Negotiating culture space and identity : the translation and analysis of Tongzhi and Ku-er fiction.

The subject of this thesis is the translation of fiction relating to two movements that emerged in Taiwan towards the end of the last century. Tongzhi and ku-er arose during a period of liberalisation that permitted expression to the to the previously inexpressible, in this case, issues surrounding unconventional sexual identity. The growth of these movements was inspired by an increasing awareness among the sexually marginalised in Taiwan, of the developments that had occurred in the West regarding sexual identity. The newly tolerant political climate enabled a demand for previously unobtainable cultural material to be supplied, leading to a demand for translators of this material. This thesis concerns itself with the role of translation in the formation and evolution of tongzhi and ku-er movements through fiction. In the history of literature dealing with same sex desire, the rise of tongzhi and ku-er literature reflects a variety of social, political and literary trends, the international and politically rebellious elements that characterized tongzhi and ku-er identities. Translation, by turn is an important component that brings in foreign influence to tongzhi and ku-er literature, whereby the literature itself translates aspects from Western sources in a way that is characterized as ‘translocal’. Despite the close ties of tongzhi and ku-er literature with global and local political movements and translation, very little has been written on the subject of tongzhi and ku-er translation. The two translated texts selected for analysis, Angelwings: Contemporary Queer Fiction from Taiwan and Notes of a Desolate Man engage with the aforementioned global and local frameworks. Through analysing the translated text, interweaving strands in this thesis are connected