Journey of a Sinophone Writer: Acceptance Speech for the 2023 Newman Prize for Chinese Literature

Abstract

AbstractIn his acceptance speech, Newman Prize winner Chang Kuei-hsing, born in Borneo, Southeast Asia, provides insights into the complex history and racial diversity of Borneo, which is the third largest island in the world and is home to the world’s second-largest rainforest. He discusses the racial and political complexities of Malaysia, where Malays are the dominant power and Lee Kuan Yew’s vision of a “Malaysian’s Malaysia” led to Singapore breaking away from Malaysia. He also shares his experience of attending a Chinese-language school and, later, how English-language schools with minimal Chinese programs provided him with the resources he needed to write and publish his earliest works and paved the way to his later writing career in Taiwan. Additional informationNotes on contributorsJonathan StallingJonathan Stalling is the Harold J. & Ruth Newman Chair of US-China Issues and Co-Director of the Institute for US-China Issues, the Editor in Chief of Chinese Literature and Thought Today and Curator of the Chinese Literature Translation Archive, and Professor of International and Area Studies at the University of Oklahoma.