2026/6/22 07:52 (Updated at 6/22 08:21) Please agree to our privacy policy to enable the news listening function. Author Liu Zijie (center, in front of the stage) attended the CEIBS Writers’ Reading Month in Chishen. During the question and answer period after the reading, she introduced Taiwan’s “harvest throwing” culture to CEIBS readers. Photographed by Central News Agency reporter Zheng Jingtan in Cieszyn June 22, 2015 (Central News Agency reporter Zheng Jingtan’s special telegraph from Warsaw on the 22nd) The Poland session of China-Europe’s “Writer’s Reading Month” has come to an end, and the Taiwanese literary whirlwind has spread to Cieszyn, a twin city on the Polish-Czech border. Writer Liu Zijie took the stage to read on the evening of the 20th, sharing the behind-the-scenes of the creation of “Seven Days After My Father” and “Dear Child” with Central and European readers. She humorously answered the Taiwanese view of life and death, complex folk customs and sexual taboos, and the scene was filled with laughter. Liu Zijie reads selected excerpts from the novel “Dear Child” and the famous essay “Seven Days After the Father”. The former has been translated in Poland, while the latter played a trailer for the movie adaptation of the same name after the reading, using visual images to lead European readers into the bustle of a traditional Taiwanese funeral. Regarding the open attitude towards “sex” in “Dear Child”, the audience asked whether sex is still taboo in Chinese literature. Liu Zijie responded firmly: “Writers should be conflicting. Only when writers write, readers will know that they can write.” She also explained that when dealing with more controversial subjects, writers have clear narrative intentions and use humor and irony to break taboos, allowing readers to cross cultural barriers with a knowing smile. Talking about the views on fertility and marriage in the book, Liu Zijie shared that many contemporary Taiwanese women who are around 30 years old and capable are eager to have children even if they are not married. This is completely different from the traditional concept of decades ago, where women were reduced to tools for carrying on the family line and even had to “give birth to boys until they have boys.” In addition, regarding the “psychic” characters that frequently appear in novels, Liu Zijie explained that psychics can see things that ordinary people cannot see, which represents the “junction between virtuality and reality”, just as the creation of novels starts from real emotions and enters the essence of fictional stories. She also humorously introduced Taiwan’s unique culture of “throwing a scorpion” and explained it as a way for ordinary people to communicate with gods. When discussing “Seven Days After My Father”, Liu Zijie confirmed that the work was derived from the real experience of accompanying her father on his final journey. She recalled that 10 years after leaving her hometown, she once again faced the traditional and complicated funeral ceremony. She was so shocked that she decided to record it day by day. She also explained that the reason why traditional funerals in Taiwan are complicated is that the living people are too busy to grieve excessively, and the ceremony is to allow family members scattered across the country to reunite and support each other through rituals. The audience also noticed that the funeral staff’s tape “played Amitabha on one side and Hallelujah on the other” in the reading clip of “Seven Days After Our Father” and asked whether Taiwan is really so open to religion. Liu Zijie laughed and said that even she admired Taiwanese people’s tolerance and flexibility towards religion. She gave an example to a Catholic friend who was close to her. After her father’s funeral was held in the church, because she was worried that her father would have no money to spend in heaven, she ended up secretly burning paper money with her relatives, showing her “Taiwan-style thoughtfulness” that goes beyond barriers. The China-Europe Reading Month will come to an end in Cieshen on the evening of the 22nd. Writer Ping Lu will take the stage to read, piecing together the most diverse and vital group portrait of Taiwan’s contemporary literature for the readers of China and Europe. (Editor: Tian Ruihua) 1150622 Support the Central News Agency’s choice to stand with the facts. Every donation you make is a small amount of support to protect press freedom. Download the Central News Agency’s “First-hand News” APP to get the latest news in real time. The text, pictures and audio and video of this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.
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China-Europe Reading Month Liu Zijie talks about how literature should violate taboos | Culture | CNA
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