Dirk Kuhlmann

For the greater part of the twentieth century, discursive patterns on missionary historiography pursued a rather confined line of reasoning, i. e. their analysis was restricted to a single perspective or 'master narrative' and excluded incompatible aspects of Christian missions: with the sole exception of the 'cultural aggression' pattern, Christian missions were acknowledged as a 'global' phenomenon which exerted a certain influence in the history of China's modernisation. The evaluation of missionary activities was primarily based on their compatibility with various models of modernisation, which were closely tied to fixed conceptions of one national and one privileged cultural identity. This is the case with the models proposed by Liang Qichao in the Republican era, by Fan Wenlan and Hu Sheng in the Maoist era and even historical interpretations following the 'modernisation/Westernisation' paradigm in the Reform era. Hu Shi's main interest rested with missionary charity work and educational activities. Keywords: Chen Yuan; China's modernisation; Christian missionary; Hu Shi; Liang Qichao

For the greater part of the twentieth century, discursive patterns on missionary historiography pursued a rather confined line of reasoning, i. e. their analysis was restricted to a single perspective or 'master narrative' and excluded incompatible aspects of Christian missions: with the sole exception of the 'cultural aggression' pattern, Christian missions were acknowledged as a 'global' phenomenon which exerted a certain influence in the history of China's modernisation. The evaluation of missionary activities was primarily based on their compatibility with various models of modernisation, which were closely tied to fixed conceptions of one national and one privileged cultural identity. This is the case with the models proposed by Liang Qichao in the Republican era, by Fan Wenlan and Hu Sheng in the Maoist era and even historical interpretations following the 'modernisation/Westernisation' paradigm in the Reform era. Hu Shi's main interest rested with missionary charity work and educational activities. Keywords: Chen Yuan; China's modernisation; Christian missionary; Hu Shi; Liang Qichao

This article treats the creative process of indigenous authors of Taiwan adapting various myths of their peoples in their Sinophone literary writings. Analyzing selected fictional works by Syaman Rapongan, Husluman Vava, Neqou Soqluman, and Badai, as well as a poem by Salizan Takisvilainan, I will discuss the authors’ motivation for tapping into the mythology of their people in the quest for their individual authorial voice. A guiding question of this article is to what extent this recourse to traditional materials corresponds with a trend among indigenous Taiwanese authors of writing in their own voice, as Paelabang Danapan (Sun Tachuan) has proposed. I will discuss these adaptations of myths in light of a fourmodality framework of myth-writing: myth as heritage, myth as lived tradition, myth as expression of human experience, and myth as source of inspiration.