The Legend of Luo Fangbo and the Hakka ethnic movement in Taiwan

Authors

Ying-Kit Chan, International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden University, The NetherlandsFollow

Abstract

For more than three decades, Taiwan has engaged in the Hakka ethnic movement, which aims to preserve Hakka culture, identity, and language after a long period of neglect and state indifference. The Hakka ethnic movement has been marked not only by activism but also by the publications it has spawned, which promote a general, if not authoritative, understanding of the Hakka diaspora among the Hakkas in Taiwan. This article examines The Legend of Luo Fangbo, a historical novel ordered into existence by the state-led Hakka Affairs Council. It suggests that the novel not only helps construct a new genealogy of Hakka migrations in fulfilment of Taiwan’s visions of multiculturalism and a new Hakka homeland but also infuses the new Hakka identity with masculine characteristics embodied by its eponymous hero. By extension, then, the Hakka ethnic movement, specifically the homogenisation of Hakka culture and history into a pan-Hakka consciousness, is a masculinised project that has little to say about the role of women in the Hakka diaspora.

Recommended Citation

Chan, Ying-Kit (2021) "The Legend of Luo Fangbo and the Hakka ethnic movement in Taiwan," Malaysian Journal of Chinese Studies: Vol. 10: No. 1, Article 1.
Available at: https://mjcs.newera.edu.my/journal/vol10/iss1/1