"New Yorker" And "China"

The Title of this dissertation is "The New Yorker’s China:With a Focus on the Magazine’s Chinese English Writing", and it is aiming to define and examine the literature texts in the context of its cooperation and "conspiracy" with a magazine, from the perspective of reception, rather than within the conventional framework of Chinese literature study. This dissertation intent to give an objective presentation of the material, building a knowledge framework that is completed together by the imagination of The New Yorker and the self-made text of the Chinese writers. This particular clue of "Writing China" has a double presence of subjectivity, and the restatement of Chinese politics, memories, and desires from those Chinese writers enclose all along with "Cold War mentality","National Narrative" and the consciousness of "De-Root/De-Chineseness". The introduction chapter includes the definition of the topic, the evaluation of the relevant studies and elaboration of the basic structure of the discussion.The main part of the dissertation article has six chapters. The first chapter introduces the overall style and capacity of The New Yorker, with emphasis on the setup of different column sections and the Magazine’s main attitudes and positions. It will sort out the major events of American literature the magazine collected and organized, to show how The New Yorker, as a "Niche" magazine for middle class Americans, becomes the most ideal intermediary for American literature. It will also introduces the magazine coverage of China, and its comments on Chinese writers and Chinese literature from a political and social phenomenal perspective during the early stage of the magazine, in order to provide a clear background for the following discussion.Chapter2discusses the identity transformation of Lin Yutang, who had being an important intermediary for Sino-US culture communication, in the magazine’s narrative, and analyze the style of Chinese Magazines Lun Yu and Yu zhoufeng which are said to be two Chinese replication of The New Yorker. This Chapter will discuss why The New Yorker took Lin Yutang’s novel only as the writing of Chinese Literature and as historical materials; and explains why his travel notes The Vigil of a Nation was fully denied by The New Yorker even in the Cold War era which is prevailed of Americanism. Chapter3(1940-1960) emphasizes the reality of Oriental Spectacle recreated by Lee C.Y., who’s the first Chinese writer of The New Yorker’s fiction column, and examine the holistic approach of Southwest China constructed by him together with the magazine, using the literature imagination centered on the Burma Road.Chapter4(1940-1990) discusses how The New Yorker established an image of Asian cultural ambassador for Han Suyin, by quoting her three novels and publishing her cultural reportage; It also discusses how The New Yorker questioned her political Utopia by criticizing the change of political position reflected in the writing of her biographical works of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.Chapter5(1990-2010) examines the literature view of The New Yorker in terms of its acceptance and refusal of the works of Ha Jin; It will elaborate the reason why his disobey of the language rules while portraying the Chinese immigrants, was not recognized by The New Yorker.Chapter6(1990-2012) discusses the national narrative of Li Yiyun, an emerging writer who is entirely promoted by The New Yorker, and watches closely how she learns from William Trevor, a writer has long been followed by The New Yorker, by regaining the logic of "daily life" and by deliberately moves of "De-Chineseness";Besides the epilogue which presents the conclusion, the appendix shows the listing of the relevant works in the magazine of the five Chinese writers, as well as the interactive chronology of three subjects:the major events of English literature, the major events of The New Yorker and of the Five Chinese writers who are discussed throughout in this dissertation.