HQ Business Card Holder

During his 1924 attempt to cross Taiwan on foot, young Taiwanese author Chang Shen-chieh (Tiuⁿ Chhim-chhiat) collected in his personal notebook the signatures and in-the-moment thoughts of prominent contemporary figures he met along the way. Although exhaustion cut that journey short, Shen-chieh would still ultimately realize his dream of a ‘cross-island’ journey. A decade later, the acrimony of Taiwan’s recent ‘literary war’ had convinced the author of the importance of a stable, active literary community to improving Taiwan’s literary ecosystem and literary caliber. Thus, in partnership with fellow author Lai Ming-hong, Shen-chieh founded the Taiwan Literary Union - Taiwan’s first all-inclusive, island-wide literary organization. Although conceptual differences within its membership led the union to disband after just two years, Chang Shen-chieh had successfully woven Taiwan’s formerly disparate population of poets, writers, and literary dabblers into a coherent community. His attempted journey across Taiwan on foot only further cements his invaluable place in local literary history. To commemorate the spirit of this groundbreaking author, NMTL drew inspiration from his notebook and the Taiwan Literary Union plaque (both conserved in the NMTL Archives) to develop the “HQ name card holder”. Inside is a collection of the ‘name cards’ of key union members. Imagine yourself as Shen-chieh paying calls on familiar and not-so-familiar authors of the period. Every name-card exchange opens a world of new possibilities and beckons you across time to partake in this watershed period in Taiwan literary history. Size｜106 x 68 x 12 mm Material｜Bamboo