that Olive …workers sure
live better than we do.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 179). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
35
Most of them found
Olive's … to death just
for a bowl of rice.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 179). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
36
Ironically, the meaning of
the position of … never
been able to complete
while in college.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 177). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
37
Rose once said to him
that …who’s always
playing safe.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 187). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
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37
The general manager of
Taiwan ... Kenneth, so
young and pale.
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 186). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
38
“White-collar work,
hardly … by a ridiculous
feeling of security?”
Ch'en, Ying-chen.(1986) . One Day in the Life of a White-collar Worker
Lucien Miller(Eds.) Exiles at home : short stories
(p. 178). Ann Arbor : Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
9
National Taiwan University Richard Rong-bin Chen