First Win for Chinese-Language Literature: '1938 Taiwan Travelogue' Honored with International Booker Prize

Set in 1930s Japanese-ruled Taiwan
Travel, Cuisine, and Romance Intertwined with a Postcolonial Perspective
A Historic First for Both a Taiwanese Author and a Chinese-language Work
Co-Winner with Translator Lin King

Yang Shuangzi, a Taiwanese writer, has won the prestigious 2026 International Booker Prize for her novel 'Taiwan Travelogue.' The Korean edition is titled '1938 Taiwan Travelogue.'

On May 19 (local time), the Booker Prize Foundation announced Yang Shuangzi and English translator Lin King as this year's winners of the International Booker Prize during the awards ceremony held at Tate Modern in London, United Kingdom. The two will split the prize money of 50,000 pounds, which is approximately 100 million won, equally between them.

Taiwanese author Yang Shuangzi (left) and English translator Lin Qing. Booker Prize Foundation

The International Booker Prize is awarded to novels and short story collections that have been translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. The award is highly regarded in the global literary community for highlighting not only the author but also the translator's contributions. This year's win is regarded as a landmark achievement in both Taiwanese and Chinese-language literary history.

This is the first time a Taiwanese author has won the International Booker Prize, and it is also the first time a work written in Chinese has received this honor. '1938 Taiwan Travelogue' is set in 1930s Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period. The story begins as a Japanese woman novelist travels the island to experience its landscapes and daily life, with a special focus on the diverse food culture. She grows close to her local guide and translator, a Taiwanese woman, and romantic feelings develop between the two.

However, their relationship does not unfold as a simple romance. The difference in their positions—as a Japanese writer from a colonial power and a Taiwanese translator from the colonized land—constantly affects their emotions. While outwardly a travelogue and gourmet novel, the work delicately explores issues of colonial power, language, class, and identity.

Yang Shuangzi's novel '1938 Taiwan Travelogue'. Matisse Blue

The novel actively employs devices such as afterwords written by both real and fictional translators, extensive footnotes, and metafictional techniques. For this reason, the literary community has described it as "a love letter to translation" and praised it as an experimental exploration of the relationships among language, history, and power.

Natasha Brown, who chaired this year's judging panel, remarked that the novel "succeeds as a romance and, at the same time, is a sharp postcolonial novel." She also noted that the book does not stop at formal experimentation but captivates readers as "an immersive love story." Yang Shuangzi is not only a novelist but also an essayist and a scriptwriter for comics and video games. She has said that, through this work, she wanted to express the complex emotions Taiwanese people feel toward the Japanese colonial era—a mixture of aversion, nostalgia, longing, and distance.

This is the first time a Taiwanese writer has won the International Booker Prize, and it is also the first time a work written in Chinese has received this award. The 1938 Travelogue of Taiwan is set in Taiwan during the 1930s under Japanese colonial rule. Booker Prize Foundation

After its original publication in Taiwan in 2020, the novel received the Golden Tripod Award, one of the nation's most prestigious literary honors. Lin King's English translation then won the 2024 National Book Award for Translated Literature, bringing international attention to the work. With the International Booker Prize, the novel has once again taken center stage in the global literary world. Upon being named a winner, Yang Shuangzi linked the path of Taiwanese literature to the journey of the Taiwanese people toward freedom and equality. She emphasized the historical significance of Taiwanese literature, saying, "Literature has never ceded its territory or abandoned dialogue between people."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.