To date, in Taiwan, since the mid 1960s, there have been about 20 Chinese translations of Goethe's text, ”The Sorrows of Young Werther,” which is ample evidence of the popularity of ”Werther” in the country. The reasons surely include the Goethe's fame as a classic writer, the celebration of his 250(superscript th) birthday in 1999, the tragic love story in ”Werther,” and the importance of the protagonist Werther as a symbol of the freedom of the individual person, particularly a young person. The topic of ”suicide” has provoked the late thinker and critic Friedrich Nicolai to write his ”The Joys of Young Werther,” which challenges the reading, and calls to a broadening of horizons for the reader. He criticizes the moral in Goethe's ”Werther.” Instead of ”Sorrows,” there should be ”Joys.” The writer Ulrich Plenzdorf, formerly of East Germany, completed in the 1970s his work ”The Sorrows of New Young W.” which deepens and extends ”Werther” as a theme of Reception and Influence. Plenzdorf's text effectively renews the controversial Goethe text through different ways of understanding and interpretation, and expands the borders of aesthetics and literary criticism. Thus, in the end, the historic meaning and artistic value of the text clearly lie in the process of Reception over the passing of years. Due to the importance and meaning of reception mentioned above, the purpose of my article is therefore, through Hans Robert Jauß' Concept of ”Expectation horizon” interpret Nicolai's and Plenzdorf's works, and to view the change of ”Werther” as a theme. I also hope to examine the possibilities of Werther for creative literary work and a variety of literary interactions.
