Wang Mo-ren & Chou An-yi Literary Lecture Series

The course organized the Wang Mo-ren & Chou An-yi Literary Lecture Series, centering on women’s literature and spousal writing. The lectures featured Honorary Professor Li Jui-teng from National Central University, with Professor Wang Yu-ting from NTHU’s Institute of Taiwan Literature as moderator. Through two in-depth sessions, the series guided students in examining the intertwined creative trajectories of Chou An-yi and Wang Mo-ren, as well as the biographical, cultural, and literary significance embedded in their works.

The first lecture, “Chou An-yi and Her Literature,” traced Chou’s early career in journalism and literary reportage to her later creative work after relocating to the United States. Professor Li analyzed her oeuvre chronologically, discussing her reportage, fiction, memoirs, and biographical writing. He emphasized that Chou’s works possess both literary merit and documentary value, establishing her as an important figure in women’s immigrant writing.

The second lecture, “Tsou Yan-li in Wang Mo-ren’s Fiction,” approached the novel The Leaping Earth and revealed how the character Tsou Yan-li reflects the real-life presence of Chou An-yi. Using “negotiation” as a key interpretive concept, Professor Li illustrated how the couple’s writing presents a shared life-world grounded in mutual understanding and support. The session deepened students’ close-reading skills and highlighted how literature preserves emotional histories, family memory, and gendered experience.

Through the lecture series, students connected textual analysis with authorial lives and broader social contexts, gaining a fuller understanding of women’s literature as a vital site of cultural transmission and historical witnessing.