American-Chinese· Chinese American· Typical American

Since the twentieth seventies and eighties, Chinese American literature has made staggering progress. The Chinese American writers who are headed by Maxine Hong Kingston have pushed it to a peak. Because Chinese American literature has been developed among two kinds of culture of China and America all the time, "culture identity" becomes the key word in its research. In our country the research lay emphasis on it, but the research concentrates on more specific writers such as Maxine Hong Kingston, and it has no assurance of the whole on development and characteristic of Chinese American literature. This paper has chosen three writers as representation in different developing periods of Chinese American literature, on the basis of absorbing the predecessors' achievement, proceed with the identity that writers themselves assert, combine its representative works to analyze, try hard to sketch the contours of the development characteristic of the culture identity of Chinese American literature and changing course in an all-round way.The full text is divided into four major parts:First, the background of Chinese American literature and culture identity. American Chinese are all in the state of sinking into oblivion, and its identity which was entrusted to by white man's major culture, is full of discriminating against , hostility and prejudice. So Chinese American literature faces the tasks of resisting finalizing the design prejudice , and reorienting the American Chinese culture identity since producing . According to Hall's culture identity theory, the culture identity is not unalterable, similar and in succession, there is the difference and rupture. According to Chinese American literature, Chmese culture is a similar and continuous vector in its identity composition, but every generation of writer's behavior to Chinese culture is different which is caused by the changes of the history ,culture and power , so demonstrate different culture identities.Second, Jade Snow Wong. Jade Snow Wong is the origin pioneer of Chinese American literature. In the times of Chinese are in silence generally in America, 24 years old Jade Snow Wong relies on autobiography "Fifth Chinese Daughter "approvedby mainstream society at first. She calls herself "American-Chinese", and in order to let American readers understand Chinese Culture, she shows a large amount of Chinatown's life and human feeling in her works. Though the hope is bright, intending to cater to spying on the desire of major culture unintentionally, thus condemned by the Chinese American critics after this. Chinese American literature has try hard to make the balance between Chinese culture and American major culture, while the identity of Jade Snow Wong lets us realize the complexity of this question for the first time.Third, Maxine Hong Kingston. Mentioning Chinese American literature , the name that people expect at first should be Kingston. The achievement and influence that her works make, become Chinese American literature a part of American literature. Kingston orientates herself as "Chinese American", emphasize American identity , and show the uniqueness of this identity especially with Chinese culture at the same time, so demonstrate the distinct clan borderland characteristic while creating. But the Chinese traditional culture adaptation cause countless dispute, and cause famous "debates between Maxine Hong Kingston and Frank Chin". Her creation has more fully indicated, what Chinese American literature writes can not break away from major culture, but it is revising major culture constantly, and tries to build looser social environment.Fourth, Gish Jen. Compared with the past Chinese American writers, Gish Jen's behavior is out of the common. Her masterpiece" Typical American " is the most suitable for describing her identity. She is Chinese descendant, while "Typical American " at the same time. She has shown the harmfulness assimilated in works, but does not want to confine to the circle of the writers of ethnic minority by oneself, and its works obviously demonstrate the characteristic of the descendants of desalinizing clan. As a new to enter writer in Chinese American literature, her outstanding contributions lie in reorienting American Chinese' identity to a new period not merely, revising American major culture at the same time, and redefining "American".It can be found out from the above, with the evolution of Chinese American literature, there is always the constant changing and reorienting of culture identity. Because traditional inertia influence and existence of racial discrimination, Chinese culture is the indispensable strength in identity orientating of Chinese American literature all the time, but different eras and social cultural environment make the writer have nothing in common with each other to Chinese culture tactics and attitude , thus demonstrate different culture identities. Almost every identity includes the dispute ,...