Popeye, Prison, Soy Sauce and Satire: Bo Yang 柏楊 – S5-E17
Bo Yang 柏楊 (1920-2008) was a Chinese historian, author, dissident, provocateur, and one of Taiwan’s most controversial commentators. After arriving in Taiwan in 1949 with the fleeing KMT, he almost immediately got into trouble with the island’s new one-party regime for everything from listening to the wrong radio station to critiquing Chinese culture. His most famous work was the incendiary book, “The Ugly Chinaman.” However, surprisingly, the crime for which he was sentenced to nine years in prison on Green Island was translating a “Popeye” cartoon strip!
Cover shows the notorious prison on Green Island in the background. On the left is the cartoon character Popeye, and on the right: Bo Yang attends the 2004 Youth National Affairs Conference in Taipei. Photo: Yeh Chih-ming, Taipei Times.
Sound effects used in this episode via Pixabay.
Pics below:
1. Bo Yang returns to his Green Island prison in 1999 for the unveiling of a human rights memorial. The inscription he provided for the memorial reads: "In that era, how many mothers spent long nights weeping for their children imprisoned on this island?" Via Taiwan Panorama.
2. Caption via the Taipei Times: "Bo Yang 柏楊 warmly welcomes Sun Kuan-han, called the 'father of atomic science,' to his 80th birthday celebration. Sun rescued Bo when he was arrested in the 1960s. Bo, a renowned writer, takes March 4, the day he was incarcerated, as his birthday."
3. Taipei Times 2008, By Hsieh Wen-hua: "Bo Yang classic reaches out to today’s youth. Last August, the author began planning a comic version of one of his most famous works, saying it could reach out to those who don’t read often. In The Ugly Chinaman, Bo Yang presented controversial, in-depth criticism of Chinese culture, depicting the Chinese as dirty, noisy and vainglorious brown-nosers who are incessantly fighting amongst themselves. The book came as a shock when it was first published in Taiwan in 1984, said Chang Hsiang-hua (張香華), Bo Yang’s wife."
Do us a favor and rate/review the show! It really helps. Do it on Apple Podcasts or here on our website.
Write us with questions or ideas at formosafiles@gmail.com
AND THE BIGGEST REQUEST: tell others about this free, not-for-profit resource about Taiwan.
