After signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with University of Guam and Czech Republic’s Václav Havel Library (VHL), National Museum of Taiwan Literature (NMTL) is setting a new milestone with the Netherlands.

On July 20, National Museum of Taiwan Literature Director Nikky Lin (林巾力) travelled to the Netherlands and signed a MOU with Deputy Director of Leiden University Libraries Marco de Niet. The event was witnessed by grandees involved in the literary cooperation between Taiwan and the Netherlands, including Representative to the Netherlands Chen Hsin-hsin (陳欣新), Professor of Chinese Language & Literature at Leiden University Maghiel van Crevel, Curator of Chinese Special Collections at Leiden University Libraries Marc Gilbert, translator of Sanmao’s (三毛) Stories of the Sahara Annelous Stiggelbout, and translator of Kenneth Pai’s (白先勇) Crystal Boys Mark Leenhouts.

Lin stated that the MOU covers literary forums and exchanges between staff and experts, as well as cooperation in publication and professional training, which would help build relationships between Taiwanese and Dutch through exposure to more of each other’s culture and literature in due course. Thanks to the efforts of Marc Gilbert and Lily Wang (王儷靜) — translator of Niet zonder tranen: het strijdbare leven van Arnoldus Winsemius, curator of “Sailing Onto the World Stage: Themes in Taiwan Literature” and one dedicated to artistic exchanges between Europe and Taiwan — that this collaboration was made possible.

As the first university established in the Netherlands, Leiden University is renowned for its leading research on sinology, as well as the retention of a traditional Chinese reading and writing teaching system. Its Asian Library is not only the one and only Chinese-language library in the country, it also houses one of the largest sinology studies collection in Europe. Excelling in both quantity and quality, its rich archives has been the envy of sinologists around the world. NTML has gifted Leiden University Libraries with a specially curated book collection composed of 578 volumes/sets, which hopes to enrich its collection with the finest selection of Taiwanese literature and to explore new opportunities and strengthen the cultural bond between the two institutions.


Witnessed by grandees, Deputy Director of Leiden University Libraries Marco de Niet, left, and National Museum of Taiwan Literature Director Nikky Lin, right, signed a MOU aimed at boosting collaboration between the two institutions. Photo courtesy of Leiden University


National Museum of Taiwan Literature Director Nikky Lin, right, introduces Deputy Director of Leiden University Libraries Marco de Niet, left, to the winners and finalists for the 2022 Taiwan Literature Awards and their creative goodies. Photo courtesy of Leiden University


From left to right, National Museum of Taiwan Literature Director Nikky Lin, Deputy Director of Leiden University Libraries Marco de Niet and Representative to the Netherlands Chen Hsin-hsin pose for a photo. Photo courtesy of Leiden University


Leiden University Libraries’ Taiwan Resource Center for Chinese Studies already holds a large number of publications by National Museum of Taiwan Literature (NTML). NTML has gifted it with another specially curated book collection of over 500 volumes on Taiwanese literature. Photo courtesy of Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands


National Museum of Taiwan Literature (NTML) Director Nikky Lin holds up a publication by NTML at Leiden University Libraries’ Taiwan Resource Center for Chinese Studies. Photo courtesy of Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands