Imagining America-The Image Of USA Of Chinese-American Literature

The research of overseas literature/ Chinese literature in Chinese mainland has already passed almost thirty years.A lot of successful domestic scholars have proposed the integration of their research thought and elaborate model.But in different countries or regions of different case studies,"America-Chinese literature","Chinese-American literature" research is popular in recent years。Research is mainly in the description of "history of literature",proceedings of the writers or literary theme,and motif research, etc.This paper puts forward the "Chinese-American Literature" research category, making the works of the U.S.immigration and the first generation of Chinese residing in the United States,or the works of person who is go to America for the purpose of Labor,diplomacy,or travel "temporarily stay Chinese" independent from the existing definition and research of "Chinese-American literature","America Chinese literature". A significant goal for this paper is in "historical clues" to comment on the "U.S image",which presented and implied in the works of"Chinese-American Literature", since the 19th century until now.Then this essay will discusses the "U.S image"in the works of Chinese-American,with historical change(change or continue) in different period and under different background.The second significant goal of this paper is researching the historical and realistic factor in the similar or different U.S image described by the Chinese-American in different historical stages.That is to say it is the inspection to the reasons of forming the Chinese-American Literature "U.S image".For this purpose,the research methods of the paper will inevitably comprehensively study in the literature,history,literature sociology,and Comparative Literature;and the reading about the Chinese-American Literature in my paper is selectively concentrated in the writing of American life experience and feelings,rather than comprehensively interpretation and description to all their works.This Paper consists of six parts as follows."Introduction" is to define the theme,sorting out the related research achievement and expound the purpose and the meaning of the research.The four chapter of the text is based on the careful reading then separately analyze the "American image" in the works of Chinese-American Literature,which is before 1920s,30-40 in the 20th century, 1950-1970s and after 1980s.Then it discusses the forming reason of "U.S image" in different historical period.The "Conclusion" mainly explains the historical changes of U.S.image in the Chinese-American literature in different periods and by different authors."Introduction" mainly consists of three aspects:First,putting forward the research category of Chinese-American Literature."Chinese-American Literature" means the works of those who immigrated to U.S.A or the first generation of Chinese residing in the United States(whether obtain legal status or not),or for a variety of reasons just temporarily stay.By the way,these works is writing in Chinese or non-Chinese(mainly in English),and it does not matter when and where they published.Second,"The American image" of"Chinese-American Literature" in this paper is explained as a kind of comparative literature in a sense of "exotic image".Third,after sorting out on the related research achievement then expounds the purpose and goal of the research.Commenting "the American image"in large-scale historical clues within the research category of Chinese-American Literature,and then discussing the forming reasons of"the American image",which is a field very short of study in the research of Chinese literatureThe first chapter:"Imagining Three Modes of American:the U.S Image in the Works of Chinese- American Before the 1920s",through careful reading and commenting on the literature of Chinese abroad students,"anti-American Chinese worker prohibit agreement literature" and "Angel Island Poetry","American Travels" of Liang Qichao and the "American Essay" of Wu Ting-fang,from these aspects,this paper divided all kinds of"the American image" in the Works of Chinese- American Before the 1920s into three basic modes:Hu Shi represented a kind of Chinese-American who construct a positive image discourse of U.S,in which the United States was constructed as an advanced civilization of democratic countries, Americans were described as very charitable nature of excellent;"Angels Island poetry", such as WuMi represented,who constructed a discourse of negative U.S image,and they showed us all negative image such as corruption,or ruthless,or treachery...But WuTingfang Liang qichao who represent another kind of Chinese-American,are able to observe America(Other) with a relatively cultural perspective and criticizing expanding horizon,so they present a rather complicated and concrete "Other" image.This chapter analyzes the"the American image" in the works of Chinese-American before the 1920's.And this analysis consists of three aspects:from the discrimination to Chinese immigration,Chinese social culture space,(namely "social collective imagines" factors) and the creation subject of its own cultural mentality and life experience.Chapter 2 "Civilization and Madness:U.S Image in the Works of Chinese-American in 30-40 of the 20th Century",witch mainly through analyzing some works of LinTaiyi,AiShan,Tang Degang,Lin Yutang,Li Jinyang,Dong Dingshan,and Maurice H·Chuck,ere,who are the Chinese-American writers of 1930's to 1940's. Those Chinese-American writers based on their own American experience,historical background and cultural perspective constructed various kinds of U.S image--Whether the fun-loving and truthfulness "otherness" America in the works of "Sky & Wind Literary Club "and "white horse Literary Club",or a material affluent,or be grotesque pathological characters,or the characters vacillate between the two different" selfness" and "otherness" U.S.image in Lin yutang's works,Li Jinyang's Flower Drum Song and Cheongsam Girl which always keep the positive image of U.S.,or is racial discrimination,unrest,or more complex and insane,authentic and dimensional America in the works of two important writers(Maurice H·Chuck DongDingShan) in the 1940's.All of these can be roughly divided into two kinds of U.S. image:"civilization "and "madness".Moreover,most of the time,they are not entirely different as all or nothing,and present a civilization and mania,bright and dark,which is a composite American image mixed by the factors opposite and supplementary to each other.In addition,this chapter research the American imaging factors form three aspects:American immigration policy change and discourse transformation to Chinese immigration("negative" to "positive") after the outbreak of world warⅡ;the "watched" 's cultural space namely American society change of history;and the watcher's own factors namely the creation subject themselves changes of "identity" and life experience.The third chapter the American "Multi-aspect":the U.S.Image in the Works of Chinese-American During 1950-1970s,which mainly concentrates on Taiwan literary group,carefully reading the works of some of the Taiwan-American writers in the 1950-1970s,such as Nie Hualing,Bai xianyong,Chen Ruoxi,Meng Si,Michael Wang, Wu Chonglan,etc,and take their works as clues to analyze the Multi-aspect U.S.image. The U.S.image in the works of Yu lihua and Bai Xianyong which is from the edge situation are basically express the negative image of America--the "America" in the works of YU Lihua is a "ugly othemess";The U.S.image in the works of Bai Xianyong is described as "ghost skyscraper",and the death with joy mixed in his works is a unique image that riches the Chinese-American Literature.The U.S.image constructed by Nie Hualing and Mai Gao in their self-consciousness is a "otherness image",which filled with "difference"/original taste and flavor.And Chen Ruoxi,Meng Si,and Paris-American as Yi Li construct a similar "Two Form" U.S.image with their different styles and creative methods.One is rich,civilized and freedom;on one hand, the human moral ethics disorder(human anomy,moral degeneration,runaway economy, belief crisis,etc.).They represent a literary trend and an inevitable theme in this period. This chapter analyzes the U.S.image forming factors during this period from four points:the "Tragedy identity" mainly presented by Taiwan Literary Group;The dual discourse of American to Chinese immigrants;the difference between the "American Dream" constructed by American and the American reality;and the different writers with different subject factors such as life experiences,feelings.All of these have significant influence to Chinese-American's U.S.image.Chapter Four "American Paradise,American Hell:the U.S.Image in the Works of Chinese-American in the Later of 1980's",commenting on 16 writer's long novels, short stories and the essays of record of actual events.There is an important literary phenomenon in the Chinese-American literary group of period:the "new immigrant writers" emerge in the history.The new immigrant writers construct various kinds of American image actually metaphor two images - the American paradises,American hell. Their works imagine to "gold" world,or diversified hi-tech empire,freedom and democracy equal states,all of these refers to the image of,"paradise",however,the image of loneliness,madness,evil,poverty and poverty refers to the "hell" U.S.image. At the same time,the "complex" hell "paradise",and "hell" paradise' U.S.image is an important image of Chinese-American literature during this period.Compared to previous,the U.S image in the literature of Chinese-American in this period strongly highlighted an exotic American "economic" factor and its "economic" significance.This chapter commenting on U.S.image forming factors in Chinese-American literature in this period,mainly from several aspects:"the watched" namely American society and immigrants discourse;"watcher" namely "the new immigrants" and their own factors and the Chinese community status changes.Think of the new immigration's historical background and experience of Chinese and the mindset change(from the elder "Fallen leaves return to the roots" to the young "planted themselves firmly at the heart of the American",even a astronaut mentality);Chinese ethnic social status and image rose in the United States;the complexity of the American society and immigration discourse change(from 1965,relatively open to contraction in the end of Twenty century);and the relationship and economic gap between China(mainland) and America;all these influences are very important for the construction of the American image in the works of Chinese-American during.The part of Conclusion is intended to discuss the American image of Chinese-American literature is a double "imagination" double.It is subject to different historical period of American(the watched) reality,also held and counterproductive in different historical periods of China(the watcher)'s social collective imagines,and it also different for image constructor's own differences.The Chinese-American imaging the America inevitably turn to be a colorful U.S.image.At the same time,the generation of Chinese contaction with the American then constructs an othemess image.A Collective imagination to an exotic country recognized by an ethnic or a culture,which may always be some hereditary or precipitate counteractive to the young (Chinese-American),and made their U.S.(construction of image) forming something of verbalism or stiffness.Commenting on Chinese-American literature is obviously a little "stereotype" steadily continue U.S.image.The early Chinese-American literature constructed "positive" discourse,and "opposite" discourse,and a kind of contradiction and ambiguity of U.S.image are the three models of U.S.image in the works of later Chinese-American.Of course,everyone or special group's constructed literature image or "social collective imagines" are unlikely to be cloning by posterity invariably. Commenting on Chinese-America's image will "change" in different periods and different subject's works.Commenting "U.S.image" of Chinese literature in history is a more understanding and historical look to the Chinese and American cultural space and the Chinese-American writers fate and identity.Moreover,it will contribute to our thinking of the Sino-US cultural reality,and do a good to the communication between different ethnic groups。...