Taiwan Travelogue — CHAPTER XI

1. 1. The narrator experiences a profound loss of appetite and motivation during her spring visit to Taiwan, feeling aimless despite prior travel enthusiasm.
2. 2. Mishima, the narrator's escort, eventually persuades her to write an article about "kiâm-ng-ko," a local Taiwanese savory cake.
3. 3. During her trip to Toyohara, the narrator visits a vibrant Maso temple, noting its palatial and modern state due to a Taishō era renovation.
4. 4. The narrator expresses her belief that despite the Empire's harshness, Japanese rule has led to "wonderful things" and "polished raw stone into gleaming jade" on the Island.
5. 5. Pressed for his true opinion, Mishima criticizes the narrator's "subjective and arbitrary criteria" and "intellectual arrogance" in judging the Empire's impact.
6. 6. Mishima profoundly concludes that there is "nothing in the world more difficult to refuse than self-righteous goodwill."
7. 7. Mishima's critique leads the narrator to a painful realization about her own pride and insensitivity, recalling subtle displeasure from her friend Chi-chan.
8. 8. The narrator experiences an emotional breakthrough, weeping while eating kiâm-ng-ko the morning after her intense conversation with Mishima.