A Novel：Wintry Night（寒夜三部曲-1.寒夜 英文版）

　　李喬於1975年起稿，至1981 年 2月陸續完成了《寒夜三部曲》---《寒夜》、《荒村》與《孤燈》三部作品，透過饒富文學意涵的語言文字，書寫日治時代的台灣歷史。故事以彭阿強、劉阿漢兩大家族、三代人開山墾荒蕃仔林的悲苦生活，以及反日抗爭為情節線，佐以各時代重要事件，描寫自日治時代50年前後所遭遇時代挑戰，歷經家族的興衰，是一部台灣「大河小說」史詩。

　　此為《寒夜三部曲》完整英譯版。

　　首部曲Wintry Night《寒夜》，寫的是台灣割讓給日本前後背景下，彭阿強一家7男5女，12口冒著生命危險，進入苗栗蕃仔林開山拓荒，流血流汗，結果遭土豪劣紳勾結官府，巧取豪奪。彭阿強六、七十歲時，不甘一生辛勤平白落空，為土地掙扎拚命，死在吊頸樹下。小說以沉鬱而真切的筆觸，揭示了農民在時代巨輪下的悲壯命運，讀來令人悲憤填膺。

　　第二部 Deserted Village《荒村》以彭家童養媳燈妹招贅的劉阿漢一家為核心，展開一段充滿血淚的時代悲歌。小說描繪劉阿漢父子，在日本殖民統治下為守護土地而毅然對抗惡法與經濟掠奪，不僅捲入日據時代中期文化協會分裂的風潮，更投身農民組合初期的重大抗爭。隨著運動的推進，劉家父子屢遭牢獄、拘禁與酷刑折磨，最終劉阿漢魂斷荒村，劉明鼎亦命喪拘留所。全書以樸實卻震撼人心的筆觸，呈現一家人在時代洪流中的掙扎與犧牲。劉家父子的悲壯身影，不僅映照了殖民壓迫下農民階級的宿命，更烙印出一幅驚心動魄的台灣歷史圖景。

　　第三部Lone Lamp《孤燈》，書寫的是台灣光復前後，山村極端匱乏的非人生活，以及劉家么子明基與彭家長子人傑、長孫永輝受徵召遠赴南洋戰場，死在異地的悲慘命運。小說不僅揭露戰亂下青年生命的脆弱與犧牲，更展現蕃仔林村民為了生存而迸發出的堅忍生命力。那些冤死於菲律賓的台灣青年，縱然長眠異地，心魂仍舊牽繫台灣故土，讓人讀來不勝唏噓與心酸。

　　這部作品不僅是文學作品，更是一部充滿人性深度和歷史情感的社會史詩。李喬以其獨特的筆觸，深刻刻畫了台灣在日治時期遭遇的種種挑戰，並通過家族的興衰反映了當時社會的複雜面貌。這部小說將為您呈現一場震撼心靈的文學之旅。
 

Lee Chiao’s epic Wintry Night Trilogy, comprising Wintry Night, Deserted Village, and Lone Lamp, is widely revered as a classic of Taiwan literature. Together, the books tell of the vicissitudes endured by three successive generations of Hakka farmers. Opening in the late Qing dynasty and concluding soon after the end of the Japanese occupation, the trilogy follows the Pengs and the Lius as they establish a legacy befitting the turbulence of modern Taiwan. This, Lee’s most celebrated work, is a poignant reflection on love, resilience, and the steadfast spirit of a colonized people.

Wintry Night is the haunting first book of Lee Chiao’s acclaimed Wintry Night Trilogy. Set before and during the period of Taiwan under Japanese rule, it follows the Peng family as they start a new life in Miaoli’s mountainous frontier, hoping for prosperity but instead confronting land grabs and codified dispossession. The novel’s intimate and unyielding intensity expresses the everyday struggles of those trapped at the edge of empire. It is a portrait of loss and resistance that speaks to the very soul of Taiwan.

Book two, Deserted Village depicts the exploitation of Taiwanese farmers, particularly in the sugar industry, and the rise of organized resistance through the Cultural Association in the 1920s and 1930s. Liu Ah-Han and his son Liu Ming-Ting become deeply involved in non-violent resistance movements, with Ah-Han facing repeated imprisonment and torture. The novel traces the development and eventual split of both the Cultural Association and the Farmers' Association, examining how these groups' trajectories reflect broader patterns in Taiwan's anti-Japanese resistance. Meanwhile, Ten-Mei maintains family stability despite her husband's frequent absences, as colonial oppression leads to the awakening of Taiwanese consciousness and collective resistance.

Lone Lamp brings Lee Chiao’s Wintry Night Trilogy to a close with quiet, unflinching power. In a time of war, a new generation grapples with loss, poverty, and withering dreams. Raised in mountain villages and thrown into unfamiliar lands, these are characters burdened with their forebears’ disappointments while carrying crushing traumas of their own. Through this compassionate novel, Lee Chiao reminds us that even the faintest hope can sustain a people’s spirit.