THE SILENT ROMANCE

A Literary Romance of Love, Disability, Music, Family, and the Human Right to Be Loved

Author: Chen Ching-Yang
Pen Name: Chen Chü-Fei
Original Chinese Title: 《沉默的羅曼史》
English Title: The Silent Romance
Genre: Literary Romance / Contemporary Family Drama / Inspirational Fiction / Medical & Social-Issue Fiction
Format: Novel / Feature Film / Television Drama
Country of Origin: Taiwan
Language of Original Work: Chinese
International Rights: English Translation / World English Publishing / Film / Television / Streaming / Audiobook

I. ONE-SENTENCE PITCH

A gifted young man silenced by Tourette syndrome, bullying, and a traumatic injury falls in love with a singer living with epilepsy; after years of separation, their son brings them together again, only for terminal illness to force three people to confront the ultimate question: Can love survive when life itself refuses to give it a second chance?

II. LOGLINE

Renjie Yu has spent his life being misunderstood because of Tourette syndrome and the involuntary vocal and motor tics that make him appear strange to others.

After a childhood act of bullying leaves him permanently unable to speak, music becomes his alternative language.

At university, he becomes a brilliant medical student and falls deeply in love with Maya Chiang, a gifted singer who suffers from epilepsy. Their love is never fully realized. Maya eventually leaves for rural Taiwan, secretly pregnant with Renjie's child.

Six years later, she returns with their son, Jie-Sze, who has inherited his father's Tourette syndrome. Renjie discovers that he is a father and must confront the emotional consequences of the past while already engaged to another woman, Ting-Ting Shen.

Then Maya is diagnosed with a devastating brain tumor.

Renjie must choose between medical duty, old love, present love, fatherhood, and the dignity of allowing a dying woman to decide how she will spend the final days of her life.

III. THE STORY

The Silent Romance begins with a young boy who cannot control his own body.

Renjie Yu's involuntary vocalizations and facial movements make him a target at school. Teachers misunderstand him. Classmates ridicule him. Even his father mistakes his symptoms for deliberate misbehavior.

A cruel act of bullying eventually leads to a false accusation of theft. Overwhelmed by humiliation and despair, Renjie attempts suicide. He survives, but his vocal cords are permanently damaged.

He becomes mute.

Yet silence does not destroy his voice.

His mother introduces him to music, and Renjie gradually discovers that music can express what ordinary speech cannot. He becomes an accomplished musician and later enters medical school.

At high school, he meets Maya Chiang, a beautiful singer with epilepsy. Renjie falls silently in love with her.

Maya initially loves another young man, but that relationship repeatedly wounds her. Renjie remains beside her, quietly protecting and supporting her.

Eventually Maya discovers the depth of Renjie's love through his handwritten songs.

The two finally become lovers.

But happiness does not last.

Maya becomes pregnant and returns to Taiwan's rural east coast, choosing to disappear rather than disrupt Renjie's relationship with Ting-Ting, the woman who has entered his life.

She gives birth to a son, Jie-Sze.

Six years pass.

Jie-Sze begins displaying involuntary vocal and motor symptoms similar to his father's. Maya realizes that the child may have inherited Tourette syndrome.

She returns to Taipei.

Renjie recognizes the boy as his son.

The past suddenly returns.

Renjie wants to take responsibility for Maya and Jie-Sze, but he is already committed to Ting-Ting. His emotional conflict becomes a triangle involving first love, present love, responsibility, and fatherhood.

Before the conflict can be resolved, Maya collapses.

Medical examination reveals a malignant brain tumor.

Renjie, now a respected neurologist, desperately wants to save the woman he once loved.

Maya refuses.

She does not want her final days to become a prolonged medical battle. She asks Renjie to accompany her through the last chapter of her life.

Ting-Ting faces the most difficult decision of her life.

Instead of fighting Maya, she chooses compassion.

Together, Renjie and Ting-Ting accompany Maya and Jie-Sze on a final journey through Taiwan.

At the coast of Taimali, Maya watches the sunrise.

On a boat arranged by her old friend Wageng, she watches dolphins and flying fish with her son.

She quietly entrusts Jie-Sze—and, in a deeper sense, Renjie—to Ting-Ting.

Maya eventually dies.

At her funeral, Wageng sings the songs she loved.

Then, just before the coffin is closed, the man who has been unable to speak for most of his life suddenly cries out:

“Maya Chiang… in the next life, I will still love you.”

His voice, recovered at the final moment, becomes the ultimate expression of a love that spent most of its life in silence.

IV. CENTRAL THEMES

1. Love Beyond Physical Perfection

The novel rejects the conventional romantic ideal of perfect bodies, perfect relationships, and perfect lives.

Renjie has Tourette syndrome and loses his voice.

Maya has epilepsy and eventually develops a fatal brain tumor.

Yet neither character is defined by disability.

Their disabilities become part of the larger human question:

What makes a person worthy of love?

2. Silence as a Literary Metaphor

Silence is the central metaphor of the novel.

Renjie cannot speak.

Maya leaves without explaining herself.

Ting-Ting suppresses jealousy.

Jie-Sze does not understand his father's past.

Each character carries something that cannot easily be spoken.

Music therefore becomes the novel's second language.

When speech fails, melody speaks.

When words fail, gestures speak.

When relationships collapse, memory speaks.

3. Love versus Responsibility

The novel does not reduce the conflict to a simple romantic triangle.

Renjie must choose among:

• first love;
• present love;
• fatherhood;
• medical ethics;
• moral responsibility;
• individual freedom;
• compassion for a dying woman.

The central question is therefore not simply:

“Whom will Renjie choose?”

It is:

“What does it mean to love someone responsibly?”

V. NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

The novel employs a long-form, multi-stage dramatic structure.

Act I — The Wounded Child

Renjie's childhood introduces Tourette syndrome, bullying, misunderstanding, family conflict, and the traumatic loss of his voice.

Act II — Music Becomes His Voice

Renjie discovers music, develops his talent, meets Maya, and gradually falls in love.

Act III — The First Romance

Maya's emotional relationship with another man creates the first major romantic conflict.

Renjie's quiet devotion ultimately becomes visible.

Act IV — Separation

Maya becomes pregnant and leaves Taipei.

The separation creates the novel's first major temporal rupture.

Act V — The Return

Six years later, Maya returns with Jie-Sze.

The father discovers his son.

The past collides with the present.

Act VI — The Love Triangle

Renjie, Maya, and Ting-Ting confront the moral consequences of the past.

Act VII — Death

Maya's illness transforms the romantic conflict into an existential conflict.

Act VIII — The Final Journey

The characters travel together through Taiwan.

The journey becomes a metaphor for approaching death.

Act IX — Farewell

Maya dies.

The funeral reveals Renjie's deepest emotional truth.

His voice returns at the precise moment when words can no longer change the past.

VI. MAJOR CHARACTERS

Renjie Yu

The protagonist.

A gifted physician and musician living with Tourette syndrome.

His inability to speak becomes both his wound and his artistic identity.

His central conflict is between responsibility and desire.

He must eventually understand that loving someone does not necessarily mean possessing them.

Maya Chiang

A talented singer and Renjie's first love.

She is independent, proud, emotionally sensitive, and deeply conscious of her responsibility as a mother.

Her decision to leave Renjie after discovering her pregnancy is both an act of self-sacrifice and a tragic misunderstanding.

Her final illness transforms her from romantic heroine into the emotional center of the novel.

Ting-Ting Shen

Renjie's current partner.

She initially appears to be the rival in a romantic triangle.

However, she develops into one of the novel's most complex characters.

Her greatest transformation is from jealousy to compassion.

Her decision to accompany Maya on her final journey gives the story its moral dimension.

Jie-Sze Yu / Chiang

Renjie and Maya's son.

His inherited Tourette syndrome connects the past and present.

He is also the living continuation of Renjie and Maya's unfinished love.

Wageng

Maya's friend in rural Taiwan.

He represents quiet, unfulfilled love and human kindness.

His music at Maya's funeral provides the emotional bridge between life and death.

VII. LITERARY AND AESTHETIC POSITIONING

The Silent Romance combines four literary dimensions:

Romantic Fiction

The emotional engine is the unfinished first love between Renjie and Maya.

Medical Fiction

Tourette syndrome, epilepsy, neurological medicine, brain surgery, and medical ethics provide the story's professional and intellectual dimension.

Social-Issue Fiction

The novel addresses prejudice toward people living with neurological and physical conditions.

Taiwanese Literary Fiction

Taipei, Taitung, Taimali, the rural east coast, university life, hospitals, beaches, and Taiwan's landscape create a distinctly Taiwanese narrative environment.

The result is a hybrid form:

Literary Romance × Medical Drama × Family Saga × Social-Issue Fiction.

VIII. WHY THIS STORY IS INTERNATIONALLY RELEVANT

Although the story is deeply rooted in Taiwan, its emotional questions are universal.

Every society contains people who are misunderstood because of disability.

Every family confronts questions of responsibility.

Every generation struggles with first love, separation, parenthood, jealousy, forgiveness, and death.

The Taiwanese setting therefore becomes an asset rather than a limitation.

Taiwan provides the cultural and geographical identity of the novel, while the emotional conflicts are globally accessible.

IX. TARGET READERS

Primary Audience

Readers aged approximately 25–65 who enjoy:

• literary romance;
• emotionally intense family fiction;
• medical fiction;
• contemporary Asian literature;
• stories involving disability and social inclusion;
• intergenerational relationships;
• tragic love stories;
• emotionally sophisticated female characters.

Secondary Audience

Young adult and crossover readers interested in:

• music;
• university romance;
• identity;
• disability;
• inspirational stories;
• Asian culture.

International Literary Audience

The novel may appeal particularly to readers of translated Asian literature and literary fiction centered on:

• East Asian identity;
• family;
• disability;
• migration between urban and rural environments;
• cultural memory;
• emotionally complex romance.

X. COMMERCIAL SELLING POINTS

1. A Romance with a Distinctive Premise

The central hero cannot communicate through ordinary speech.

His love is expressed through music, writing, gesture, and sacrifice.

This immediately differentiates the story from conventional romance.

2. Disability Is Not a Decorative Element

Tourette syndrome and epilepsy are integrated into character development and plot structure.

They affect relationships, education, career, parenthood, and identity.

3. A Powerful Love Triangle

Renjie–Maya–Ting-Ting creates a sustained emotional conflict.

However, the story ultimately moves beyond conventional rivalry toward compassion.

4. A Child as the Bridge Between Two Generations

Jie-Sze is not merely a supporting character.

He embodies the unfinished relationship between Renjie and Maya.

5. Music as a Narrative Device

Music can function simultaneously as:

• character expression;
• romantic language;
• memory;
• emotional transition;
• cinematic motif.

6. Strong Female Characters

Maya and Ting-Ting are not simply competing romantic interests.

Both undergo major psychological transformations.

7. Highly Cinematic Taiwanese Landscapes

The story provides visually distinctive locations:

• Taipei;
• National Taiwan University;
• hospital corridors;
• university dormitories;
• Taitung;
• Hongye Elementary School;
• Taimali beach;
• fishing harbors;
• coastal roads;
• boats and ocean landscapes.

XI. FILM ADAPTATION POTENTIAL

The story is particularly suitable for a feature film because it contains a strong visual and musical structure.

Proposed Feature Film

Runtime: Approximately 120 minutes

Visual Style

The film should contrast:

Urban Taipei

with

Rural Eastern Taiwan.

Taipei represents pressure, competition, medicine, education, and unresolved relationships.

Taitung represents retreat, memory, nature, healing, and death.

The visual transition from city to coast can therefore mirror Maya's psychological journey.

XII. CINEMATIC STRUCTURE

Opening

A silent adult Renjie in a hospital.

He communicates with patients through writing.

A musical motif begins.

The story then cuts backward to his childhood.

Middle

Music, university life, romance, separation, pregnancy, and the birth of Jie-Sze.

Major Turning Point

Maya returns six years later with the boy.

Renjie realizes:

“This is my son.”

Second Turning Point

Maya collapses.

The brain tumor is discovered.

The romantic triangle becomes a confrontation with mortality.

Emotional Climax

The final journey to Taitung.

Sunrise.

Ocean.

Dolphins.

Maya's farewell to Ting-Ting.

Final Image

The coffin is about to close.

Renjie suddenly speaks.

The man who spent his life without a voice finally uses it to say what he has always wanted to say.

“Maya Chiang… in the next life, I will still love you.”

Cut to black.

XIII. TELEVISION / STREAMING POTENTIAL

The story can also be expanded into an eight-episode limited series.

Episode 1

The Silent Child

Episode 2

The Boy Who Found Music

Episode 3

The First Love

Episode 4

The Woman Who Disappeared

Episode 5

The Son

Episode 6

The Return

Episode 7

The Final Journey

Episode 8

The Voice

The episodic format allows greater development of:

• Renjie's childhood;
• family conflict;
• school bullying;
• Maya's singing career;
• Ting-Ting's emotional development;
• Jie-Sze's childhood;
• the medical investigation;
• the final journey.

XIV. EXISTING SCREEN ADAPTATION

The author's existing project documentation identifies a feature-film version of approximately 120 minutes and a four-part television drama version.

The project has previously been presented with a film authorization fee of NT$1,000,000 for a 120-minute feature-film version and NT$240,000 for a four-part, 60-minute-per-episode extended drama version. These figures are project-specific historical terms and may be renegotiated for international rights and production arrangements.

For international publication and adaptation, the recommended approach is to negotiate separately for:

• World English Publishing Rights;
• English Translation Rights;
• Film Rights;
• Television Rights;
• Streaming Rights;
• Audiobook Rights;
• Stage Adaptation Rights.

XV. AUTHOR

Chen Ching-Yang

Pen Name: Chen Chü-Fei

Chen Ching-Yang is a Taiwanese novelist, poet, playwright, literary critic, and scholar of modern Chinese rhetoric and literature.

Born in Taiwan in 1963, he wrote his first modern poem in 1976 and later earned a Master's degree from the Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature at National Taipei University of Education.

He entered the cultural and creative industry in 1999 and began publishing serialized fiction in newspaper literary supplements.

In 2010, he co-founded the Cinematographer Film & Cultural Creative Studio and currently serves as its Creative Director.

In 2018, he founded the Meridian Modern Poetry Journal, which publishes poetry from Taiwan and abroad and introduces international literary theories.

His creative practice crosses several fields:

Poetry → Fiction → Screenwriting → Literary Criticism → Rhetorical Theory → Narrative Theory → Film and Television Development.

According to his author website, he has completed more than sixty medium- and full-length novels, with many works also developed as television and film scripts.

XVI. SELECTED FICTION AND SCREENWORKS

The author's online literary portfolio includes:

Fiction

Republished Youth
Anping Rhapsody
You Must Come Back Alive
Fireflies in Flight: The Nanzhuang Anti-Japanese Incident
The Bronze Rose
The Whale-Riding Boy
The Heaven's Inn
Dragon Doctor on the Deserted Island
The Silent Romance
The Silent Movement
Small Hospital, Great Doctor
Children of the Miners
The Dream-Chasing Knight

The author's website also maintains English and French editions or translation projects for several works, including Selected Short Stories by Chen Qing-Yang, La Lettre d'amour de Lhassa, L'Hôtel du Paradis, and Romance d'Anping.

Film and Television Writing

His portfolio includes film and television projects such as:

Watercolor: The Life of Hatta Yoichi
Alishan
Republished Youth
Small Hospital, Great Doctor
The Silent Romance
The Silent Movement
Single People's Commune
The Spring of Lukou
Dolphin Boy

His website specifically identifies film, television, stage, and radio drama as areas of screenplay development.

XVII. POETRY AND EASTERN POETICS

The author's second major creative field is modern poetry.

His poetry website presents four major theoretical volumes under the collective title:

EASTERN POETICS

Volume I

Eastern Poetics I: Aesthetics of Formal Design of Chinese Poetry

Volume II

Eastern Poetics II: Aesthetics of Expressive Techniques of Chinese Poetry

Volume III

Eastern Poetics III: Theoretical Studies of Chinese Poetry Creation

Volume IV

Eastern Poetics IV: Theoretical Studies of Chinese Poetry Criticism and Appreciation

The author's website also provides English and French versions of this theoretical project, alongside Swedish materials.

The project represents an attempt to construct a systematic theoretical framework for modern Chinese poetry by integrating:

• poetic form;
• rhetorical technique;
• imagery;
• symbolism;
• rhythm;
• musicality;
• modern literary theory;
• poetic creation;
• criticism and appreciation.

The website describes the author's poetry as philosophical, contemplative, emotionally sincere, and attentive to rhythm and musicality.

XVIII. MAJOR POETRY COLLECTIONS

Selected published poetry collections include:

Sunday's Defense

Island Taiwan

Taking You Back to My Distant Castle

Let You Fall Out of Love Once More

Ballad of Wind and Cloud

These works complement the fiction by demonstrating the author's sustained interest in emotion, memory, landscape, music, and philosophical reflection.

XIX. LITERARY THEORY AND SCHOLARSHIP

The author's professional publications include:

The Aesthetics of Rhetoric in Modern Poetry: Formal Design

The Aesthetics of Rhetoric in Modern Poetry: Expressive Techniques

Theoretical Studies on Modern Poetry Composition

Theory and Criticism of Modern Poetry

Dream Factory of Modern People: Practical Guide to Film and TV Scriptwriting

Novel Structure, Narrative, Rhetoric, and Psychological Analysis: International Works and Theoretical Studies

Scholarly Analysis of International Fantasy Classics

These works demonstrate that the author approaches fiction not only as a storyteller but also through systematic study of narrative structure, rhetoric, psychology, and cinematic storytelling.

XX. AUTHOR'S INTERNATIONAL LITERARY PLATFORM

The author's online literary portfolio functions as an international archive of his fiction, screenplays, poetry, translations, and literary theory.

Fiction and Screenplays

Chen Ching-Yang Fiction & Screenplay Portfolio

Poetry and Eastern Poetics

Chen Ching-Yang Poetry & Eastern Poetics Portfolio

The two platforms collectively present Chinese, English, French, and other translated materials and establish an existing international-facing literary identity.

XXI. INTERNATIONAL POSITIONING

The Silent Romance should be presented internationally not merely as a Taiwanese romance novel.

Its strongest positioning is:

A Taiwanese literary romance about disability, music, first love, fatherhood, and the dignity of dying.

This positioning allows the novel to enter several publishing categories simultaneously:

Asian Literary Fiction

Translated Literary Fiction

Romance

Medical Fiction

Disability Literature

Family Drama

Book-to-Film Fiction

XXII. WHY PUBLISH THIS NOVEL NOW?

Contemporary readers increasingly seek stories that move beyond conventional representations of disability.

The Silent Romance presents disabled characters not as objects of pity but as complex human beings who experience:

• desire;
• ambition;
• professional achievement;
• jealousy;
• parenthood;
• artistic expression;
• ethical responsibility;
• grief;
• forgiveness.

The novel therefore offers both emotional entertainment and social meaning.

Its central message is simple:

A person may lose a voice without losing the ability to love.

XXIII. FINAL PUBLISHING STATEMENT

The Silent Romance is ultimately a story about three people who learn that love cannot always be measured by possession.

Maya teaches Renjie that love may mean letting someone go.

Ting-Ting teaches Maya that compassion can exist even inside jealousy.

Renjie learns that the deepest voice is sometimes the one that remains silent for years.

And when that voice finally returns, it is not used to change the past.

It is used to say goodbye.

The man who spent his life without a voice finally speaks at the moment when love has nothing left to ask for.

That is the heart of The Silent Romance.

夥計，我已經把你提供的《沉默的羅曼史》劇情資料，連同你指定的兩個作者網站重新核對整理。你的影視創作網站目前列有《The Silent Romance／沉默的羅曼史》、 《Small Hospital, Great Doctor／小醫院大醫師》、《The Silent Movement／無聲的樂章》、《Republished Youth／再版的青春》、《Anping Rhapsody／安平追想曲》、《You Must Come Back Alive／你要活這回來》等小說與劇本作品，以及《Novel Structure, Narrative, Rhetoric, and Psychological Analysis》等小說學理著作。(udn部落格)

新詩網站則明列 Eastern Poetics 1–4 的英文系列，以及相應的法文、瑞典文版本；四部中文理論著作包括《新詩形式設計美學》、《新詩表現技巧美學》、《新詩創作學理》、《新詩批評與賞析學理》。(udn部落格)

以下我將它整理成可以直接提供給美國／英國出版代理人、出版社、電影製片公司使用的正式 Book Proposal，並特別強化「文學性＋商業性＋電影改編性＋作者國際出版資源」四個面向。

THE SILENT ROMANCE

A Literary Romance of Love, Disability, Music, Family, and the Human Right to Be Loved

Author: Chen Ching-Yang
Pen Name: Chen Chü-Fei
Original Chinese Title: 《沉默的羅曼史》
English Title: The Silent Romance
Genre: Literary Romance / Contemporary Family Drama / Inspirational Fiction / Medical & Social-Issue Fiction
Format: Novel / Feature Film / Television Drama
Country of Origin: Taiwan
Language of Original Work: Chinese
International Rights: English Translation / World English Publishing / Film / Television / Streaming / Audiobook

I. ONE-SENTENCE PITCH

A gifted young man silenced by Tourette syndrome, bullying, and a traumatic injury falls in love with a singer living with epilepsy; after years of separation, their son brings them together again, only for terminal illness to force three people to confront the ultimate question: Can love survive when life itself refuses to give it a second chance?

II. LOGLINE

Renjie Yu has spent his life being misunderstood because of Tourette syndrome and the involuntary vocal and motor tics that make him appear strange to others.

After a childhood act of bullying leaves him permanently unable to speak, music becomes his alternative language.

At university, he becomes a brilliant medical student and falls deeply in love with Maya Chiang, a gifted singer who suffers from epilepsy. Their love is never fully realized. Maya eventually leaves for rural Taiwan, secretly pregnant with Renjie's child.

Six years later, she returns with their son, Jie-Sze, who has inherited his father's Tourette syndrome. Renjie discovers that he is a father and must confront the emotional consequences of the past while already engaged to another woman, Ting-Ting Shen.

Then Maya is diagnosed with a devastating brain tumor.

Renjie must choose between medical duty, old love, present love, fatherhood, and the dignity of allowing a dying woman to decide how she will spend the final days of her life.

III. THE STORY

The Silent Romance begins with a young boy who cannot control his own body.

Renjie Yu's involuntary vocalizations and facial movements make him a target at school. Teachers misunderstand him. Classmates ridicule him. Even his father mistakes his symptoms for deliberate misbehavior.

A cruel act of bullying eventually leads to a false accusation of theft. Overwhelmed by humiliation and despair, Renjie attempts suicide. He survives, but his vocal cords are permanently damaged.

He becomes mute.

Yet silence does not destroy his voice.

His mother introduces him to music, and Renjie gradually discovers that music can express what ordinary speech cannot. He becomes an accomplished musician and later enters medical school.

At high school, he meets Maya Chiang, a beautiful singer with epilepsy. Renjie falls silently in love with her.

Maya initially loves another young man, but that relationship repeatedly wounds her. Renjie remains beside her, quietly protecting and supporting her.

Eventually Maya discovers the depth of Renjie's love through his handwritten songs.

The two finally become lovers.

But happiness does not last.

Maya becomes pregnant and returns to Taiwan's rural east coast, choosing to disappear rather than disrupt Renjie's relationship with Ting-Ting, the woman who has entered his life.

She gives birth to a son, Jie-Sze.

Six years pass.

Jie-Sze begins displaying involuntary vocal and motor symptoms similar to his father's. Maya realizes that the child may have inherited Tourette syndrome.

She returns to Taipei.

Renjie recognizes the boy as his son.

The past suddenly returns.

Renjie wants to take responsibility for Maya and Jie-Sze, but he is already committed to Ting-Ting. His emotional conflict becomes a triangle involving first love, present love, responsibility, and fatherhood.

Before the conflict can be resolved, Maya collapses.

Medical examination reveals a malignant brain tumor.

Renjie, now a respected neurologist, desperately wants to save the woman he once loved.

Maya refuses.

She does not want her final days to become a prolonged medical battle. She asks Renjie to accompany her through the last chapter of her life.

Ting-Ting faces the most difficult decision of her life.

Instead of fighting Maya, she chooses compassion.

Together, Renjie and Ting-Ting accompany Maya and Jie-Sze on a final journey through Taiwan.

At the coast of Taimali, Maya watches the sunrise.

On a boat arranged by her old friend Wageng, she watches dolphins and flying fish with her son.

She quietly entrusts Jie-Sze—and, in a deeper sense, Renjie—to Ting-Ting.

Maya eventually dies.

At her funeral, Wageng sings the songs she loved.

Then, just before the coffin is closed, the man who has been unable to speak for most of his life suddenly cries out:

“Maya Chiang… in the next life, I will still love you.”

His voice, recovered at the final moment, becomes the ultimate expression of a love that spent most of its life in silence.

IV. CENTRAL THEMES

1. Love Beyond Physical Perfection

The novel rejects the conventional romantic ideal of perfect bodies, perfect relationships, and perfect lives.

Renjie has Tourette syndrome and loses his voice.

Maya has epilepsy and eventually develops a fatal brain tumor.

Yet neither character is defined by disability.

Their disabilities become part of the larger human question:

What makes a person worthy of love?

2. Silence as a Literary Metaphor

Silence is the central metaphor of the novel.

Renjie cannot speak.

Maya leaves without explaining herself.

Ting-Ting suppresses jealousy.

Jie-Sze does not understand his father's past.

Each character carries something that cannot easily be spoken.

Music therefore becomes the novel's second language.

When speech fails, melody speaks.

When words fail, gestures speak.

When relationships collapse, memory speaks.

3. Love versus Responsibility

The novel does not reduce the conflict to a simple romantic triangle.

Renjie must choose among:

• first love;
• present love;
• fatherhood;
• medical ethics;
• moral responsibility;
• individual freedom;
• compassion for a dying woman.

The central question is therefore not simply:

“Whom will Renjie choose?”

It is:

“What does it mean to love someone responsibly?”

V. NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

The novel employs a long-form, multi-stage dramatic structure.

Act I — The Wounded Child

Renjie's childhood introduces Tourette syndrome, bullying, misunderstanding, family conflict, and the traumatic loss of his voice.

Act II — Music Becomes His Voice

Renjie discovers music, develops his talent, meets Maya, and gradually falls in love.

Act III — The First Romance

Maya's emotional relationship with another man creates the first major romantic conflict.

Renjie's quiet devotion ultimately becomes visible.

Act IV — Separation

Maya becomes pregnant and leaves Taipei.

The separation creates the novel's first major temporal rupture.

Act V — The Return

Six years later, Maya returns with Jie-Sze.

The father discovers his son.

The past collides with the present.

Act VI — The Love Triangle

Renjie, Maya, and Ting-Ting confront the moral consequences of the past.

Act VII — Death

Maya's illness transforms the romantic conflict into an existential conflict.

Act VIII — The Final Journey

The characters travel together through Taiwan.

The journey becomes a metaphor for approaching death.

Act IX — Farewell

Maya dies.

The funeral reveals Renjie's deepest emotional truth.

His voice returns at the precise moment when words can no longer change the past.

VI. MAJOR CHARACTERS

Renjie Yu

The protagonist.

A gifted physician and musician living with Tourette syndrome.

His inability to speak becomes both his wound and his artistic identity.

His central conflict is between responsibility and desire.

He must eventually understand that loving someone does not necessarily mean possessing them.

Maya Chiang

A talented singer and Renjie's first love.

She is independent, proud, emotionally sensitive, and deeply conscious of her responsibility as a mother.

Her decision to leave Renjie after discovering her pregnancy is both an act of self-sacrifice and a tragic misunderstanding.

Her final illness transforms her from romantic heroine into the emotional center of the novel.

Ting-Ting Shen

Renjie's current partner.

She initially appears to be the rival in a romantic triangle.

However, she develops into one of the novel's most complex characters.

Her greatest transformation is from jealousy to compassion.

Her decision to accompany Maya on her final journey gives the story its moral dimension.

Jie-Sze Yu / Chiang

Renjie and Maya's son.

His inherited Tourette syndrome connects the past and present.

He is also the living continuation of Renjie and Maya's unfinished love.

Wageng

Maya's friend in rural Taiwan.

He represents quiet, unfulfilled love and human kindness.

His music at Maya's funeral provides the emotional bridge between life and death.

VII. LITERARY AND AESTHETIC POSITIONING

The Silent Romance combines four literary dimensions:

Romantic Fiction

The emotional engine is the unfinished first love between Renjie and Maya.

Medical Fiction

Tourette syndrome, epilepsy, neurological medicine, brain surgery, and medical ethics provide the story's professional and intellectual dimension.

Social-Issue Fiction

The novel addresses prejudice toward people living with neurological and physical conditions.

Taiwanese Literary Fiction

Taipei, Taitung, Taimali, the rural east coast, university life, hospitals, beaches, and Taiwan's landscape create a distinctly Taiwanese narrative environment.

The result is a hybrid form:

Literary Romance × Medical Drama × Family Saga × Social-Issue Fiction.

VIII. WHY THIS STORY IS INTERNATIONALLY RELEVANT

Although the story is deeply rooted in Taiwan, its emotional questions are universal.

Every society contains people who are misunderstood because of disability.

Every family confronts questions of responsibility.

Every generation struggles with first love, separation, parenthood, jealousy, forgiveness, and death.

The Taiwanese setting therefore becomes an asset rather than a limitation.

Taiwan provides the cultural and geographical identity of the novel, while the emotional conflicts are globally accessible.

IX. TARGET READERS

Primary Audience

Readers aged approximately 25–65 who enjoy:

• literary romance;
• emotionally intense family fiction;
• medical fiction;
• contemporary Asian literature;
• stories involving disability and social inclusion;
• intergenerational relationships;
• tragic love stories;
• emotionally sophisticated female characters.

Secondary Audience

Young adult and crossover readers interested in:

• music;
• university romance;
• identity;
• disability;
• inspirational stories;
• Asian culture.

International Literary Audience

The novel may appeal particularly to readers of translated Asian literature and literary fiction centered on:

• East Asian identity;
• family;
• disability;
• migration between urban and rural environments;
• cultural memory;
• emotionally complex romance.

X. COMMERCIAL SELLING POINTS

1. A Romance with a Distinctive Premise

The central hero cannot communicate through ordinary speech.

His love is expressed through music, writing, gesture, and sacrifice.

This immediately differentiates the story from conventional romance.

2. Disability Is Not a Decorative Element

Tourette syndrome and epilepsy are integrated into character development and plot structure.

They affect relationships, education, career, parenthood, and identity.

3. A Powerful Love Triangle

Renjie–Maya–Ting-Ting creates a sustained emotional conflict.

However, the story ultimately moves beyond conventional rivalry toward compassion.

4. A Child as the Bridge Between Two Generations

Jie-Sze is not merely a supporting character.

He embodies the unfinished relationship between Renjie and Maya.

5. Music as a Narrative Device

Music can function simultaneously as:

• character expression;
• romantic language;
• memory;
• emotional transition;
• cinematic motif.

6. Strong Female Characters

Maya and Ting-Ting are not simply competing romantic interests.

Both undergo major psychological transformations.

7. Highly Cinematic Taiwanese Landscapes

The story provides visually distinctive locations:

• Taipei;
• National Taiwan University;
• hospital corridors;
• university dormitories;
• Taitung;
• Hongye Elementary School;
• Taimali beach;
• fishing harbors;
• coastal roads;
• boats and ocean landscapes.

XI. FILM ADAPTATION POTENTIAL

The story is particularly suitable for a feature film because it contains a strong visual and musical structure.

Proposed Feature Film

Runtime: Approximately 120 minutes

Visual Style

The film should contrast:

Urban Taipei

with

Rural Eastern Taiwan.

Taipei represents pressure, competition, medicine, education, and unresolved relationships.

Taitung represents retreat, memory, nature, healing, and death.

The visual transition from city to coast can therefore mirror Maya's psychological journey.

XII. CINEMATIC STRUCTURE

Opening

A silent adult Renjie in a hospital.

He communicates with patients through writing.

A musical motif begins.

The story then cuts backward to his childhood.

Middle

Music, university life, romance, separation, pregnancy, and the birth of Jie-Sze.

Major Turning Point

Maya returns six years later with the boy.

Renjie realizes:

“This is my son.”

Second Turning Point

Maya collapses.

The brain tumor is discovered.

The romantic triangle becomes a confrontation with mortality.

Emotional Climax

The final journey to Taitung.

Sunrise.

Ocean.

Dolphins.

Maya's farewell to Ting-Ting.

Final Image

The coffin is about to close.

Renjie suddenly speaks.

The man who spent his life without a voice finally uses it to say what he has always wanted to say.

“Maya Chiang… in the next life, I will still love you.”

Cut to black.

XIII. TELEVISION / STREAMING POTENTIAL

The story can also be expanded into an eight-episode limited series.

Episode 1

The Silent Child

Episode 2

The Boy Who Found Music

Episode 3

The First Love

Episode 4

The Woman Who Disappeared

Episode 5

The Son

Episode 6

The Return

Episode 7

The Final Journey

Episode 8

The Voice

The episodic format allows greater development of:

• Renjie's childhood;
• family conflict;
• school bullying;
• Maya's singing career;
• Ting-Ting's emotional development;
• Jie-Sze's childhood;
• the medical investigation;
• the final journey.

XIV. EXISTING SCREEN ADAPTATION

The author's existing project documentation identifies a feature-film version of approximately 120 minutes and a four-part television drama version.

The project has previously been presented with a film authorization fee of NT$1,000,000 for a 120-minute feature-film version and NT$240,000 for a four-part, 60-minute-per-episode extended drama version. These figures are project-specific historical terms and may be renegotiated for international rights and production arrangements. (udn部落格)

For international publication and adaptation, the recommended approach is to negotiate separately for:

• World English Publishing Rights;
• English Translation Rights;
• Film Rights;
• Television Rights;
• Streaming Rights;
• Audiobook Rights;
• Stage Adaptation Rights.

XV. AUTHOR

Chen Ching-Yang

Pen Name: Chen Chü-Fei

Chen Ching-Yang is a Taiwanese novelist, poet, playwright, literary critic, and scholar of modern Chinese rhetoric and literature.

Born in Taiwan in 1963, he wrote his first modern poem in 1976 and later earned a Master's degree from the Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature at National Taipei University of Education.

He entered the cultural and creative industry in 1999 and began publishing serialized fiction in newspaper literary supplements.

In 2010, he co-founded the Cinematographer Film & Cultural Creative Studio and currently serves as its Creative Director.

In 2018, he founded the Meridian Modern Poetry Journal, which publishes poetry from Taiwan and abroad and introduces international literary theories. (udn部落格)

His creative practice crosses several fields:

Poetry → Fiction → Screenwriting → Literary Criticism → Rhetorical Theory → Narrative Theory → Film and Television Development.

According to his author website, he has completed more than sixty medium- and full-length novels, with many works also developed as television and film scripts. (udn部落格)

XVI. SELECTED FICTION AND SCREENWORKS

The author's online literary portfolio includes:

Fiction

Republished Youth
Anping Rhapsody
You Must Come Back Alive
Fireflies in Flight: The Nanzhuang Anti-Japanese Incident
The Bronze Rose
The Whale-Riding Boy
The Heaven's Inn
Dragon Doctor on the Deserted Island
The Silent Romance
The Silent Movement
Small Hospital, Great Doctor
Children of the Miners
The Dream-Chasing Knight

The author's website also maintains English and French editions or translation projects for several works, including Selected Short Stories by Chen Qing-Yang, La Lettre d'amour de Lhassa, L'Hôtel du Paradis, and Romance d'Anping. (udn部落格)

Film and Television Writing

His portfolio includes film and television projects such as:

Watercolor: The Life of Hatta Yoichi
Alishan
Republished Youth
Small Hospital, Great Doctor
The Silent Romance
The Silent Movement
Single People's Commune
The Spring of Lukou
Dolphin Boy

His website specifically identifies film, television, stage, and radio drama as areas of screenplay development. (udn部落格)

XVII. POETRY AND EASTERN POETICS

The author's second major creative field is modern poetry.

His poetry website presents four major theoretical volumes under the collective title:

EASTERN POETICS

Volume I

Eastern Poetics I: Aesthetics of Formal Design of Chinese Poetry

Volume II

Eastern Poetics II: Aesthetics of Expressive Techniques of Chinese Poetry

Volume III

Eastern Poetics III: Theoretical Studies of Chinese Poetry Creation

Volume IV

Eastern Poetics IV: Theoretical Studies of Chinese Poetry Criticism and Appreciation

The author's website also provides English and French versions of this theoretical project, alongside Swedish materials. (udn部落格)

The project represents an attempt to construct a systematic theoretical framework for modern Chinese poetry by integrating:

• poetic form;
• rhetorical technique;
• imagery;
• symbolism;
• rhythm;
• musicality;
• modern literary theory;
• poetic creation;
• criticism and appreciation.

The website describes the author's poetry as philosophical, contemplative, emotionally sincere, and attentive to rhythm and musicality. (udn部落格)

XVIII. MAJOR POETRY COLLECTIONS

Selected published poetry collections include:

Sunday's Defense

Island Taiwan

Taking You Back to My Distant Castle

Let You Fall Out of Love Once More

Ballad of Wind and Cloud

These works complement the fiction by demonstrating the author's sustained interest in emotion, memory, landscape, music, and philosophical reflection. (udn部落格)

XIX. LITERARY THEORY AND SCHOLARSHIP

The author's professional publications include:

The Aesthetics of Rhetoric in Modern Poetry: Formal Design

The Aesthetics of Rhetoric in Modern Poetry: Expressive Techniques

Theoretical Studies on Modern Poetry Composition

Theory and Criticism of Modern Poetry

Dream Factory of Modern People: Practical Guide to Film and TV Scriptwriting

Novel Structure, Narrative, Rhetoric, and Psychological Analysis: International Works and Theoretical Studies

Scholarly Analysis of International Fantasy Classics

These works demonstrate that the author approaches fiction not only as a storyteller but also through systematic study of narrative structure, rhetoric, psychology, and cinematic storytelling. (udn部落格)

XX. AUTHOR'S INTERNATIONAL LITERARY PLATFORM

The author's online literary portfolio functions as an international archive of his fiction, screenplays, poetry, translations, and literary theory.

Fiction and Screenplays

Chen Ching-Yang Fiction & Screenplay Portfolio

Poetry and Eastern Poetics

Chen Ching-Yang Poetry & Eastern Poetics Portfolio

The two platforms collectively present Chinese, English, French, and other translated materials and establish an existing international-facing literary identity. (udn部落格)

XXI. INTERNATIONAL POSITIONING

The Silent Romance should be presented internationally not merely as a Taiwanese romance novel.

Its strongest positioning is:

A Taiwanese literary romance about disability, music, first love, fatherhood, and the dignity of dying.

This positioning allows the novel to enter several publishing categories simultaneously:

Asian Literary Fiction

Translated Literary Fiction

Romance

Medical Fiction

Disability Literature

Family Drama

Book-to-Film Fiction

XXII. WHY PUBLISH THIS NOVEL NOW?

Contemporary readers increasingly seek stories that move beyond conventional representations of disability.

The Silent Romance presents disabled characters not as objects of pity but as complex human beings who experience:

• desire;
• ambition;
• professional achievement;
• jealousy;
• parenthood;
• artistic expression;
• ethical responsibility;
• grief;
• forgiveness.

The novel therefore offers both emotional entertainment and social meaning.

Its central message is simple:

A person may lose a voice without losing the ability to love.

XXIII. FINAL PUBLISHING STATEMENT

The Silent Romance is ultimately a story about three people who learn that love cannot always be measured by possession.

Maya teaches Renjie that love may mean letting someone go.

Ting-Ting teaches Maya that compassion can exist even inside jealousy.

Renjie learns that the deepest voice is sometimes the one that remains silent for years.

And when that voice finally returns, it is not used to change the past.

It is used to say goodbye.

The man who spent his life without a voice finally speaks at the moment when love has nothing left to ask for.

That is the heart of The Silent Romance.

《沉默的羅曼史》國際中文版出版企畫案

《沉默的羅曼史》

一部關於愛情、身心障礙、音樂、親情與生命尊嚴的文學愛情小說

**作者：**陳清揚
**筆名：**陳去非
原著書名：《沉默的羅曼史》
英文書名： The Silent Romance
**類型：**文學愛情小說／當代家庭小說／醫療小說／勵志小說／社會議題小說
**形式：**小說／電影／電視劇
**原創地：**台灣
**原創語言：**中文
**國際版權方向：**英文翻譯權／全球英文出版權／電影權／電視劇權／串流影視權／有聲書權

一、一句話企畫

一名因妥瑞氏症而遭受霸凌、又因意外失去聲音的醫學天才，愛上一名患有癲癇症的歌手；多年後，他們的兒子讓兩人重新相遇，而當她罹患絕症之後，三個人必須共同面對一個最殘酷也最深情的問題：

當生命不肯給愛情第二次機會，愛還能不能繼續存在？

二、故事核心

余仁傑從小罹患妥瑞氏症。

他的聲音和身體動作無法自主控制，因此在成長過程中不斷遭到同學嘲笑，也被師長誤解。

一次校園霸凌與栽贓事件，更讓他因極度羞辱而走上自傷之路。

雖然死裡逃生，卻造成聲帶永久受損，從此失去聲音。

然而，他沒有因此失去表達自己的能力。

母親讓他接觸音樂。

音樂逐漸成為他的另一種語言。

長大後，他成為醫學院學生，並決心成為醫生。

在高中時期，他遇見歌聲甜美的江慕雅。

慕雅同樣背負著自己的身體宿命——癲癇症。

兩個不完美的人，在音樂與青春中逐漸靠近。

但命運沒有讓他們順利走到一起。

多年後，慕雅帶著兒子江思傑回到台北。

仁傑終於知道：

思傑是他的兒子。

然而此時，他已經有了相戀多年的女友沈婷婷。

舊愛、新愛、父子親情與道德責任，形成無法逃避的三角衝突。

就在所有人以為這段感情終於必須做出選擇時，慕雅卻被診斷出腦部惡性腫瘤。

仁傑身為醫生，極力希望挽救她。

慕雅卻拒絕手術。

她知道自己所剩時間不多，只希望仁傑陪伴她走完最後的人生。

沈婷婷最終選擇放下嫉妒，以最大的包容陪伴兩人與孩子踏上最後旅程。

台東太麻里的日出、海豚、飛魚與海岸線，成為慕雅生命最後的風景。

她在遊艇上向婷婷託付兒子。

她死後，瓦崗在靈堂唱起她生前喜愛的歌曲。

而就在棺木即將闔上的最後一刻，一生失聲的余仁傑突然喊出：

「江慕雅……來世我還要愛妳。」

沉默了一生的愛，終於在死亡面前發出聲音。

三、核心主題

1. 愛超越身體的缺陷

本書不採用傳統「完美愛情」的模式。

仁傑有妥瑞氏症，後來又失去聲音。

慕雅有癲癇症，最後罹患惡性腦瘤。

但小說真正要追問的不是「他們有什麼缺陷」，而是：

一個人究竟憑什麼值得被愛？

四、「沉默」的象徵

「沉默」是整部小說最重要的美學意象。

仁傑不能說話。

慕雅離開時沒有說出真相。

婷婷將嫉妒與痛苦藏在心裡。

思傑不知道自己的身世。

每一個人都擁有一段無法輕易說出口的秘密。

因此，音樂成為小說的第二種語言。

不能說出口的，讓音樂說。

不能用語言表達的，讓手勢說。

不能改變的過去，讓記憶說。

五、小說結構

本書可以分為九個主要敘事階段：

第一部：受傷的少年

妥瑞氏症、校園霸凌、家庭誤解與失聲。

第二部：音樂成為聲音

仁傑接觸音樂，建立自己的藝術世界。

第三部：初戀

仁傑與慕雅相識。

愛情開始萌芽。

第四部：離別

慕雅懷孕後離開台北，前往台東。

第五部：兒子

六年後，慕雅帶思傑回到台北。

父子相認。

第六部：三角關係

仁傑、慕雅與婷婷必須面對過去與現在。

第七部：疾病

慕雅罹患惡性腦瘤。

愛情問題轉化為生死問題。

第八部：最後旅行

四人前往台東、太麻里與海上。

旅行成為慕雅的生命告別。

第九部：最後的聲音

慕雅死亡。

仁傑在葬禮上突然恢復聲音。

他喊出對慕雅最後的愛。

六、主要人物

余仁傑

小說男主角。

妥瑞氏症患者、失聲者、音樂創作者、醫學專業人才。

他最大的內在衝突，是：

愛情與責任之間究竟如何選擇？

他最後必須明白，真正的愛不一定等於擁有。

江慕雅

女主角。

歌手、音樂愛好者、母親，也是仁傑生命中的初戀。

她選擇離開仁傑，本意是成全，卻造成多年誤會。

她最後面對的不是愛情選擇，而是死亡。

沈婷婷

仁傑現任女友。

她表面上是三角戀中的「第三者」，實際上卻是小說中非常重要的道德人物。

她最後從嫉妒走向理解，從競爭走向包容。

她的選擇，使小說超越一般愛情三角關係。

江思傑

仁傑與慕雅的兒子。

他的妥瑞氏症使父親與兒子形成跨世代的命運呼應。

他也是仁傑與慕雅未完成愛情的生命延續。

瓦崗

慕雅在台東的朋友。

他對慕雅有深厚而未說出口的感情。

他的存在，使「愛而不得」形成另一條情感副線。

最後在慕雅喪禮上演唱歌曲，完成對她的告別。

七、小說文學特色

1. 愛情小說與醫療小說融合

疾病不是背景，而是直接進入人物命運。

2. 音樂成為敘事語言

歌曲不只是娛樂元素，而是人物情感的外化。

3. 「聲音／沉默」形成核心意象

仁傑失去聲音，卻用音樂表達愛。

最終在慕雅死亡時重新發聲，形成完整的首尾呼應。

4. 台灣地景成為人物心理的鏡像

台北象徵：

壓力、競爭、醫療、學業與現實。

台東象徵：

自然、回憶、療癒與死亡。

因此，從台北到台東的空間移動，也是人物心理的移動。

八、目標讀者

第一層讀者

25—65歲喜愛：

• 文學愛情小說
• 家庭小說
• 醫療小說
• 感人小說
• 亞洲文學
• 生命議題小說
• 身心障礙議題文學

的讀者。

第二層讀者

青年與跨類型讀者，尤其喜歡：

• 音樂
• 校園青春
• 初戀
• 家庭
• 身分認同
• 身心障礙
• 勵志題材

者。

國際讀者

尤其適合希望閱讀：

• 台灣文學
• 東亞文學
• 翻譯文學
• 家庭與生命議題
• 亞洲愛情小說

的國際讀者。

九、國際出版賣點

賣點一：非典型愛情男主角

一個無法正常說話的醫生，如何表達愛？

答案不是語言，而是音樂。

賣點二：疾病不是裝飾

妥瑞氏症與癲癇直接影響人物命運。

賣點三：強烈三角關係

仁傑、慕雅、婷婷形成長時間情感拉鋸。

賣點四：孩子成為愛情的橋梁

思傑使過去與現在重新連接。

賣點五：音樂具有電影化潛力

歌曲可以成為整部作品的情感主題曲。

賣點六：台灣風景具有國際影像辨識度

台北、台東、太麻里、海岸線、漁港、遊艇、日出等，都具有強烈電影視覺效果。

賣點七：最後的反轉具有高度催淚效果

一生不能說話的男人，在愛人即將下葬時突然發聲。

這是全書最具記憶點的情感高潮。

十、電影拍攝企畫

電影片長

約120分鐘。

電影類型

文學愛情 × 醫療劇情 × 家庭倫理 × 社會議題

第一幕

以成年仁傑在醫院與病人筆談開始。

觀眾看到一個不能說話的醫生。

接著進入他的童年。

第二幕

童年霸凌。

失聲。

音樂。

高中。

慕雅。

初戀。

兩人相愛。

第三幕

慕雅懷孕離去。

六年後帶著兒子回來。

父子相認。

婷婷發現真相。

第四幕

慕雅昏倒。

腦瘤。

死亡威脅。

仁傑希望救她。

慕雅拒絕。

第五幕

四人旅行。

台東。

太麻里日出。

海豚。

飛魚。

慕雅向婷婷託孤。

最終高潮

喪禮。

瓦崗唱歌。

棺木即將闔上。

仁傑突然發出多年未曾出現的聲音：

「江慕雅……來世我還要愛妳。」

畫面切黑。

十一、電影美學

電影可以採取「城市冷色調／東海岸暖色調」的視覺對比。

台北

醫院、校園、宿舍、城市街道。

代表：

現實與壓力。

台東

山、海、沙灘、日出。

代表：

記憶、生命與告別。

音樂

音樂應該成為電影的第三主角。

仁傑無法說話，因此電影應該大量利用：

• 鋼琴
• 吉他
• 歌曲
• 海浪
• 風聲
• 火車聲
• 沉默

建立聲音美學。

十二、電視與串流影集開發

本故事亦適合發展為限定影集。

建議：

8集 × 每集45—60分鐘

第一集：沉默的孩子
第二集：音樂與初戀
第三集：藍色的青春
第四集：離開台北
第五集：父親與兒子
第六集：回到初戀
第七集：最後的旅行
第八集：來世還要愛妳

原作既有資料亦曾規劃電影120分鐘版本及四集電視單元劇版本，顯示本故事本身具備電影與電視兩種敘事尺度的改編潛力。(udn部落格)

十三、作者創作履歷

陳清揚／陳去非

陳清揚，筆名陳去非，台灣小說家、詩人、劇作家、文學評論家及文學理論研究者。

1963年出生於台灣，1976年開始創作新詩。

畢業於國立台北教育大學台灣文學研究所，長期從事：

新詩、小說、電影電視劇本、文學評論、修辭學與小說敘事學研究。

1999年進入文創產業，開始在報紙副刊發表連載小說。

2010年與志同道合的創作者共同成立「掌鏡人影視文創工作室」，目前擔任創意總監。

2018年創辦《子午線現代詩刊》。

作者官方文學網站目前收錄大量小說、電影劇本、電視劇本、文學評論與小說學理作品。(udn部落格)

十四、主要小說與劇本作品

作者網站目前收錄的重要作品包括：

《再版的青春》

《安平追想曲》

《你要活這回來》

《螢火蟲飛呀飛：南庄抗日事件》

《青銅玫瑰》

《騎鯨少年》

《天堂旅館》

《荒島醫龍》

《沉默的羅曼史》

《無聲的樂章》

《小醫院大醫師》

《礦工兒女》

《追夢騎士》

以及多部電影與電視劇本。作者網站並列有《The Silent Romance》、《Small Hospital, Great Doctor》、《The Silent Movement》等英文作品名稱。(udn部落格)

十五、小說學理著作

作者同時建立小說創作與理論研究系統，包括：

《小說結構、敘事、修辭與心理分析——國際小說作品介紹與學理分析》

《國際奇幻小說名著學理分析》

《現代人的夢工廠：影視劇本創作實務》

此外，作者網站亦收錄對鄭清文、鍾肇政、楊富閔、蔡素芬、李喬等台灣小說家作品的結構、敘事與文學理論分析。(udn部落格)

十六、新詩與《東方詩學》

作者另一個重要創作系統，是四卷本《東方詩學》。

《東方詩學》第一卷

新詩形式設計美學

研究現代華文新詩的形式結構、語言安排與形式美學。

《東方詩學》第二卷

新詩表現技巧美學

研究意象、象徵、通感、譬喻、擬人、超現實等詩歌表現技法。

《東方詩學》第三卷

新詩創作學理

從創作方法與詩歌生成角度建立新詩創作理論。

《東方詩學》第四卷

新詩批評與賞析學理

建立現代華文詩歌閱讀、批評與賞析的理論框架。

作者的新詩網站目前亦提供這四部作品的英文系列 Eastern Poetics I–IV，並列有法文與瑞典文版本。(udn部落格)

十七、新詩集

作者出版的新詩集包括：

《星期天的辯護》

《島嶼台灣》

《帶妳回我遠方的城堡》

《再給妳失戀一次》

《風雲情歌》

這些詩作與小說共同形成作者創作中的幾條核心美學：

愛情、生命、記憶、島嶼、音樂與哲思。

(udn部落格)

十八、英文、法文與國際出版資源

作者目前已建立英文與法文作品展示平台。

小說與劇本網站：

Chen Ching-Yang Fiction & Screenplay Website

新詩與《東方詩學》網站：

Chen Ching-Yang Poetry & Eastern Poetics Website

其中小說網站收錄英文與法文翻譯作品；詩學網站則收錄 Eastern Poetics I–IV 英文版本，以及相應的法文系列。(udn部落格)

十九、國際出版定位

《沉默的羅曼史》不宜只定位為一般「台灣愛情小說」。

最適合的國際出版定位是：

A Taiwanese Literary Romance about Disability, Music, First Love, Fatherhood, and the Dignity of Death.

中文定位則為：

一部以台灣為背景，結合身心障礙、音樂、初戀、父子親情與生命尊嚴的文學愛情小說。

它同時具備：

台灣文學性

＋

亞洲文化辨識度

＋

普世愛情主題

＋

醫療與社會議題

＋

電影改編潛力

二十、出版價值

《沉默的羅曼史》最終並不是一部單純描寫「誰和誰在一起」的愛情小說。

它真正想回答的是：

當愛不能擁有時，還能不能選擇成全？

慕雅讓仁傑明白：

愛一個人，有時候就是陪她走到生命最後。

婷婷讓慕雅明白：

愛情的終點不一定是競爭，也可以是理解。

仁傑則終於明白：

真正的愛，不一定能改變命運，但可以讓一個人的最後一段路不再孤單。

因此，這部小說最重要的文學命題是：

一個人可以失去聲音，卻不能因此失去愛人的能力。

而全書最重要的最後一句話，也因此成為整部作品的精神象徵：

「江慕雅，來世我還要愛妳。」

這一聲，是一個失聲者一生最晚、卻也是最真實的告白。