In memory of Sheng-Xun, our family
Kuan-Hsing CHEN (Translated by Kit WONG)
On the night of 26 February 2016, after five days of a hurried but intellectually gratifying field study trip in Xianyou, Putian, and Xiamen, I arrived in Naha, with tremendous delight, to participate in a seminar organized by graduate students at the University of Tokyo. I eventually landed in Japan after a 40-minute flight delay and hopped in a cab heading to the Warajiya, one of our usual hangouts in the city, to meet with Wakabayashi and Nakazato. It was always a great pleasure to gather with old friends, especially when I learned that Nakazato had recently written a brillant article addressing the debate, initiated by Tetsuya Takahashi, on the responsiblity that the US shared in our captivating conversation, I received an unexpected call from Shu-fen. She knew very well that I was away from home, in Naha, so she would not have called if it was not for something very important. An ominous thought ran through my mind; something unexpected must have happened. On the other end of the phone, Shu-fen told me the tragic news that she had received hours before: Sheng-Xun had passed away.
Notes on contributor
Kuan-Hsing Chen teaches in the Institute for Social Research and Cultural Studies, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. His most recent monograph is Asia as Method: Toward Deimperialization (2010, Duke University Press).
Notes on translator
Kit Wong is an independent translator