How the Jungle Book came to Taiwan

English Translation created via: http://tysharon.blogspot.com/2015/09/blog-post.html

In 1962, The Oriental Publishing House of Taiwan published a Traditional Mandarin version of "The Jungle Book", translated into the language from English (via Japanese) by Liu Yuen Hsiao. Liu Yuen Hsiao said in "Writing Ahead" that this story was written by Mr. Rudyard Kipling, a great British writer; but in fact it was not based on the English version, but instead on a Japanese version ("ジヤングル ブック") written by Yoichiro Minami, published by Kodansha in 1951. The Japanese version of the book title uses the katakana phonetic derivation ‘Janguru Bukku’, which is very special.

The story is set in India, and the protagonist is Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves. Mowgli is said to mean "frog" in the wolf language, because the wolf mother thought he was naked like a frog, so she named him "Mowgli". The kid grew up with wolves and some kind jungle friends like Baloo the brown bear and Bagheera the panther. There are also a few enemies for him, like the tigers and the monkeys. Later, he was expelled by the jungle animals and returned to his native human society, but he didn't adapt well yet. After some adventures, he finally decided to return to human society under the persuasion of his jungle friends.

This story is quite romantic, the jungle society is also very civilized and orderly, and the friendship is sincere and touching. It was my favourite book when I was a child. Liu Yuen Hsiao said in "Writing Ahead": When I came to the UK five years ago, I stopped by to visit the London City Boy Scouts' camp. When I chatted with them, I told them that I had also read "The Jungle Story", and they were greatly surprised and shouted. He got up and said, "Ah! You have also read... the Chinese version, you have also read... It". After a while, he seemed to wake up and said, "By the way, Mowgli is an Indian boy! You are Taiwanese Chinese, as both Taiwan and India are in Asia, no wonder you like Mowgli too!". 

In fact, it was Yoichiro Minami who actually went to the UK, not Liu Yuen Hsiao, who was merely a bragging translator. What those London teenagers said: "Oh, you and you're from Japan...", a boy said with a twinkle in his eye, but then another one immediately said, "Yes, Mowgli is an Indian boy, so you from Japan like Mowgli too!". 

Taiwan now also has the "Mowgli Youth Association", which holds the "Mowgli Summer Camp" every year to let everyone experience the natural life. I saw the new live action Disney movie trailer a few days ago, and the beauty is lovely, but Mowgli (as with the 1967 animated Disney movie) has a red loincloth around his waist (and also unmentionable parts), which makes me feel that something is not quite right. A child who grew up in the jungle should be completely naked, like the cover and illustrations of the Japanese version; after all, his wolf brother doesn't wear pants.

Yoshimasa Ikeda (1893-1980) was Yoichiro Minami's real name. He used his alias to translate the Literary Masterpieces, and his own real surname (albeit with Nobumasa as the given stage name) to translate the Jungle Book and etcetera. His indirect influence on Taiwanese children's middle grade literature is rather large. Liu Yuen Hsiao (1917-) is one of the most important translators of Taiwan's Oriental Publishing House. During the Japanese occupation period, he went to Japan to study at university, and after the war he founded the Chung Hsiao Japanese remedial class, and he still taught Japanese a few years ago, which is quite legendary.