Rose, Rose, I Love You (Chinese: 玫瑰玫瑰我愛你) is one of the representative novels by the prominent Taiwanese local writer Wang Chen-ho (王禎和). It was initially published by the Vista Publishing House Co. in Taipei in 1984 and later republished by another publishing house in Taipei called Hung Fan in February 1994.
Set in the small town of Hualien after World War II, the work depicts the U.S. military's vacation of a group of U.S. GIs in Taiwan during the Vietnam War, which caused turmoil among local legislators and specific industries. This novel vividly portrays the greed and abomination of politicians and intellectuals.[1]
It was inspired when the author first saw the American soldiers vacationing in Hualien during his childhood, and bars were constructed to accommodate the American soldiers at that time, which left him with a profound impression.[2]
Plot edit
The story is set in Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan, unfolding within a church. It is primarily centered around the kick-off ceremony of the "bar girl training program" that spans just a few hours, from the commencement to its conclusion. Throughout the narrative, the story intermittently employs the technique of flash back to portray a group of people planning how to train local Taiwanese sex workers to be bar girls capable of serving American soldiers within only a span of just five days, all with the aim of earning American money.[3]
Analysis edit
The title Rose, Rose, I Love You is actually a pun, carrying double satirical meanings: firstly, it subtly alludes to the sexually transmitted disease syphilis, implying that the bar girls may unknowingly contract this disease through their prostitution activities. Secondly, the term "rose" (meigui) phonetically resembles "America" (meiguo) in Chinese Mandarin.[citation needed] Therefore, "Rose, Rose, I Love You" can be interpreted as "America, America, I Love You", reflecting in the novel that all the characters welcome American soldiers to Taiwan for prostitution.[4]
This work by Wang Chen-ho is a novel that lacks positive characters in its portrayal of humble individuals. It faced significant criticism for its departure from themes of social justice or humanitarianism.[5] Wang Chen-ho himself adapted the novel into a screenplay for a film.
References edit
- ^ Lee, Chiou-Lan (2012). "美金美金我愛你—《玫瑰玫瑰我愛你》中的後殖民論述" [American Dollar, American Dollar, I Love You: Post-Colonial Narratives in "Rose, Rose, I Love You"]. Art Vision Journal (4): 41–50.
- ^ Wang, Chen-ho (1994). 玫瑰玫瑰我愛你 [Rose, Rose, I Love You]. Hung Fan publishing house.
- ^ Shie, Elliott Shr-tzung (2015). "資本主義全球化下的臺灣社會顯微─重讀王禎和《玫瑰玫瑰我愛你》" [Focusing the Lens on Taiwan under the Globalization of Capitalism: Rereading Wang Zhenhe’s Novel Rose, Rose, I Love You] (PDF). Humanitas Taiwanica (83): 38–40.
- ^ Dong, Nian (1990). "美國美國我愛你——鬧劇《玫瑰玫瑰我愛你》的荒謬寓意" [America, America, I Love You: The Absurd Significance of the Farce 'Rose, Rose, I Love You]. UNITAS (74): 24–37.
- ^ Lung, Ying-tai (1985). 龍應台評小說 [Lung Ying-tai's Novel Reviews]. Taipei: Er-ya Publishing.