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Research Unit for Taiwanese Culture and Literature



The Research Unit for Taiwanese Culture and Literature (TRU) is a platform for scholarly exchange in the field of Taiwan Studies. It houses one of the largest research libraries on the subject of Taiwanese culture and literature in Europe and continuously expands its cooperation with experts and institutions specializing in research and teaching about Taiwan. Its focus includes linguistic, historical, media-related, and political topics. For the history of the Research Unit, see here.

 

 

  • Christine Moll-Murata, Chair Professor for History of China and director of the Research Unit
  • Christian Schwermann, Chair Professor for Chinese Language and Literature and co-director of the Research Unit

 

Current Projects

Since spring 2019, the Taiwan Ministry of Education generously supports the project "A Teaching Program for History, Culture, and Languages of Taiwan".

Taiwan Teaching Program

With the generous support of the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation (CCKF), beginning in July 2023, we are now able to create an image database.

CCKF Database Project
Completed Projects

The German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) has awarded a grant to four post-doc researchers to conduct the joint research program TAP (Taiwan als Pionier) for a duration of four years, starting in February 2022. The project was successfully completed in January 2026.

TAP

News Bulletin

Historical Photograph Database of the National Taipei University of Education Published

Since 2023, an international team of German and Taiwanese scholars has collaborated with the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (Stabi) to establish a publicly accessible database of historical photographs from the National Taipei University of Education (NTUE 國立臺北教育大學), the oldest modern school established in colonial Taiwan under Japanese rule. The project team includes Prof. Ho I-lin 何義麟 (National Taipei University of Education), Prof. Dr. Christine Moll-Murata (Ruhr University Bochum), Prof. Chien Hung-yi 簡宏逸 (National Cheng Kung University), and student assistants from their affiliated universities in Germany and Taiwan. The project provides a scholarly annotated dataset and stable digital infrastructure for the long-term preservation and dissemination of these valuable historical sources. Building on NTUE’s digitization efforts since the mid-2000s, the database was initiated by Prof. Chien Hung-yi 簡宏逸 during her postdoctoral research with Prof. Christine Moll-Murata at RUB and was supported by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange. On 27 August 2026, the database and its accompanying Themenportale (Thematic Portals) website were finally published. 

To access the database, please click the button below. More information about the creation of the database can be found in the Thematic Portal section of CrossAsia (https://themen.crossasia.org/?lang=en).

Image: Students’ self-study time. (Source: The 30-Year Memorial Album of the Taihoku Normal School (1926) 臺北師範學校創立三十周年記念寫真帖)

Link to the database

Successful Dissertation Defense

We are pleased to announce that Wu Kuan-wei successfully defended his dissertation, titled "In Meditation of a Small State: Joshua Wen-kwei Liao (廖文奎, 1905–1952) and his Reflection on Statehood," on July 29, 2026. The photo shows Mr. Wu after the defense alongside members of the examination committee—Prof. Marion Eggert, Prof. Christian Schwermann, and Dr. Anke Scherer—as well as his supervisors, Prof. Christine Moll-Murata and Prof. Heiner Roetz. Prof. Wu Rwei-Ren participated online.

The Section for Chinese History and the Research Unit for Taiwanese Culture and Literature extend their warmest congratulations to Mr. Wu on this significant achievement and wish him all the best for the future.

Guest Lecture "Civil Society Mobilization in Taiwan's Bluebird Action and Recall Campaigns"

On July 14, 2026, the Research Unit for Taiwanese Culture and Literature invited Professor Ho Ming-sho, PhD 何明修 from the Department of Sociology at National Taiwan University as a speaker for a guest lecture on the topic "Civil Society Mobilization in Taiwan's Bluebird Action and Recall Campaigns".

For more insights into the event, please click the button below.

Activities

Block Seminar - "400 Years of Taiwan History"

As part of the Taiwan Teaching Program Ass. Prof. Dr. Chien Hung-yi 簡宏逸 from the Department of History at National Cheng Kung University was invited to hold a hybrid course on "400 Years of Taiwan History". The block seminar came to a successful conclusion with Ass. Prof. Dr. Chien Hung-yi's visit to Bochum, allowing lively in-person discussions with the students.

For more insights on the class and information about the Taiwan Teaching Program, please click the button below.

Taiwan Teaching Program

Workshop "TAP: Aktuelle Trends Lehre und Forschung zu Taiwan“

In cooperation with the Taiwan Working Group of the German Association for Chinese Studies (DVCS), the TAP project at the University of Trier is holding workshop to promote aspiring academics. Students of all status groups (from the 3rd semester of BA programs, MA and doctoral candidates) are welcome to apply.

For more information please click the button below.

Call for Participation

Spring School "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture"

From February 9 to 20 our Spring School  "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture" took place, bringing together students from the Ruhr University Bochum and people generally interested in Taiwan for an intensive and immersive learning experience.

For more information and insights please click the button below.

Insights

Movie Screening of the Research Training Group "East Asian Futures"

The Research Training Group GRK 2833 "East Asian Futures" is pleased to invite you to our public outreach event "Visions of the Future in East Asian Cinema." Across two afternoons in March, we will explore cinematic visions of the future from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. After successfully ending the first film screening the second event will take place on March 18, 2026, 4–9 PM. They will screen the South Korean science fiction anthology Doomsday Book (2012) and the Chinese sci-fi comedy Moon Man (2022). For more information please click the button below.

Time: 18th of March, 4 - 9 pm
Location: Endstation Kino, Wallbaumweg 108, 44894 Bochum

Website of the Research Training Group

Lecture on "Taiwanese Pop Music" by Achim Kehlenbach

As part of our Spring School "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture" Achim Kehlenbach will hold a lecture about "Taiwanese Pop Music" on Thursday, February 19th. Everyone interested is cordially invited to join us.

Time: 19th of February, 4 - 6 pm
Location: MB3/126, Ruhr University Bochum

Poster

Spring School 2026 "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture"

We are happy to announce that we will be hosting another Spring School in February this year teaching elementary Taiwanese and introducing its application in contemporary Taiwanese popular culture. The spring school is intended as a fresh-up for those who participated in the Spring School in 2025 or who already have knowledge of Taiwanese, and for beginners. 

For more information and insights please click the button below.

More Information

Book Launch with National Taiwan Library

On December 12, 2025, the National Taiwan Library introduced its newly published Chinese translation of the book "Eine kurtze Ost-Indianische Reiß-Beschreibung" (1669) by the Swiss painter and traveler Albrecht Herport. In cooperation with the Faculty of East Asian Studies at Ruhr University Bochum, a hybrid event was held at the university's library, where the National Taiwan Library also introduced the restoration work of its book hospital, its special collections, and fellowship programs for visiting scholars.

For more insights into the event, please click the Button below.

More Insights

Dr. Hsu Yu-Yins Field Trip to Taiwan

In October 2025 Dr. Hsu undertook field research in Taiwan, took part in the First Taipei-Germany Conference and visited the Changhua Senior High School. For more insights, please click the button below.

TAP Activities

Workshop Discussion with Taiwanese Comicauthor Nownow (小峱峱)

We are pleased to invite you to a special event featuring renowned Taiwanese comic author Nownow (小峱峱), who will be introducing herself and her comic "Guardienne" (守娘), which recently has been published in German translation. Join us for an engaging workshop where Nownow will share insights into her life and themes behind her work, followed by a lively audience discussion. The event will be in german and chinese.

Time: 23rd of October, 6 - 8 pm
Location: MB3/126, Ruhr University Bochum

Teaching Program for History, Culture, and Languages of Taiwan Extended

The Research Unit for Taiwanese Culture and Literature gratefully announces the extension of the Taiwan Teaching Program supported by the Taiwan Ministry of Education for another three years, beginning in 2025.

For more information about the program, please click the button below.

Taiwan Teaching Program

International TAP Workshop in Trier

From September 1 to 4, 2025, the TAP team hosted their international workshop "Taiwan's Responses to Global Megatrends". This four-day event brought together leading academics from Europe and Taiwan to discuss the island's role in addressing current global issues. 

For more information please click the button below. 

TAP Workshops

Author Reading - "Geisterdämmerung" by Kevin Chen

On July 11, 2025, the Taiwanese writer Kevin Chen (陳思宏) visited the Taiwan Research Unit for an author reading of his work "Geisterdämmerung" (鬼地方). For more insights of the event please click the button below. 

Activities

EATS Annual Conference

From June 20-22, 2025, the 22nd EATS Conference was held at the at Palacky University Olomouc. The conference thoroughly explored the theme "Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific" and featured key discussions on Taiwan's evolving international role and its rich cultural memory. For more insights please click the button below.  

TAP Activities

Guest Lecture "Military Training in Taiwan's Upper Middle Schools, 1953-1960"

On June 16, 2025, Dr. Jennifer Liu, Professor of East Asian History at Central Michigan University, held a guest lecture about "Military Training in Taiwan's Upper Middle Schools, 1953–1960."  For more insights please click the button below.

Activities

Fieldtrip in Japan and Taiwan

Between February and May 2025, Dr. Hsu undertook field research in Japan and Taiwan, including exhibition visits related to medical education, literature, and modern history. For more insights, please click the button below.

TAP Activities

DocuGIS 2 Workshop

  • Explore the power of DocuGIS2, a DocuSky-enabled GIS tool that allows you to upload maps with WGS84 latitude and longitude coordinate information using TSV or Excel files.
  • Learn how to visualize and analyze historical and cultural data on interactive maps.
  • Bring your own laptop for the hands-on session!
  • The workshop will be conducted in English, but the input data can be in the language of your choice.

Time: 27.06.2025 (Fri.), 2-4 pm
Location: Ruhr University Bochum, MB 3.126
Number of Participants: 10-15
Eligibility: undergraduates, graduate students interested in digital humanities tools


To register for the workshop, please send an email to the following address: ringvorlesung-gc-oaw@ruhr-uni-bochum.de 

To see and download the poster, please click here.

Spring School "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture"

In February 2025 our Spring School  "Introduction to Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) and Taiwan's Contemporary Popular Culture" took place, bringing together students from the Ruhr University Bochum and the University of Duisburg-Essen for an intensive and immersive learning experience.

For more information and insights please click the button below.

Insights