English 
正體中文 
The “Essay and Interview Workshop,” organized by the Department of Chinese Linguistics and Literature at Yuan Ze University and sponsored by the Taoyuan City Cultural Affairs Bureau, was held on August 16 at Yuan Ze University.
The event was hosted by Yih-Horng Lee from Yuan Ze University and featured invited speakers Hsin-Chieh Chang and Hsiao-Han Lee, who delivered keynote lectures in the morning and afternoon sessions, leading participants to explore the intersections between creative writing and journalistic interviewing.
In the morning session, Hsin-Chieh Chang gave a lecture titled “From Writing to Essay: Making the Leap.” The course focused on finding topics, observing details, and describing scenes. Chang noted that inspiration often arose from the small details of daily life—such as a fleeting thought, the figure of a stranger, or a blooming tree in the courtyard. She further emphasized that, unlike school compositions, essays were not only about conveying a theme but also about revealing the writer’s temperament and style. Through vivid details and contextual descriptions, writing could become more lively and expressive. She added that breaking away from clichés in theme and expression was possible only by maintaining passion and keen observation of life.
The afternoon session was delivered by Hsiao-Han Lee under the theme “Youthful Perspectives: Activate Your Interviewing Superpower.” Lee guided participants into the space where journalism and literature intersect. The lecture explored how journalism’s objective documentation could merge with literature’s subjective expression to create narrative journalism with storytelling qualities. Lee reminded participants that interviews must adhere to ethical principles and present facts faithfully, while still allowing space for the interviewer’s perspective depending on the context. Drawing on her extensive interviewing experience, she shared practical skills for conducting feature interviews: using the central character as the narrative thread, and shaping the story through scenes, details, and dialogue to make abstract issues more humanized and insightful.
Host Yih-Horng Lee noted that the Yuan Ze University Literary Awards had been held for twenty-five years. In the past three years, a high school category had been added, gradually expanding the scope of submissions and showcasing the literary potential of high school students. He emphasized that establishing the high school category was not merely “adding another division.” It also involved interviewing willing high school participants to gain a deeper understanding of their creative processes and ways of thinking, thereby capturing the literary perspectives of the younger generation. He believed these valuable insights not only enriched the planning of the Literary Awards but also, through workshops like this, helped young learners strike a balance between self-expression and social engagement, achieving the educational goal of cultivating talent “from the university level downward.”
Shih-Hui Hung, Chair of the Department of Chinese Linguistics and Literature, stated that the department had long been committed to writing education and had cultivated many outstanding talents, some of whom had received national literary awards. She noted that this workshop, organized in collaboration with the Cultural Affairs Bureau, not only carried forward the department’s mission of literary education but also sought to guide young learners in discovering themselves through writing and in exercising influence within society. She stressed that the department would continue to promote literary reading and creative writing to lay a strong foundation for nurturing humanistic concern and literary energy in the next generation.
Participants also enthusiastically shared their reflections. Yu, a student from Fengshan Senior High School, said: “The teacher’s ideas were very refreshing! It felt like getting close to a writer’s way of thinking. The teacher could observe so many things in daily life—for example, comparing teeth to social classes or imagining oneself through names on packages thrown away in the trash.” Hsueh, a student from Wuling Senior High School, added: “I gained so much resonance and inspiration from the teacher’s lecture! I’m also grateful that the teacher carefully read all of our work and gave us directions for improvement.”
Through this workshop, participants not only acquired professional knowledge and practical techniques but also deepened their understanding of both essays and interviews through exchanges with the lecturers. The event highlighted Yuan Ze University’s dedication to promoting humanistic education and laid a solid foundation for future literary exchanges across generations and disciplines.