I began my first session at the Diary of Lin Hsien-tang (林獻堂) <灌園先生日記> Reading Group today. Lin Hsien-tang is one of the most famous Taiwanese figures during the Japanese period for his role in advocating for self-rule and founded the Taiwan Cultural Association 台灣文化協會.
It was awkward not knowing anyone in the reading group. The group assigns Ph.D. students one entry from the dairy to present on. The presenter has to cover three areas: grammar/spelling, plain/vernacular translation (白話), and historical background of persons, place names, and other proper nouns. Each entry is read out loud by one member. The reading out-loud part makes me realize that I do not know the pronunciation of some words, although I know the meaning of most of them. The teachers in the group make sure that each area in the presentation is covered completely and accurately, and raise discussion questions on certain topics.
I think this exercise will help me in learning more about Japanese-colonized Taiwan through an elite perspective, learning how to read historical sources, and improving my Chinese reading proficiency. I am going to wait to see when I will feel comfortable enough to volunteer to present on one entry. Some entries are much easier than others. I am mostly scared of the grammar/spelling part, because I do not have the language proficiency to find missing words, misspelled words, and incorrect punctuation marks.
I need to work on my Mandarin speaking skills though... My Taiwanese hoklo proficiency is smoother than Mandarin at this point.
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