Come to think of it, you’re a sort of misfit, aren't you?
Li sums up Taiming's situation in one rhetorical question: He just does not fit in the Taiwanese, Japanese, or Chinese category. He emphasizes that even if Taiming chose one of them, he would never be able to convince anyone else, and he would always be seen as a spy.
It was cruel and heartless, you know, after they had given us so much pleasure.
When Taiming meets a group of Japanese soldiers, they share stories of rape. They are clearly proud of their cruel actions and do not feel any regret. Taiming is shocked to learn about the heartlessness of the soldiers, who seem to be friendly on the outside.
One year of war was equivalent to a hundred years of peace.
The narrator emphasizes that during the war, drastic changes were introduced quickly by the Japanese oppressors. For example, within a very short time, the Japanese abolished the Yimin temple festivals, closed the Taiwanese theaters, and forced the Taiwanese to adopt the solar calendar.
Taiming, I'd like to go ahead and buy a coffin now, before it's too late.
Taiming's father sees that the situation of the Taiwanese is constantly deteriorating. They must donate metals, pay outrageous taxes, and abandon their culture and identity. This quote emphasizes his father's once strong spirit has weakened to the point where he is worried that he would not get a proper funeral.
Like the starving chicken in the fable that persists in stealing food no matter how much it is beaten, starving people, too, have no fear.
During the Japanese oppression, the people in Taiming's village agree on running black market operations because they would not have enough food otherwise. This quote emphasizes that they have now reached a point where they are no longer afraid of the Japanese oppressors because they would probably die either way.
