Forty everyday objects trace a century in the life of Su Beng, the spiritual father of Taiwan’s independence movement. Through his personal possessions, readers are brought into contact with the heroism, passion, and simple humanity of a true revolutionary.
Su Beng (1918-2019) was the most iconic representative of the Taiwan independence movement. His life was uniquely intertwined with the tides of East Asian geopolitics in the twentieth century, allowing him to experience the rule of colonial Japan, the Chinese Communist Party, the authoritarian Nationalist Party, and Taiwan’s periods of martial law and democracy.
The son of a prominent Taipei family, Su Beng first encountered Marxism while studying at Waseda University in Japan. During the war he did intelligence work for the Communist Party in defiance of Japan’s incursion into China, but eventually became disillusioned by the struggle sessions staged by the Chinese communists. After returning to Taiwan, he helped plot an assassination attempt on Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. When the plot was uncovered, he fled to Japan, where, during his years of exile, he operated a restaurant while writing the foundational text of the Taiwan independence movement: Taiwan’s 400 Year History. Between 1993, when he returned to Taiwan, and his death in 2019, he was engaged in grassroots political organizing and street activism, becoming godfather to a generation of Taiwan’s contemporary political activists.
Historian Weng Chi-An has selected forty personal items from the life of Su Beng, each the subject of one chapter of this book. The bokken (wooden training sword) he kept by his bedside is a powerful symbol of the revolutionary’s willingness to engage the political fight at all times. The cash register from his restaurant in Japan represents the practical life of a man making ends meet while living in exile. A music collection including Fong Fei-fei cassettes and vinyl records of Peking opera reveals the softer, human side to the public image of an uncompromising activist.
Through Su Beng’s life story and the everyday objects he possessed, the recent history of East Asia is brought to life. Aided by the full-color illustrations of Arnold Lee, this rich visual archive will impress upon readers the essence of Su Beng’s beliefs: that the true meaning of revolution lies in our respect for humanity, and that our greatest accomplishments are rooted in how we live our everyday lives.