Lai He Memorial Museum Introduction
The development of Taiwanese literature has long been suppressed, experiencing debates over local literature in the 1970s and political/cultural localization in the 1980s. The wave of the Taiwanese literary movement gradually broke through the constraints of the party-state. In 1994, to commemorate the centenary of Lai He’s birth, a civic initiative established the Lai He Cultural Foundation. The foundation was funded by donations from Lai He's descendants, with nominations for board members recommended by writer Chung Chao-jeng and scholars Lin Rui-ming and Li Zhen-yuan. Scholars involved include Lin Rui-ming, Chen Wan-yi, Lü Hsing-chang, and Hu Wan-chuan; the arts community includes Chung Chao-jeng, Lin Heng-tai, Li Nan-heng, and Song Ze-lai; the medical community is represented by Li Zhen-yuan, Jiang Zi-de, Zheng Jiong-ming, and Chen Yong-hsing; while the political and business communities include Liu Feng-song, Yao Jia-wen, Chen Wei-ming, and Shih Bing-huang. Family representatives were Zhou Guang-xiong and Lai Yue-yan, gathering individuals from various fields. Lai He’s grandson, Lai Yue-yan, served as the first chairman of the board. In 1995, Lai He’s eldest son, Lai Sang, and his grandson, Lai Yue-yan, planned and constructed the Lai He Memorial Hall at the former site of the Lai He Clinic. The museum houses a complete collection of Lai He’s relics, books, calligraphy, manuscripts, and related literature materials, and has gradually collected and exhibited manuscripts and artifacts from writers in the Changhua area, aiming to restore the tradition and spirit of cultural figures in Changhua during the Japanese colonial period.
