臺灣文學虛擬博物館

“Everyone will encounter many things in life. Some of them are transient and go by with time, some are permanent and forever stored in one’s memory, and some are like birds flying across the sky, gradually drifting away...”

Portrait of Hong Xingfu｜ (Donated by Lin Biyun / From the National Museum of Taiwan Literature permanent collection)

Do these words sound familiar to you? This passage comes from a prose, “An Impression of the Paper Boats”, from a Chinese textbook. It is also the impression that most people have on Hong Xingfu. Based on the theme of a memory of paper boats, the article presents the impression of rural life during his childhood, showing the fearless emotions of parents when protecting their children.

“An Impression of Paper Boats” in the textbook｜Source of the image: Kang Hsuan Educational Publishing Group.

“An Impression of the Paper Boats” is recorded in Reminiscing about the Sound of that Gong. The book was published after Hong Xingfu passed away, and it collectively included novels, proses, poems, and reportage published by Hong Xingfu. It was understood that Hong Xingfu did not wish to publish these works because he believed that they were not mature. Later, Hong Xingfu’s friends, Wang Shixun and Li Jinxiang, decided to publish this collection in a commemorative manner with the consent of Hong Xingfu’s family.

The stories with the rural background are the most well-known in Hong Xingfu’s works. In addition to the popular “An Impression of the Paper Boats”, there are also “Black-Faced Qingzi” and “After the Play.”

Reminiscing About the Sound of that Gong｜Including proses, poems, and reportage, including An Impression of Paper Boats. (Donated by Qi Jun’s family / From the National Museum of Taiwan Literature permanent collection)