白先勇的《臺北人》，著重1949年前後來臺一群人的際遇。白先勇大部分以文學作品為主，2012年出版《父親與民國》則是歷史論著，著重其父親個人的事蹟，實際上也是大時代的關懷。本文主要分為兩大部分，其一，從《臺北人》探討白先勇眼中的「外省人」的際遇，國共內戰帶來的分離，特別是1949年的逃難，使許多人遠離故鄉，甚至再也沒能回家，這些經歷離散的人，有特定的歷史記憶，並有其時代性，這些特質經由白先勇的筆將之反應出來，然而這些記憶是白先勇的記憶還是這批離散者共同的記憶值得論述。其二，以《父親與民國》論述白先勇筆下的父親，分析該書出版的意義與貢獻，白先勇重感情，對親人、對鄉里、對國族有一份濃濃的鄉愁與國愁，更重要的是對其父親一生的評價，雖其沒有特別提到「平反」，但從其在臺北、廣西、北京的新書發表會及學術研討會，全程參與，認真地與記者、學者、聽眾對話過程，並多次在不同的場合推薦該書，確實能感受其對這本書的重視。本文希望藉由這樣的敘述，讓更多人對這些經歷過離散的族群有一份同情的理解。

“People in Taipei”, written by Hsien-yung Pai, is a story about a group of people were forced to immigrate to Taiwan around 1949. Most of his books are literature. However, “My Father and the Republic of China”, which was published in 2012, is not only stayed focus on describing his father’s personal deeds but also concerned about the Great Era in China.
The article is divided into two parts. First, from “People in Taipei”, Mr. Pai has his unique perspective on experiences of Mainlanders fled from calamity, especially during the year of 1949. The Chinese Civil War caused those Mainlanders were forced to separate from their hometowns far far away. Being refugees, they never got a chance to return their hometowns again. Those who experienced discreteness owned particular historical memories and could represent the Great Era, too. These traits are reflected through Hsien-yung Pai’s works. Yet, those historical memories really belong to Hsien-yung Pai’s or just belong to the group of refugees’ are still worth discussing.
Second, according to Hsien-yung Pai’s works: “My Father and the Republic of China”, we can analyze the true meaning and realize the contribution of the published book. Mr. Pai is an emotional man with a strong sense of homesickness not only to his family and relatives but also to his country. Most important of all, to his father’s lifetime criticism, he didn’t even particularly mention about his father’s “rehabilitate” case. Nevertheless, we still could feel the great impact on him. As you all know, from the whole conversation, Mr. Pai is seriously talking about this book with journalists, scholars and audiences at the new book representative. Furthermore, Mr. Pai will recommend the book to readers at the academic seminar in many places, such as Taipei, Guangxi, and Beijing. Needless to say, you surely can feel about the significant of the book by Mr. Pai himself. Through such kind of narration from “My Father and the Republic of China”, we do hope that readers can have empathy on the group of refugees who have experienced the historical tragedy.