“If You Ask”— A Poetry Review

Language and Culture

YE4B

1092100081 Jeffrey

1092100085 Nicole

1092100083 Mabel

1092100084 Marian

1092100116 Agnes

如果你問起 如果你問起 島嶼台灣的父親 我會告訴你 天空是島嶼台灣的父親 如果你問起 島嶼台灣的母親 我會告訴你 海是島嶼台灣的母親 如果你問起 島嶼台灣的過去 我會告訴你 血淚滴淌在歷史的足跡 如果你問起 島嶼台灣的現在 我會告訴你 腐敗的權力正對著心靈破壞 如果你問起 島嶼台灣的未來 我會告訴你 踏出腳步才能去開採 對著天空 對著海 島嶼台灣的身世 深深印在心內 對著過去 對著未來 你我牽手 在受傷的土地描繪新世界 為美麗島嶼 踏出希望的旅程 為美麗國度 踏出重建的道路 ──1994

If You Ask If you ask Who is the father of the island of Taiwan I will tell you The sky is the father of the island of Taiwan If you ask Who is the mother of the island of Taiwan I will tell you The ocean is the mother of the island of Taiwan If you ask What is the past of the island of Taiwan I will tell you Blood and tears drop on the feet of the history of Taiwan If you ask What is the present of the island of Taiwan I will tell you Corruption in power is evading the Taiwanese soul If you ask What is the future of the island of Taiwan I will tell you Step out on your feet, the road is open to you Face the sky Face the ocean The life on the island of Taiwan Is deeply curved into my heart Face the past Face the future You and me hand in hand In this deeply hurt land draw a picture of the new nation For this beautiful island Step out on the journey of hope For this beautiful nation Walk out and rebuild the road (Trans. By Maysing Yang)

I. Introduction

Our group is going to present a poem written by a Taiwanese poet, Li Min-Yong, in 1994. The title of the poem is “If You Ask.”

A very special part of this poem, and of most of Lee Ming Yung’s poems, is that the poem is deeply related to politics. The message contained in the poem “If You Ask” concerns with the historical background of Taiwanese democracy. It is probably unknown to some of our young generation that Taiwanese people have gone through a very painful process of being a democratic country.

After the Second World War ended in 1945, Taiwan was ruled by the government of Kuomintang, which was a power of corruption and incompetence at that time. Two years later, the conflict between officials and the people broke out, and the massacre of the February 28 Incident took many people’s lives away. At that time, human rights were much limited, and remarks against the government were strictly banned. Thus started the White Terror in 1949. In 1979, many politicians were imprisoned during the Formosa Incident. All of these were the cost of today’s democracy and freedom in human rights in Taiwan.

In this poem, Li Min-Yong told the story of Taiwan by telling you the past, the present, and the future of the island of Taiwan. He reminded his readers what has been achieved today in the democracy of Taiwan is a result of many Taiwanese people’s blood and tears. He also encouraged people to review the past and to create a bright future of the island of Taiwan.

II. About the Author

Lee Ming Yung was born in Kaohsiung in 1974. He graduated from National Chung Hsing University. His major is history. When he was a high school student, he was interested in writing poems. After a period of time of working on it, he published his first book, “Language of Clouds,” and then, he has published many books in these years. It seems romantic to be a poet. However, the real life is not easy to go through. The financial element forced him to do some works else. In order to support his life, he had served different jobs, such as a journalist and a teacher in high school, but he never gives up his dream to be a poet.

After doing his job in daytime, he devoted his time to writing poems. Because of his effort and the spirit of never giving up, he has been the editor in chief of Li Poetry Magazine and the president of Taiwanese PEN. He has published 24 books, included “Requiem,” “The Wild Life Thinking,” “Landscapes under Martial Law,” and so on.

His poems always have the color of politics. Therefore, people are always curious about why he made connection between politics and poems. He cited the poem from American poet, Robert Frost, who had said that “When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” He wants to express his feeling and encourage people to accept the history and look forward a beautiful future.

He thinks that a good poet is not creating the beautiful words, but doing some efforts to our society and writing the meaning of our life. He is actively doing social activities and writing poems. Someone describes him by saying that Lee Ming Yung uses his way to rebuild the value of Taiwan’s customs and create the value of Taiwan’s politics.

III. Analysis of the Poem

If You Ask If you ask Who is the father of the island of Taiwan I will tell you The sky is the father of the island of Taiwan If you ask Who is the mother of the island of Taiwan I will tell you The ocean is the mother of the island of Taiwan If you ask What is the past of the island of Taiwan I will tell you Blood and tears drop on the feet of the history of Taiwan If you ask What is the present of the island of Taiwan I will tell you Corruption in power is evading the Taiwanese soul If you ask What is the future of the island of Taiwan I will tell you Step out on your feet, the road is open to you Face the sky Face the ocean The life on the island of Taiwan Is deeply curved into my heart Face the past Face the future You and me hand in hand In this deeply hurt land draw a picture of the new nation For this beautiful island Step out on the journey of hope For this beautiful nation Walk out and rebuild the road

Analysis the Poem The poem describes the past, the present, and the future of Taiwan. In this part, I’m going to talk about the past and the present part of the poem. Taiwan was part of China when the emperors lost the war. Taiwan became a gift. Outsiders had conquered Taiwan for decades. The dynasties changed many times, but no emperors actually cared much about this island. That’s why the poem says the sky is the father of Taiwan and the ocean is the mother of Taiwan. The progress of democracy is difficult. This is the first time that Taiwanese people are really making decisions. Those old days are still affecting the leaders. Do you consider yourself a Taiwanese or a Chinese? What are the differences? We’re all born here, and we all have lived here for more than fifty years. We share the same culture. If we are considered we are different from each other, if we are still arguing we are different, how could other countries recognize us if we don’t recognize ourselves? We, Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka, and aboriginese, we all live on this island. We share the histories. The only things that are different from the past are we’re just starting to control our destinies. There are so many to do, and we are all in the same boat. This history is painful. We have to let go and forward. Don’t let corruption ruin our future. Blood and tear is the past of the island of Taiwan. Corruption in power evading the Taiwanese soul is the present of the island of Taiwan. And what is the future and destiny of the island of Taiwan? We should not suffer ourselves from the persecution history. Instead, the poem encouraged us be more active to open our imprisoned heart. Step out our feet to construct new hope. Imagine yourself into a situation; you stand up to face the vast sky and ocean. If you were a person who feel sorrow for the past history of Taiwan, the image will be more strong and powerful into your heart. The February 28 incidence in 1945, The White Terror in 1949, and The Formosa Incidence in 1979 are the three well-known incidences correspondence with political intention. In that regime-in-exile authoritarian rule, Many intellectuals, such as social leaders, doctors, professionals, lawyers, and artists were against to own the doubted thinking and demonstration against the government. Those doubtful intellectuals were apprehended, toured and executed or imprisoned for the reasons of political persecution.

The author would like to find a way to recover the hurt that the history took us. After all, now we are in the time of high-level society which is emphasis on democracy and human rights. We Taiwanese should always remind us not to forget the lessons we learned in our history and cherish the current peaceful and democratic society now. In the future, there will be no sorrow and no hurt but full of forgiveness and hope.

IV. Conclusion

Taiwan, now in the time of highly democratic country, has been struggling for its freedom for years. From the first direct presidential election in 1996 to the replacement of political power in the year of 2000, Taiwanese people have participated in this democratic progress. However, we may have ignored what we have paid for democratization.

After World War Two, Taiwan was under the rule of the Nationalist government. At that time, talking about “human rights” was a taboo, and fighting for them was even seen as a crime. Thus, The White Terror, and The Formosa Incident happened. People sacrificed their lives to strive for freedom. Because of many people’s blood and tears, we own our freedom and achieve democracy.

After democratization, human rights in Taiwan have made a great progress. But we cannot forget the past, be content with the present, or discontinue our efforts for a better future.

We should have more understanding of our past, and cherish our human rights, democratic society and freedom.