Dispersion Of New Chinese Immigrants Writers Writing

The diaspora is a word that originates from Greek and means a scattering or sowing of seeds. The diaspora (without capitalization) is used to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands; being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture. In the beginning, the term Diaspora (capitalized) was used by the Ancient Greeks to refer to citizens of a grand city who migrated to a conquered land with the purpose of colonization to assimilate the territory into the empire. Later this term is used interchangeably to refer specifically to the populations of exiled Jews. Diaspora is associated with sadness, sorrow, migration, and segregation. The diaspora (without capitalization) appeared in the 70's of the 20^th century. The term was used to refer to the people who were forced to leave their homeland or chose to leave their homeland voluntarily. While the diaspora preserves its original meanings such as migration, status of immigrants, and homeless feeling, it acquires some new implications such as trans-ethnic culture, culture interpretation, culture traveling, and culture intermixture. In the era of the globalization, the capital circulation results in not only the production globalization, but also an extensive exchange of ethnic groups and cultures. Because of its commonality and globalization, the diaspora has become a cultural phenomenon. Due to the development and restructuring of the diaspora concept, the diaspora studies has been receiving more and more attention in the recent years. The diaspora studies covers history, sociology, anthropology, the mass media studies, literature, and cultural studies. The diaspora writing studies is the new area in the comparative literature studies. The diaspora writing refers to literary creation of diaspora people. In this dissertation, the author intends to interpret and comprehend the new Chinese immigrant literature and to understand new Chinese immigrant writers from the viewpoint of the diaspora studies. The author hopes that this work will offer a new perspective on the literature studies of the oversea Chinese.Based on an extensive reading, the author approaches the study of the new Chinese immigration literature from a new perspective and specific angle, i.e., the diaspora studies. Through a combination of the theoretical overview and the individual writing analysis, the author investigates the new Chinese immigrant writers who live in a diaspora and cross-cultural state from the following aspects: their feelings towards the homeland, their cultural identity, their views on history and nationality, etc. Also, the author explores the significance of diaspora writing of the new immigrant writers. Through a general analysis of the new immigrant literature and examination of the global diaspora phenomena since the middle of the 20^th century, the author desires to sense the cultural pulse of the new immigrant literature in the age of globalization.In Introduction, first the author reviews the development of the diaspora concept, ranging from its origination, its historical evolution, to its different Chinese translations, etc. Then, the author presents a brief introduction to the current situation of the diaspora studies abroad and domestically. Based on this, the author focuses on the general state-of-art of the domestic diaspora studies. In addition, the author presents a profile of Chinese diaspora groups and their literary creations. In this dissertation, the author focuses mainly on new Chinese immigrant writers who migrated from the mainland to Europe, North America, and Australia in the late 70's of the 20^th century. The reason of targeting these three continents is that they are the primary choices of new Chinese immigrants and these continents have witnessed a flourishing development in the new immigrant literature for the last three decades. Thus, the study is representative.In Chapter one, the author analyzes the new Chinese immigrant writers from the three aspects: homeland attachment, cultural identity, image and history of nationality. The migration of the new Chinese immigrants is not only for seeking a better life, but also for fulfilling a spiritual inspiration. This is a natural extension of pursuit of modern intellectuals. The new Chinese immigrants hold a unique understanding of their homeland. This understanding reflects the influence of the globalization on diaspora people. To them, homeland is no longer a sole geographical concept, but the dreams that they pursue. To them, homeland identity is no longer associated with their birth place and race, but with their financial wellbeing and personal success. Therefore they are determined in seeking an ideal life by leaving their home. They can find a home in any corner of the world. Thus, to them, homeland and the world do not conflict each other.Associated with the homeland identity is the cultural identity. In order to survive and develop, new immigrants must integrate into the new society and become familiar with the new culture. They must quickly merge themselves with the mainstream culture of their chosen country. However, the immigrants are unconscientiously attached to the culture of their motherland. The memory of their original homeland culture constantly conflicts with the process of adopting the new culture of their chosen homeland. As an individual in a minor ethnic group, a new immigrant has to integrate into the mainstream culture. Although doing this is more or less of utilitarianism, it is both practical and effective in terms of surviving. However, as an ethnic group, if the new immigrants want to establish their ethnic culture position in the mainstream culture, they cannot desert their own culture and simply adopt to the mainstream culture. Instead, they must maintain a firm connection with their national culture. Of cause, such a connection cannot be an exact duplication of the national culture; instead, it should be a creative transformation. They should not freeze the culture of their nationality. Instead, they should keep an open-mind attitude and reach beyond their own culture. Culture is constantly evolving and is not determined simply by physiological factors such as nationality. Therefore, to explore the cultural identity of the new Chinese immigrants, attention must be paid to the temporality, variability, marginality, and constructivenessIn the process of establishing their own cultural identity, the new Chinese immigrants view and examine their own history and culture in a distance from a dual-perspective. Therefore, they obtain new understanding. Living in a foreign country, the new immigrants have witnessed many misunderstandings and distortions towards their own culture. Therefore, they want to rectify such a situation through their writing. To rebuild the historical image of the Chinese nationality is an important subject in the new Chinese immigrant literature.In Chapter two, the author focuses on the general aesthetic feature of the new Chinese immigrant literature. This feature is examined from the aspects such as the reportorial narration of events, the use of hybrid language, and the diverse carriers. The aesthetic feature is directly related to the diaspora experiences of the writers. Owing to their personal experiences, many immigrant writers present their experience in a truthful and reportorial way. Although their faithfulness and truthfulness produce a certain impact on readers, such writings are lack of literature value because they are strongly influenced by writers' personal emotions and are deficient in in-depth examination of theme. Only those works that are rich in in-depth thinking of life, exploration of human weaknesses, and imaginative creations represent the achievements and prospects of the new Chinese immigrant literature.In a diaspora state, the new immigrants face a bilingual life situation such that they have to switch between two languages verbally and mentally in daily life. This significantly affects the ways and contents of their thinking. When someone writes in a particular language, the grammar and structure of this language inevitably submerge this person in the value and culture that cultivate this language. In their creations, the new immigrant writers use both the languages interchangeably so that it enriches both Chinese and English expressions. This magnifies the phenomenon of mixture in both languages and cultures in the age of globalization. The process of writing with the hybrid language in the host country is a process of language recreation and culture translation. Under the frame of the language of the host country, the writers try to mix the vocabulary and grammar of their national language into the dominant language of the host country. By doing so, they more or less weaken the dominancy of the host country language and make their ethnic voice heard. Through this language recreation, the minority ethnic group is able to spread their culture, express their cultural need, identify their cultural signature, and indicate their cultural stand. By doing so, the minority ethnic group is able to rectify the negligence, distortion and negative understanding of the mainstream. By doing so, the minority ethnic group is able to show their confidence and demand an equal culture right.One of the most notable features in the era of globalization is the emergence and rapid development of internet. With the help of internet, the modern media, and the advanced transportation, the new Chinese immigrants maintain am emotional balance between the homeland and the adopted home country. Owing to the leading internet technology in the western world, the new immigrant writers took more advantages of internet than their counterparts in the homeland. They were the first group that created the internet Chinese literature. Although the internet Chinese literature has some weaknesses such as coarse usage in words and loose structures in expressions, it is featured by greater openness and receptiveness so that it offers a huge space for literature creations. The internet literature is a combination of literature and technology. With internet, literature can go beyond its traditional boundary and show a brand new form. Exceeding the boundary is the core semantics of diaspora. Scattering every corners of the world, these diaspora people are the citizen of the world in some sense. They accept life as it is. They define their identity, home, and motherland in a greater culture coordinate system. Therefore, the new immigrant literature is closely connected to the way of the modern media transmission and reflects their surviving styles.In Chapter three, the author discusses the cultural value of the new Chinese immigrant literature, including the significance of its marginality, the value of its cultural translation, its contribution in the merge of its heterogeneity and nationality. Surrounded by a heterogeneous culture, the diaspora people are caught in between two cultures. Such a border line position offers them multiple perspectives. They possess greater tolerances and absorptions. Only in the pluralistic era, the society is inclusive and the coexistence of various cultures is possible. Although the margined groups are alienated from the mainstream, a pluralistic and inclusive society encourages free exchanges between ethnic groups. Such an uncertainty in societal positions yields unlimited possibilities. Therefore, marginality is not a simple confrontation to the mainstream. As diaspora people have crossed the geographical border, they have also crossed the spiritual border and discarded restriction of old ideas and experience. Without thinking in an extreme and exclusive way, diaspora people can more objectively examine the culture of their nationality and the culture of their chosen host country. So they recognize that culture possesses the permeability, occasionality, and hybridity. With these advantages, diaspora writers resist and challenge the mainstream culture in their unconventional ways. They try to correct misunderstanding and misrepresentation imposed upon them. They try to express their cultural demands through their own channels. By doing this, they gradually acquire an equal cultural right. In the age that circulation and manipulation of capital have been globalized, geographical borders are constantly being crossed and various economies and cultures are frequently being exchanged. There is not a constant dominant center. Under this trend, the center is more and more defined by its border and the border builds the center increasingly. All kind of cultures are in the course of being mixed continuously. In this sense, the new Chinese immigrant literature has made a valuable contribution to the Chinese literature and the literature of the host country. Each culture is unique. If a culture is isolated from other cultures, its uniqueness will be deteriorated. However, huge variations among different cultures inevitably result in misunderstandings and obstacles in communication. Thus, exchanges and translations between different cultures are very important. As diaspora writers play a role to bridge two cultures, their diaspora creations are not a simple convey of their homeland culture, but are cultural translation, and cultural transplantation. Cultural translation can communicate differences among cultures and rectify the unequal situation existing in cultural representations.While a culture is based on a region, it is not limited to a region. The culture should be viewed as a process of a series of building, re-building, and dismantling of cultural ingredients. The fixed, unified and bounded concept of culture must give way to the sense of fluidity and permeability of cultural elements. It is a process of cultural engagement, which the diaspora brings their native culture to a new and alien culture. In this process, there is cultural clash, cultural adoption and cultural assimilation. The diaspora writers have multiple cultural personalities because of the multiple sources of culture and the contradiction of cultures. The diaspora writing is an integration of nationalism and heterogeneity.In fact, the new Chinese immigrant writer group should be seen as a group that is still being formed. From a historical viewpoint, it may be too early to judge them. However, this group is on its way to become a strong power in the Chinese literature in the world. This group shares some common characteristics. Their group identity has an important link with the diaspora phenomenon that occurred after the 70's of the 20^th century. Nevertheless, without the experience of leaving the homeland, struggles in the new world, and reexamination of the homeland, the new immigrant writers would not have written such special and subtle works. In the era of globalization, the issues such as establishment of personal and cultural identity, confrontation and interaction of the marginality and the center will have more and more influence on the development of the world cultures. Of course, this will produce an impact on the development of literature. As an important branch in the world literature, the Chinese diaspora literature will experience up and down development. As part of the diaspora literature, the new immigrant literature possesses a notable diaspora cultural expression. Therefore, it is of a significant value to examine the new immigrant writers and their creation features under the framework of the diaspora studies.