Lai He Memorial Hall Introduction
The development of Taiwanese literature has long been suppressed. It went through the local literature debate in the 1970s and political/cultural localization in the 1980s, gradually breaking through the restrictions of the party-state. In 1994, to commemorate the centenary of Lai He’s birth, a group of citizens initiated the establishment of the Lai He Cultural and Educational Foundation, funded by donations from Lai He’s descendants. The candidates for the board were recommended by writer Zhong Zhao Zheng, scholars Lin Rui Ming and Li Zhen Yuan, with notable figures from academia including Lin Rui Ming, Chen Wan Yi, Lu Xing Chang, and Hu Wan Chuan; from the arts, Zhong Zhao Zheng, Lin Heng Tai, Li Nan Heng, and Song Ze Lai; from the medical field, Li Zhen Yuan, Jiang Zi De, Zheng Jiong Ming, and Chen Yong Xing; while from the political and business communities, Liu Feng Song, Yao Jia Wen, Chen Wei Ming, and Shi Bing Huang were included, with family representatives Zhou Guang Xiong and Lai Yue Yan bringing together people from various sectors. Lai He’s grandson, Lai Yue Yan, served as the first chairman. In 1995, Lai He’s eldest son Lai Sang and grandson Lai Yue Yan planned the Lai He Memorial Hall at the former site of Lai He Medical Clinic, establishing the memorial museum. The collection includes a complete range of Lai He’s artifacts, books, calligraphy, manuscripts, and related literature, along with continued efforts to collect and display manuscripts from authors of the Changhua region, in order to rebuild the tradition and spirit of the cultural figures during the Japanese colonial period in Changhua.