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The Soul of Jade Mountain
Cultural production, including literary work, has been a key element in the Indigenous struggle for decolonization worldwide. In Taiwan, ethnographic novels written in Chinese, such as The Soul of Jade Mountain ( Yushan hun ) by Bunun writer Husluman Vava (1958–2007), have been an important tool in the process of bringing the situation of Indigenous people to the attention of mainstream audiences.
Before his untimely death, Vava was one of the leaders of the Indigenous cultural revival movement in Taiwan. He was among the first Indigenous authors to make use of long fiction, and he did so quite prolifically. For Vava, as is the case for many Indigenous community leaders, the mission was twofold. He wanted to recover and preserve the rich traditions of his ancestors so that younger generations, in their search for their identity and roots in the modern world, could find quality sources created within their own community. Vava also wanted to make those in the mainstream aware of the true nature and depth of Bunun culture. His many short stories and novels fashion a vivid portrait of the Bunun people, their daily life, their values, and their aspirations. Vava created accessible characters in empathetic situations in order to demonstrate the deeply human qualities of traditional Bunun life and to suggest that those qualities maintain their validity in the modern world.
Vava’s novel The Soul of Jade Mountai n won the 2007 Taiwan Literature Award for the best novel, and this is the first English translation of an ethnographic novel by a Taiwan Indigenous writer to be published by a North American publisher, marking an important step in bringing Indigenous Taiwan to international audiences.
Before his untimely death, Vava was one of the leaders of the Indigenous cultural revival movement in Taiwan. He was among the first Indigenous authors to make use of long fiction, and he did so quite prolifically. For Vava, as is the case for many Indigenous community leaders, the mission was twofold. He wanted to recover and preserve the rich traditions of his ancestors so that younger generations, in their search for their identity and roots in the modern world, could find quality sources created within their own community. Vava also wanted to make those in the mainstream aware of the true nature and depth of Bunun culture. His many short stories and novels fashion a vivid portrait of the Bunun people, their daily life, their values, and their aspirations. Vava created accessible characters in empathetic situations in order to demonstrate the deeply human qualities of traditional Bunun life and to suggest that those qualities maintain their validity in the modern world.
Vava’s novel The Soul of Jade Mountai n won the 2007 Taiwan Literature Award for the best novel, and this is the first English translation of an ethnographic novel by a Taiwan Indigenous writer to be published by a North American publisher, marking an important step in bringing Indigenous Taiwan to international audiences.
440 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2021
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July 11, 2026
In Hualien, there’s a Bunun (布農) style replica house outside the Indigenous Cultural Center. Nearby, there’s a plaque that says:
“Where there is fire, there are people.
Where there are people, there is home.
Uninang Mihumisang! Breathe deeply; until we meet again.”
It’s always stuck with me as so moving and simple in its impact, which is how I feel about this book. Having spent 2 years in Taiwan now, I always appreciate learning more about the cultural diversity that is often overlooked when thinning about the island. Getting such an in-depth and personal look into Bunun culture, traditions, life, speech, and thought was fascinating and eye-opening. I even recognized some of the legends from events/museums I’ve been to, like the myth of the giant crab and snake!
The first half of the book didn’t feel very plot-heavy; rather, it seemed to primarily serve to offer vignettes of culture and ceremony in which the cast of characters remained the same. When I realized that and let go of trying to force a plot, it read much smoother for me and was more enjoyable. And, as Umas grew older and became more of an active participant in the village, the plot seemed to emerge from and alongside him, which maybe was intentional to parallel this development. I really enjoyed watching Umas grow up and see the dynamics within his family and how his village all cares for each other.
The translator mentioned how translating this into English loses some of the impact, as the Chinese written by Vava intentionally makes the reader feel uncomfortable or employs interesting word choices to jar the reader into thought. While this didn’t carry into the English (as Russell says in his foreword), it was interesting to try and guess where that might have been present in the Chinese.
Getting such a thorough and very detailed, explanatory view of Bunun life made this book worth it for sure. It made me think of how much we’ve lost, from the ability to stare at the same landscape for hours without distraction to the biodiversity present in it to the people and culture killed in the pursuit of empire and resource extraction. Taiwan has done a better job reckoning with this past than the United States, and as I prepare to return, I hope to keep this curiosity about Indigenous peoples and never stop learning. Until we meet again!
“Where there is fire, there are people.
Where there are people, there is home.
Uninang Mihumisang! Breathe deeply; until we meet again.”
It’s always stuck with me as so moving and simple in its impact, which is how I feel about this book. Having spent 2 years in Taiwan now, I always appreciate learning more about the cultural diversity that is often overlooked when thinning about the island. Getting such an in-depth and personal look into Bunun culture, traditions, life, speech, and thought was fascinating and eye-opening. I even recognized some of the legends from events/museums I’ve been to, like the myth of the giant crab and snake!
The first half of the book didn’t feel very plot-heavy; rather, it seemed to primarily serve to offer vignettes of culture and ceremony in which the cast of characters remained the same. When I realized that and let go of trying to force a plot, it read much smoother for me and was more enjoyable. And, as Umas grew older and became more of an active participant in the village, the plot seemed to emerge from and alongside him, which maybe was intentional to parallel this development. I really enjoyed watching Umas grow up and see the dynamics within his family and how his village all cares for each other.
The translator mentioned how translating this into English loses some of the impact, as the Chinese written by Vava intentionally makes the reader feel uncomfortable or employs interesting word choices to jar the reader into thought. While this didn’t carry into the English (as Russell says in his foreword), it was interesting to try and guess where that might have been present in the Chinese.
Getting such a thorough and very detailed, explanatory view of Bunun life made this book worth it for sure. It made me think of how much we’ve lost, from the ability to stare at the same landscape for hours without distraction to the biodiversity present in it to the people and culture killed in the pursuit of empire and resource extraction. Taiwan has done a better job reckoning with this past than the United States, and as I prepare to return, I hope to keep this curiosity about Indigenous peoples and never stop learning. Until we meet again!
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review