Roman-fleuve is a type of novel that is different from the novelette, novella, mid-length novel, and long novel. It means "a long sequence of novels" or "novel series". It has many volumes, and the story is a long one. Romans-fleuves are often written in the form of a "trilogy".

In Taiwan, the first person to write in the "roman-fleuve" style was Yeh Shih-tao. This genre gradually matured in Chung Chao-cheng's TURBID WATERS TRILOGY and TRILOGY OF TAIWANESE PEOPLE. More recently, romans-fleuves such as Lee Chiao's THE TRILOGY OF WINTRY NIGHT, Dongfang Bai's LANGTAOSHA, and Chiu Jia-hong's THE BIG CHANGE IN TAIWAN in the 21st century have risen to become icons of Taiwan's literary landscape.

Taiwan's romans-fleuves have evolved over time to reflect different eras through the presentation of Taiwan's local characteristics and pursuit of self-identity. To enable more readers to understand this unique genre through our abundant collection, Turbulent Tenderness: Exhibition of Taiwanese Romans-Fleuves has been designed to present this hidden aspect of Taiwan and Taiwanese society across history.