Millennial Writers and the Making of a New Taiwanese Literary Tradition

This paper explores the significance of a new Taiwanese literary trend in the early 21st century. Many Taiwanese millennial writers position themselves as heirs to Taiwan's literary tradition, telling stories about Taiwan literature and highlighting Taiwan literary tradition as a valuable resource in their writing. This creative stance is in sharp contrast to that found in the works of their predecessors who seldom engaged in dialogues with Taiwan's literary works. What does it mean for millennial writers to define themselves as heirs to Taiwan literature? What strategies do they employ to highlight this position? How do they redefine the concepts of "Taiwan literature," "Taiwan's literary tradition," and the " literary history of Taiwan"? Why does this literary trend emerge in the first decade of the 21st century? This paper addresses these questions by studying selected works by some of the most prominent Taiwanese millennial writers. It also examines how this literary trend impacts on the writing of Taiwan's literary history and points to an alternative mode of literary history writing.