Discipline And Resistance:A Study Of Linguistic,Textual And Spatial Transgressions In Chinese American Literature

American mainstream society constructs race-oriented borders to preserve white-centered racial hierarchy and transgression is the fundamental means by which Chinese Americans cross these oppressive borders to expand their living space.Their transgressive experience,both in language and space,is represented by Chinese American literature.Chinese American literature also manifests textual transgression due to the emergence of transgressive texts whereby the ethnic identity of the protagonist differs from that of the author or the subject matters or themes transcend those of traditional Chinese American literature.The existing scholarship predominately concentrates on racial,gender and cultural transgressions to discuss identity hybridity of Chinese Americans or Chinese American authors,giving scanty attention to textual and spatial transgressions.The mechanism of border construction and means of transgression as represented in Chinese American literature have not been adequately addressed.Inquiry into these issues can provide guidance for Chinese Americans and help grasp the emerging trends of Chinese American literature.The dissertation studies linguistic,textual and spatial transgressions in the genealogy of Chinese American literature and argues that linguistic,textual and spatial transgressions essentially reflect the transgression of the racist ideology of mainstream American society by Chinese Americans and Chinese American authors.Within the theoretical framework of discipline and resistance,this dissertation specifically focuses on linguistic,textual and spatial transgressions in Chinese American literature from the perspectives of "deterritorialization","transgressive texts" and the relationship between space and power/ideology respectively,analyzes the mechanism of border construction and investigates the discipline encountered by Chinese Americans and Chinese American authors and their transgressive actsChapter One examines linguistic transgression in Chinese American literature by analyzing Maxine Hong Kingston's China Men,The Woman Warrior and Frank Chin's Donald Duk from three aspects:silence and articulation,the way of articulation and the content of articulation.Concerning silence and articulation,early Chinese Americans are expected to exist as the silent and obedient racial "Other" in want of subjectivity.The early Chinese Americans represented by Bak Goong in China Men appear as"tricksters" and challenge to articulate in an encoded language,demonstrating their subjectivity by defying the rule of keeping silent.Regarding the way of articulation,Chinese Americans and Chinese American authors are disciplined and dominated by Standard English and the ideology behind it.They cross language borders and create an ethnicized English by drawing elements from Chinese,using it as a way to convey their ethnic experience and deterritorializing Standard English and its inherent ideology.As for the content of articulation,the ghost talk in The Woman Warrior metaphorically inculcates the narrator the courage and tactics of transgression and deconstructs the hegemony of logocentric American culture.The transgression of language borders also results in "hybridity" and "defamiliarization",realizing the dialogue between languages and their inherent valuesChapter Two discusses textual transgression in the genealogy of Chinese American literature,aiming to reveal the ways of textual transgression and its implications for Chinese American literature and its criticism by analyzing Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan and Eveiything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.This chapter first surveys the changing borders of Chinese American literature and defines textual transgression as the phenomenon that the ethnic identity of the author differs from that of the protagonist or that the subject matter and theme differ from those of traditional Chinese American literature.By investigating two forms of textual transgression—classical Chinese American writers exploring universal themes and new-generation Chinese American writers innovating the traditional themes of Chinese American literature,this chapter reveals the trends of border crossing,deracialization and diversification in Chinese American literature.Saving Fish from Drowning explores the themes of human rights and the power of media,marking a distinct trend of deracialization and a departure from the traditional themes of Chinese American literature.Everything I Never Told You integrates the patrilineal and matrilineal traditions in Chinese American literature by depicting the experience of a mixed-blood Chinese American family.The generational conflicts reflect the tension between "consent" and "descent" rather than generational conflict in identity and gender discrimination is discussed in the context of American culture instead of patriarchal Chinese culture.Textual transgression subverts the racism and practice of racial segregation in literary creation and criticism and expands the territory of Chinese American literature and its criticism.Chapter Three explores spatial transgression in Chinese American literature by examining Angel Island Immigration Station,Chinatown and non-Chinatown America in Island:Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island,1910-1940,On Gold Mountain and A Free Life respectively to expound the construction of spatial borders and discuss the transgression of Chinese Americans.In the context of racism,mainstream American society adopts various disciplinary methods to delimit the space of Chinese Americans and condition their subjectivity.The spatial domination of Chinese Americans and discourse construction of their living space conspire with capitalism to compress their living space.In the Post-Civil Rights era when spatial borders become inconspicuous,Chinese Americans are confronted with the pressing need of establishing center in their physical and spiritual cosmoses.Island reflects the spatial experience of early Chinese immigrants.American mainstream society incorporates racism into the planning and use of space in the immigration station and tries to subjugate the body and subjectivity of early Chinese immigrants through various disciplinary methods.The Chinese immigrants resort to "politics of representation" and wedge anti-disciplinary struggles by carving poems on the wooden walls.In On Gold Mountain,racism conspires with the spatial distinction and discourse construction of Chinatown to facilitate the development of capitalism,indicating the entanglement of space,race and capital.Fong See transgresses the oppressive spatial borders through interracial marriage and attachment to Chinatown,a marginal and denial space.A Free Life conveys the spatial experience of new Chinese immigrants in geographical and spiritual space.The spatial experience of Wu Nan is captured in his existential crisis and struggle for a center to end his physical,psychological and spiritual disorientations.He establishes the geographical center and ends his physical and psychological disorientations by purchasing a house through spatial movement and alienating labor,and terminates his spiritual disorientation by constructing a spiritual homeland through poetry writing and self-exile.The spatial problems faced by Chinese Americans demonstrate a diachronic change from harsh to subtle and from "necessity" to"extravagance".Through studying linguistic,textual and spatial transgressions,we can discover the mechanism of border construction and means of transgression and grasp the emerging trends in current Chinese American literature.This dissertation tries to emphasize that various race-centered borders,as sociocultural constructions,are important means adopted by American mainstream society to preserve racial hierarchy,restricting Chinese American experience and the development of Chinese American literature.Only by constantly transgressing the oppressive borders can Chinese Americans enrich their life experience and Chinese American literature renovate itself,opening up new space for creation and criticism.