Bridging Worlds: How Prof. Danapan Transforms Han Characters into Indigenous Voice

As part of a three-city Australian tour, Taiwanese Indigenous scholar, writer, and cultural advocate Professor Paelabang Danapan delivered a moving series of talks titled In Conversation with Professor Paelabang Danapan, reflecting on the evolution of Indigenous literature, the complexities of identity, and the role of language in cultural survival.

Across all three sessions, Professor Paelabang offered deep insights into the intergenerational transmission of Indigenous knowledge in Taiwan, much of which has historically relied on oral storytelling, song, ritual, and poetry. Reflecting on his upbringing in the Puyuma community, he described growing up in the 1950s in a society where Indigenous culture was largely excluded from formal education and national identity.

“I was raised in a culture with no writing system. We had memory, rhythm, and poetry—but no text. That absence pushed me to find a way to translate the oral into the written—not to replace it, but to preserve it,” he shared.

A central theme in his talk was the creative use of Han (Chinese) characters—a system once used as a tool of assimilation—which Professor Paelabang and other Indigenous writers have since reclaimed as a medium of transformation. By reshaping its syntax and cadence to carry Indigenous rhythm and worldview, it has become a tool to revitalise Indigenous language as well as the way to use Han (Chinese) characters.

“We used Han characters not to conform, but to transform. Through them, we created a new form of Indigenous literature—one that carries our voice, our rhythm, and our worldview into the written world,” he said. “It’s a kind of code-switching that builds bridges rather than barriers.”

He also discussed the founding of Taiwan Indigenous Voice Bi-Monthly (山海文化雜誌) in 1993, Taiwan’s first literary journal dedicated to Indigenous writers. The platform has nurtured over 150 Indigenous literary creators, as well as numerous master’s and doctoral students specializing in Indigenous literature. Their works and research span topics such as mythology, land, urban life, gender, queerness, and environmental issues—demonstrating the richness and contemporary strength of Indigenous literature.

“Writing became our way of singing with a pen,” he said. “It’s not about pushing a narrow identity, but creating a future with doors and windows—where our languages and stories can live alongside others, not beneath them.”

In addition to preserving traditional stories, Professor Paelabang noted that contemporary Indigenous writers are actively reshaping how history is told, challenging dominant narratives and creating literary space for modern Indigenous identities.

“It is not just about preserving the past, but revisiting it through our own eyes,” he explained. “Contemporary Indigenous writers are retelling history—not only to recover what was lost, but to reimagine how we speak, write, and understand ourselves today.”

Professor Paelabang also reflected on the psychological toll of cultural erasure, particularly for younger generations who move to urban areas and lose connection to their ancestral languages and customs.

“In the cities, our people gained rights, but also lost meaning. Many felt an emptiness—cut off from rituals, language, and the landscape. That’s where literature steps in: to hold memory, to speak what was unspeakable, and to heal.”

He concluded with a broader message: that Indigenous knowledge is not isolated, but deeply connected to issues of human rights, land, ecology, and collective identity.

“Indigeneity is not just about ethnicity. It’s about our shared relationship to place, to language, to memory. Everyone carries Indigenous elements within themselves, if they’re willing to look.”

In the 21st century, the concept of nationhood is worth revisiting—to better understand the roots of who we are, and how we might live more peacefully with one another—starting with how we live in harmony with nature.

The event series offered rich opportunities for cultural exchange between Taiwanese and Australian Indigenous experiences, highlighting shared challenges and affirming the power of storytelling as both resistance and renewal.

The events were held:

• 7 May at the Museum of Sydney (11am–2pm), featuring guest panelist Professor Jakelin Troy, Director of the Sydney Indigenous Research Hub, University of Sydney.

• 8 May at the Australian National University (ANU) (11am–1pm), moderated by Dr Ying Xin Show, Senior Lecturer at ANU’s School of Culture, History and Language. The event was supported by the ANU Taiwan Studies Program 2022–25, a partnership between the College of Asia and the Pacific and the Ministry of Education, Republic of China (Taiwan).

• 9 May at the University of Melbourne (11am–1pm), hosted by the Asian Cultural Research Hub in collaboration with the Indigenous Knowledge Institute.

The 2025 Taiwanese Bookshelves May edition is presented by the Ministry of Culture (Taiwan) via the Cultural Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sydney.

Hotel Partner: Mövenpick Hotel Melbourne on Spencer.

Special thanks to CHENG I-Yun (Elaine), Professor Jakelin Troy, Nancy Chiu, Sharon Strange, Fran Martin, Craig Smith, and Tarneen Callope for their invaluable contributions to the events.