A selected chronology of Chen Yingzhen†
1937
November 6, born in Zhonggang, Zhunan Township, Taiwan.
1957
Graduated from Taiwan Provincial Taipei Cheng Kung High School and entered Tamkang Junior College of English.
1959
September 15, the first fiction “The Noodle Booth” [麵攤] was published in Bihui [筆匯], Vol. 1, Issue 5.
1960
January, “My Kid Brother Kangxiong” [我的弟弟康雄] was published in Bihui, Vol. 1, Issue 9.
March, “Home” [家] was published in Bihui, Vol. 1, Issue 11.
August, “The Country Village Teacher” [鄉村的教師] was published in Bihui, Vol. 2, Issue 1.
September, “Hometown” [故鄉] was published in Bihui, Vol. 2, Issue 2.
October, “The Dying” [死者] was published in Bihui, Vol. 2, Issue 3.
December, “Grandpa and the Umbrella” [祖父和傘] was published in Bihui, Vol. 2, Issue 5.
1961
January, “Cats and Their Grandmothers” [貓牠們的祖母] was published in Bihui, Vol. 2, Issue 6.
May, “Such Old Tears” [那麼衰老的眼淚] was published in Bihui, Vol. 2, Issue 6.
June, graduated from the post-reform Danjiang College of Letter and Sciences.
July, “The Story of Judas Iscariot” [加略人猶大的故事] was published in Bihui, Vol. 2, Issue 9.
November, “Apple Trees” [蘋果樹] was published in Bihui, Vol. 2, Issue 11-12.
1963
September, “Letters” [文書] was published in Modern Literature [現代文學], Vol. 18.
September, went to work at Qiang Shu High School as an English teacher for two and a half years.
1964
January, “Generals” [將軍族] was published in Modern Literature, Vol. 19.
June, “Desolate Wordless Mouth” [悽慘的無言的嘴] was published in Modern Literature, Vol. 21.
October, “A Green Bird of Migration” [一綠色之候鳥] was published in Modern Literature, Vol. 22.
1965
February, “Death of a Hunter” [獵人之死] was published in Modern Literature, Vol. 23.
July, “A Solitary Sun” [兀自照耀著的太陽] was published in Modern Literature, Vol. 25.
Took the job at the Taiwan Branch of Pfizer, an America-based pharmaceutical company.
1966
September, “Oh Susanna” [哦！蘇珊娜] was published in Youth Literary [幼獅文藝], Vol. 153.
October, “The Last Day of Summer” [最後的夏日] was published in Literary Quarterly [文學季刊], Vol. 1.
1967
January, “The Comedy of Narcissa Tang” [唐倩的喜劇] was published in Literary Quarterly, Vol. 2.
April, “First Task” [第一件差事] was published in Literary Quarterly, Vol. 3.
July, “Roses in June” [六月裡的玫瑰花] was published in Literary Quarterly, Vol. 4.
1968
May, before heading to the US for an international writing project, arrested by the police from Taiwan Garrison Command for allegedly establishing the “Taiwan Democratic Alliance.”
December, sentenced to ten years of imprisonment.
1970
February, “Eternal Earth” [永恆的大地] was published in Literary Quarterly, Vol. 10.
1973
August, “An Afternoon” [某一個日午] was published in Wenji [文季], Vol. 1.
1975
July, granted parole from the passing of Chiang Kaishek.
October, published the self-analysis essay “On Chen Yingzhen” [試論陳映真] under the pen name Xu Nancun [許南村].
October, came back to the literary scene with two collections of fictions, First Task and Generals published by Vista Publishing [遠景].
November, took the job at the Taiwan Branch of Winthrop, another America-based pharmaceutical company.
1976
Early this year, Generals was banned.
September, finished “Whips and Lanterns” [鞭子與提燈].
December, The Paranoia of Intellectuals [知識人的偏執] was published by Yuenhsing [遠行] Publishing.
1977
February, married Ms. Chen Lina.
1978
March, “Big Brother He” [賀大哥] was published in Lion Art [雄獅美術], Vol. 85; “Night Truck” [夜行貨車] was published in Taiwan Wenyi [台灣文藝], Vol. 58.
September, “One Day in the Life of a White-Collar Worker” [上班族的一日] was published in Lion Art, Vol. 91.
1979
October 3, arrested by the Security Bureau for the second time and made bail after 36 hours.
November, Night Truck was published by Vista Publishing; “Plenitude” [纍纍] was published in renewed version of Modern Literature, Vol. 9.
Before the end of this year, won the Wu Chuo-liu Literary Award [吳濁流文學獎] with Sung Tse-lai [宋澤萊].
1980
August, “Clouds” [雲] was published in Taiwan Wenyi, Vol. 68.
1982
July, Vol. 1 of the Washington Mansion Series: Clouds [雲－－華盛頓大樓系列（一）] was published by Vista Publishing.
December, “God of Merchants” [萬商帝君] was published in renewed version of Modern Literature, Vol. 19.
1983
April, “Bell Flowers” [鈴鐺花] was published in Wenji, Vol. 1.
August, “Mountain Road” [山路] was published in Wenji, Vol. 3.
August, gave a lecture entitled “Mass Consumption Society” [大眾消費社會] at the Air Force Club in Taipei, hosted by China Times.
August, joined the International Writing Program at Iowa University with Chi-teng Sheng [七等生].
October 2, “Mountain Road” won theChina-Times Recommended Award for Fictions [中國時報小說推薦獎].
1984
September, Mountain Road and Orphans’ History and the Orphans of History [孤兒的歷史、歷史的孤兒] were published by Vista Publishing.
1985
November, founded Renjian [人間], a monthly magazine.
December, in celebration of the founding of Renjian, published a self-selected and illustrated Anthology of Chen Yingzhen’s Fictions [陳映真小說選], including “Generals,” “The Comedy of Narcissa Tang,” “First Task,” “Night Truck” and “Mountain Road.”
1987
June, “A Story about Zhao Erping” [趙爾平], a shortened version of “A Story about Zhao Nandong” [趙南棟], was published in China Times.
June, “A Story about Zhao Nandong” was published in Renjian magazine.
June, A Story about Zhao Nandong was printed and published by Renjian Publishing.
July, Twisted Mirrors [曲扭的鏡子], co-edited with Kang Lai-hsing [康來新] et. al, was printed and published by Yage [雅歌] Publishing.
September, went to the US to join the 20th anniversary of the International Writing Program at Iowa University.
November, an expanded version of A Story about Zhao Nandong was published.
1988
March, the 15-volumed Anthology of Chen Yingzhen [陳映真作品集]were edited and published by Renjian Publishing.
April, co-organized the Alliance for the Reunification of China [中國統一聯盟], served as the funding chair.
June, attended the Conference on Chen Yingzhen’s Literary Works [陳映真文學研討會] in Hong Kong.
1989
April, went to Korea to conduct journalism and interviews.
May, attended the Conference on China held in Bolinas, California.
September, closed down Renjian magazine due to financial deficits.
1990
February, took the delegation of Alliance for the Reunification of China to Beijing, met Jiang Zemin, the then President of the People’s Republic of China.
1991
August, prepared for Renjian Publishing to publish “Series of Taiwan’s Political Economy Studies” [臺灣政治經濟叢刊].
1992
June, published Vol. 1 to 4 of “Series of Taiwan’s Political Economy Studies”: Taiwan Under Japanese Imperialist Rule [日本帝國主義下的臺灣] by Tu Chao-Yen [涂兆彥], An Analysis of Taiwan’s Post-war Economy [臺灣戰後經濟分析] by Liu Jing-Qing [劉進慶], Taiwan’s Post-war Economy [臺灣戰後經濟] by Duan Cheng-Pu [段承璞], and The Formation of An International Processing Base [國際加工基地的形成] by Taniura Takao [谷浦孝雄].
July, published Vol. 5 of “Series of Taiwan’s Political Economy Studies”: Taiwan’s Dependent Mode of Development [臺灣依附型發展] by Chen Yu-xi [陳玉璽].
1993
July, published Vol. 6 of “Series of Taiwan’s Political Economy Studies”: Taiwan’s Economy [臺灣之經濟] by Liu Jing-Qing et. al.
December, “Back Alley” [後街], a personal literary and biographical overview was serialized in China Times from the 19th to 23rd.
1994
January, literary reportage “When Red Stars Fall into Qigulin Mountains” [當紅星在七古林山區沉落] was published in Unitas: A Literary Monthly [聯合文學], Vol. 111.
March 12, agit-prop play “Spring Worship” [春祭] premiered in National Center of Arts, Taipei and got full house.
April, “Shihpantou in Anxi County: A Trip to Ancestral Home” [安溪縣石盤頭－－祖鄉紀行] was serialized in United Daily News from the 23rd to 25th.
September, published Vol. 7 of “Series of Taiwan’s Political Economy Studies”: Contending Approaches to the Political Economy of Taiwan [臺灣政治經濟學諸論辯析], edited by E. A. Winckler and S. Greenhalgh.
1995
April, “Theoretical Problematics in the Critiques of ‘Taiwanese Independence’: A Response to Chen Zhao-Ying’s ‘On Taiwan’s Localization Movement’ [「臺獨」批判的若干理論問題－－對陳昭瑛「論臺灣的本土化運動」之回應] was published in Straits Review Monthly [海峽評論], Vol. 52.
1996
May, presented “Kim Myung-Sik, The Poet Praising Hope, Freedom and Liberation” [歌唱希望、自由和解放的詩人金明植] in the Conference on China-Korea Relation and its Future Development.
June 10, “On Chang Da-Chun’s Theory of Conversion” [張大春的轉向論] was published in United Daily News.
July, “On ‘China Can’t Say No’” [評「中國不可以說不」論] was published in United Daily News.
July, Night Truck, a collection of fictions, was edited by Gu Jitang [古繼堂] and published by Shishi [時事] Publishing, Beijing.
November, presented “On Lu He-Ruo’s ‘Winter Nights’’ [論呂赫若的「冬夜」] in the Conference on Lu He-Ruo’s Literary Works, Taipei.
November, “The Vicissitude of a Book” [一本書的滄桑] was published in Unitas: A Literary Monthly.
1997
March, Great Works of Chen Yingzhen [陳映真代表作] was included in Series of Works by Eminent Contemporary Chinese Writers [中國現當代著名作家文庫], edited by Liu Fuyou [劉福友], published by Henanwenyi [河南文藝].
April, delivered a speech “It’s Time for a New Social Science” [時代呼喚著新的社會科學] as Honorary Fellow in Chinese Academy of Social Science. (Published later in Straits Review Monthly, Vol. 80.
July, presented “Challenging the Civil War and Cold War Ideologies” [向內戰與冷戰意識型態挑戰] in the Conference on the 20th Anniversary of Xiangtu Literary Debate: Reflection and Rethinking [鄉土文學論戰二十周年回顧與再思學術研討會].
September, “The History Calls for Wisdom and Vision: Thoughts on Hong Kong’s Return to China” [歷史召喚著智慧和遠見－－香港回歸的隨想] was published in Wealth Magazine [財訊], Vol. 86.
1998
January, presented “On Lu He-Ruo’s ‘Winter Nights’’ [論呂赫若的「冬夜」] in the Conference on Lu He-Ruo’s Literary Works, Beijing.
April, “The Spiritual Desolation” [精神的荒廢] was serialized in United Daily News from the 2nd to 4th.
July, “Hatred among Kins and Becoming Subjects of the Emperor” [近親憎惡與皇民主義] was serialized in United Daily News from the 5th to 7th.
July, “Leftist Literatures and the Restoration of Literary Critiques” [左翼文學和文論的復權] was published in Unitas: A Literary Monthly, July Issue.
August, “The History of Contemporary Taiwanese Intellectuals” [臺灣現代知識份子的歷史] was published in United Daily News (republished in Twelve Lessons for Intellectuals [知識份子十二講] by Lisyu [立緒] Publishing, 1999).
October, The Collections of Works by Chen Yingzhen [陳映真文集] (Fictions, Literary Critiques, Prose) were published by China Friendship [中國友誼] Publishing.
1999
September, “Returning Home” [歸鄉] was serialized in United Daily News from Sept. 22 to Oct. 8, and was included in The Muted Debate [噤啞的論爭].
September, “A Concealed Debate” [一場被遮蔽的論爭], “Taiwanese Literature’ was the Path to Ethnic Solidarity across the Strait” [「臺灣文學」是增進兩岸民族團結的渠道], “Camel Yin’s Contribution to Contemporary Taiwanese Literary Thoughts” [駱駝英對當代臺灣文藝思潮的貢獻] and “Tracks of ‘The Soldier’ Camel Yin” [「兵士」駱駝英的腳踪] were included in The Muted Debate, Series of Renjian Thought and Literary Creation [人間思想與創作叢刊], Autumn Issue, published by Renjian Publishing.
2000
January, the prose “My Father” [父親] was serialized in China Times from the 20th to 22nd.
February, published the Preface to Thinking about Taiwan from a Distance [遙念臺灣] by Fan Cyuan [范泉], Renjian Publishing.
March, Self-selected Anthology of Chen Yingzhen [陳映真自選集] was published by Joint Publishing [三聯書店], Beijing.
April, the lecture “Has the World of Literature Changed?” [文學的世界已經變了?] was serialized in United Daily News from the 10th to 12nd.
July, “The Disaster of Replacing Scientific Knowledge with Ideology: on A History of Modern Taiwanese Literature by Chen Fang-Ming” [以意識型態代替科學知識的災難－－評陳芳明的《臺灣新文學史》] was published in Unitas: A Literary Monthly, Vol. 189.
July, Generals, the collection of fictions, was included in 100 Excellent Chinese Literary Books in the Last 100 Years [百年百種優秀中國文學圖書] published by The People’s Liberation Army Press [解放軍文藝出版社], Beijing.
September, “A Further Discussion on the ‘Social Characteristics’ of Taiwan: A Response to Mr. Chen Fang-Ming” [關於臺灣「社會性質」的進一步討論－－答陳芳明先生] was published in Unitas: A Literary Monthly, Vol. 191.
November, the fiction “Night Mist” [夜霧] was serialized in United Daily News from November 24 to December 5, and was republished in The Reappeared Chart of Stars [復現的星圖] by Renjian Publishing in December.
December, “It’s Time to Put a Stop to Chen Fang-Ming’s Three-phased Theory on History and The New Taiwanese Literary History” [陳芳明歷史三階段論和臺灣新文學史論可以休矣!] was published in Unitas: A Literary Monthly, Vol. 194.
December, commentary “Encouragement” [鼓舞] was included in the Fan Cyuan Memorial Collection [范泉紀念集] edited by Qin Hong [欽鴻] and Fan Songde [藩頌德], published by Zhongguo San Xia [中國三峽], Beijing.
2001
January 12, “The Sky is High and the Earth is Thick: Thoughts on The Acceptance Speech Given by Mr. Gao Xingjian” [天高地厚－－讀高行健先生受獎演說辭的隨想] was published in United Daily News.
June, published the Preface to The Track of a Taiwanese [一個臺灣人的軌跡] by Yang Guo-Guang [楊國光], Renjian Publishing.
July, the fiction “Loyalty and Filiality Park” [忠孝公園] was published in Unitas: A Literary Monthly, Vol. 201, and was republished in Those Years When We Were in Taiwan... [那些年，我們在臺灣...] by Renjian Publishing in August.
August, “The Development of Literary Reportage in Taiwan” [臺灣報導文學的歷程] was serialized in United Daily News from the 18th to 20th.
Acknowledgement
The translation is based on the Chinese version published in 2001 in Selected Fictions by Chen Yingzhen, Volume 1 [陳映真小說集 1], Taipei: Hong Fan Publishing [洪範書店].
† Note on spelling: all Asian names in the chronology are presented in the Asian order: last name first.