Culture Ministry mourns learned writer and playwright Ma Sen

Taipei, Jan. 5 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Culture (MOC) paid respect to writer, playwright and literary critic Ma Sen (馬森), who died in Canada aged 91 on Dec. 3, 2023, in a statement on Thursday after his obituary was sent out by his wife that day.

Culture Minister Shih Che (史哲) said Ma's knowledge spanned across the Chinese-speaking world and the West. He was skilled at writing and studying contemporary novels and plays with a sharp, vivid style while also showing he cared about literature and society.

The word "Isolation" (孤絕), the title for one of his novels, has become synonymous with the modern individual and left a mark on readers, Shih added.

Ma's works were heavily influenced by existentialism and focused on the lonely Taiwanese soul amid cultural conflicts between the East and the West, according to the MOC. A recurring theme is the struggle of the individual to escape the confines of tradition, with his one-act plays often centering on family conflicts and introducing absurdism to Taiwan and the Sinophone world, it said.

Born as Ma Fu-hsing (馬福星) in 1932 in China, Ma came to Taiwan in 1949. He obtained degrees in Chinese literature at National Taiwan Normal University and sociology at Canada's University of British Columbia. He then studied at the French Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies and the University of Paris, said the MOC.

Ma co-founded and was editor-in-chief of Europe Magazine with fellow students while studying in France. After his studies, he taught at several universities in Taiwan and abroad, while also working at Unitas Publishing Co. as editor-in-chief.

Ma also contributed to cultural preservation. He donated almost the whole collection of Europe Magazine, its manuscripts and books to the National Museum of Taiwan Literature, setting a foundation for the museum's literature collection, research and promotion. Before moving to Canada, he also entrusted his early diaries and manuscripts to the museum, the MOC said.