臺灣文學虛擬博物館

Book bans restrict not only what can be published but also freedom of thought and expression.

From Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945) through the postwar martial law period (1949-1987), Taiwanese experienced decades of censorship on their thoughts and speech. First Japanese colonial officials and then Kuomintang (KMT) government censors shaped the landscape of publishing and allowable public discourse, with bans on "toxic" ideas readily imposed to control minds and solidify the regime. Beyond direct prohibitions on certain works, the censorship ecosystem was such that authors learned to self-censor themselves and their every word. Some works deemed at risk of running afoul of censorship lines were hidden away by their authors instead of submitted for publication.

Although authoritarian rule silences dissent and suppresses individual freedoms, free thought cannot be caged for long.

Writers Blocked takes audiences back to a period in recent Taiwan history where words could literally cost lives. We hope the items, descriptions, and stories within inspire greater public awareness and appreciation of the hard-earned freedoms and democracy they enjoy today in Taiwan.

Further information：Writers Blocked: Special Exhibition of Once-banned Taiwan Literature

Warning! You Are Surrounded By Literature covers over a century of Taiwan literature. This exhibition opens a lens into the island's evolving social and political landscapes in six sections, including Humble Beginnings: Brought on the Waves, Nourished by Fertile Island Soils (~1895), Indefatigable Resolve: Dreams and Scars of Cultural Enlightenment (1895~1945), Trial by Fire: Guerilla War against Intellectual Asphyxiation (1945~1980), Democratization: Voices from All Quarters (1980~2000), and Writing our Future … Together. Multimedia displays throughout help visitors interact with, and create new possibilities within, the living stream of Taiwan literature. Find your treasure in this vibrant, flowing stream!

Further information：The Power of Literature: Writing OUR TAIWAN

Modernism is a historical phenomenon of great significance in the global history of modern development. Found within is an incredibly rich array of ideas and content.

Taiwan was also involved in this momentous era when modernist beliefs and values transcended borders across the world. Since the 1920s, when the movement was first introduced during the era of Japanese colonial rule, modernism has left its impressions on the intellectual and literary circles of Taiwan. American modernism entered Taiwan via military and economic aid during the Cold War, when the world was divided into two camps. Suppressed by martial law, the trends of post-war Taiwanese literature, arts, and society were led towards modernization by American modernism.
 
To highlight the influence of modernism on the Western world and American literature in particular, the National Museum of Taiwan Literature has organized the special exhibition "Shining Stars of Modernism: American and Taiwan Literature." This exhibition centers on three masters of American modernist literature: F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940), William Faulkner (1897-1962), and Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961). Literary translations published by the United States Information Service (USIS) are used as a channel to introduce the works of these American writers and showcase the qualities of modernist literature in the United States from the 1920s to the 1950s. Exhibited alongside them are modernist works and other historical materials from Taiwan. This juxtaposition illustrates how Taiwanese modernism is both a form of horizontal transplantation, and yet also a movement brimming with a robust spirit of innovation. 

As Taiwanese writers of that era absorbed and collided with the techniques and ideologies of Western modernism, their distinctive qualities created bright literary sparks that would go on to shine like stars in the night sky.

Further information：Shining Stars of Modernism: American and Taiwan Literature

A Boundless Collection of Prized Literary Works
NMTL, where Literature Collection Knows No Bounds

Over 120,000 invaluable artifacts – ranging from manuscripts, calligraphy pieces and paintings, to wares and utensils – are housed in the National Museum of Taiwan Literature. The Museum also has professional restoration instruments, equipment and a staff of trained restorers. Over the last 20 years, NMTL has stayed true to its pledge to protect the brainchildren of noted writers, and worked tirelessly to preserve and restore the artifacts, while overseeing literal studies and other preliminary museological projects.

Many of the artifacts housed in the museum come from different venues and most of them are showing signs of age and insect infestation. Curators, preservers and restorers comb over each item to provide thoughtful diagnosis, which is then combined with scientific examination, analytics, and tech know-how to effectively address and identify artifact preservation and restoration challenges. Meanwhile, custom-designed restoration solutions are put forth for artifacts of various materials and categories with precision methods and materials, so as to extend their shelf life for sustainable exhibition purposes and research applications.

This exhibition is a collaborative celebration of tech-based restoration efforts, digitized cultural heritage preservation programs and literary translation endeavors, encapsulating the journey that NMTL has taken over the past 20 years in curating and collecting artifacts; the exhibition vividly demonstrates the historic and cultural imprints in the textured surface left by the artifacts. It also chronicles the journey the artifacts have taken in different authors' memory dimension to transcend time and space, making their way to the enchanted gaze of modern viewers to tell their stories – heartfelt and profound.

The venue consists of four exhibition areas to showcase the restoration and reproduction of cultural artifacts, and literary mindfulness: "The Rhythm of Cultural Artifacts/The Journey of Curation and Collection," "Reimagining of Cultural Artifacts/Eternity Assured," "Digitization on Cloud, 3D Cultural Artifacts," "Literary Translation, Masquerade of Cultural Relics."

Further information：Special Exhibition Marking the 20th Anniversary Celebration: Restoration and Reproduction of Cultural Artifacts