Personal Statement: Taiwan Program

Dear Sir or Madam:

My name is kh, and I am applying for the Taiwan Scholarship Program for a year of Mandarin language training. I am currently at the University of Alberta, finishing a Masters degree in comparative literature, specializing in Chinese Canadian literature. My Bachelors degree was completed at the University of British Columbia (2002), where I graduated with a double major in Chinese and English literature.

My academic records demonstrate an excellence in the study of literature and language, specializing in Chinese literature, as well as English Canadian studies. Through the years, I have acquired a cultural and literary sensitivity, and it is my long term goal to commit myself to the study of Chinese language and literature from a comparative global perspective. I have studied Chinese for a number of years, but I have never travelled to Taiwan. I have studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in the International Asian Studies Program (IASP), and I also attended the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) as a Mandarin Immersion student. I am curious about the cultural diversity that Taiwan has to offer.

During my Masters degree, I have put aside a rigorous study of the Chinese language, as I specialized in the study of Chinese-Canadian literature, written in English. Nevertheless, the influence of Chinese literature is integral to my work, as a student of comparative literature. I am more than ever aware of the importance of knowing Chinese, culturally and linguistically, in order to extensively pursue my study of literature. Therefore, I plan to refine my Chinese linguistic skills and gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of Chinese literature in general, and Taiwanese culture, as well. Acquiring linguistic skills, I wish to come closer to a more originary source, rather than depending upon a motley of translators and interpreters.

With my experience and knowledge, I intend to contribute to a global culture of the creative literary arts. The task of transnational literature is contingent upon linguistic communication, and is achieved by literary scholars who are familiar with at least two canons of literature. Through translated works and also through intertextual manipulations of literary sources, an amalgamation of Chinese and Canadian literatures is accomplished. As a literary merchant, I shall import and export such cultural and literary sentiment. My wish is to foster an interactive and dynamic literary relationship between Chinese and Canadians, contributing to a growing body of Chinese Canadian literature, while ensuring that the Taiwanese culture is also properly represented. Eventually, I hope that my burgeoning Chinese skills will lead to a PhD in Chinese literature.