New Student's Notebook

The ‘New Student’s Notebook’ is the NMTL’s reinterpretation of the written records kept by Yang Kui after his incarceration at Taiwan’s Martial Law-era ‘New Life Correction Center’ for writing the article A Declaration of Peace in 1949, which criticized the new ROC regime’s treatment of Taiwan following retrocession in 1945. This Archive Select item features a reproduction of the cover and envelope of the ‘new student’s notebook’ distributed to all New Life Correction Center inmates. The dark brown shade of the cover evokes thoughts of the prison’s dark, dank atmosphere and cares for the far-removed world outside as well as fond associations with the land and soil. The cover is otherwise unadorned, waiting to experience the singular passage of time and life together with its owner. Yang Kui’s own literary stylings changed visibly between his early career before imprisonment and his later career after his release. To continue writing and publishing, he had no choice but to master the new language of the land (Mandarin). This Archive Select item, while designed to celebrate Yang Kui’s literary spirit and life story, looks to its new owner to give new meaning and complete the story.