感傷的力量：林覺民〈與妻訣別書〉的正典化歷程與社會文化意義 = Sentimental Power: The Canonization and Socio-Cultural Significances of Lin Juemin’s "Farewell Letter to My Wife"

Lin Juemin’s (1887-1911) “Farewell Letter to My Wife”(Yu qi juebie shu) can be seen as a canon of Nationalist revolutions, which represents the orthodoxy of the “Huanghua Gang” spirit. Interestingly, it is also the most famous love letter in modern Chinese-speaking world. While Lin Juemin has been recognized as the major martyr of the Huanghua Gang Uprising in 1911, this love letter expresses the author’s personal feelings towards his wife and country in a romantic tone. By analyzing various documents from the late Qing and early Republican periods, as well as different editions of “national literature” (guowen) textbooks, this paper aims to historicize the canonization of Lin’s image as a revolutionary martyr and the journey of his love letter, which embodies the “sentimental power” and traveled from the private to the public sphere. Furthermore, it examines the contemporary sentimental literarature in order to reveal the socio-cultural significances and influences of this special letter.