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Syaman Rapongan天空的眼睛 (Eyes Of The Ocean)
Despite a few sites calling this work a novel, it is not a novel. If I had to give you some designation, it would be to autobiography but it is a creative autobiography. It does tell the story of the author it also tells a story of his country, known by various names including orchid Island and located between Taiwan and the Philippines. It also talks about the culture, customs and history of his country as well, of course, as the myths and legends of the country. It is also polemical in that it he’s very much concerned with colonialism. The colonialism of course that we are dealing with in this book is a very limited degree the traditional Western colonialism we are familiar with. Orchid Island was colonised primarily by the Chinese and the Japanese, though, because it is near the Philippines, which were occupied by the Spanish, Western colonialism does have a very limited impact on the island.
Our author is called Syaman Rapongan though that is not his name. His real name isSi Cigewat . However, following the traditions of his country, the first of his names we are using here simply means father because he is a father and the second part of his name is the name of his eldest son as it is tradition for fathers of sons to be known as Father[name of the elder son]. We can see this tradition elsewhere in the world, for example in the Arab world where a mother is often known as Omm followed by the name of her eldest son. To make it easy, I shall just refer to him as though Syaman Rapongan was a conventional Western name. I would add, just to make it complicated, the Chinese gave him a Chinese name,Shih Nu-lai, which she does not use even though this book is written primarily in Chinese.
We know the island is called Orchid Islnd , but the locals called itPongso no Tao in their language. The excellent introduction gives a history of the island, particularly it’s colonial history. The islanders do not, of course identify with any of the occupiers, including their current occupiers, the Taiwanese.
As well , of course, as the history of the island we get numerous examples of how colonialism functions in the island. Our author tells us for example. about seeing a massive warship which impresses him and the other boys. but he says it seemed to symbolise the incorporation of our island into the Republic of China.
He had d always felt bad that traditional world maps divided the Pacific Ocean into two and was very happy when he saw a map that put the Pacific Ocean in its entirety at the forefront,
Inevitably Christian missionaries arrive . One priest tried to have our author train as a priest. He told him that he wanted to be a fisherman. You’ll be a failure,” snapped the priest. . He comments “Many “civilised people” dedicate themselves to the “taming” of their disadvantaged neighbours. He concludes believe in diverse gods.
Our author jumps around with various tales of the past of his island, of his family and of course of the various spirits and ghosts as well as the colonisation.
He himself however, he is relatively ambitious and wants to study but his parents would much rather he stayed at home. With other boys and girls he set off for Taiwan and we get a detailed account of the journey. Pretty well everyone, including the teacher is sick and also including various convicts who are being transported from the prison on Orchid Island to the mainland.
They are somewhat surprised by what they found as of course the mainland is more commercially developed than their island. He comments.today, more than four decades later, there are two 7-Elevens and three supermarkets on the island. However, at that time they had never seen such things and they get somewhat lost in Taiwan not least because they are mocked for their origins and often called hillbillies or savages. Theyalso struggled with the language.
In order to get to university he has to pass a special exam but of course he has to support himself while doing this. We get very detailed account of all the various jobs he does, the worst is working in a dye plant but another job includes delivering bottles around the island so he gets to see the island and the dangerous driving on it.
He is adamant that he does not want to be a teacher as he feels that would be promoting Han culture which he definitely does not want to do but he’s not quite sure what he does want to do and this is not helped by his inability to pass the necessary exams. He struggles with the exams and with the work he has to do and almost gives up, but he is helped by a woman and they become close, but it does not seem to last. Eventually he does make it and goes to university to study French though he gives very little account of this. As we know he will return to his home island to reconnect with it and with its spirit and culture ans his family.
I decided to go my own “sea way,” and it hasn’t been
easy. When I heard of an occupation called “writer,” I knew that this was the path I should take, that a writer was what I would become
. We do not do much about this, but we do learn of some of his travels to other islands including one much bigger than Taiwan, namely Greenland. Howeverit is the islands of his part of the world that attract him and not those elsewhere in the world.
Given that he is such an engaging person, that he is a writer and tells his story well and that this book covers a part of the world I, and I suspect most Westerners, know nothing about, all of this makes a very engaging fascinating book which I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.
Publishing history
First published in 2012 by Lianjing Publishing Company Co.
First English translation byColumbia University Press in 2025
Translated by Darryl Sterk