To Establish "Chinese American Sensibility"

Frank Chin's role as a spokesman for Chinese Americans is well established, and Chin's creation theory is the root deciding his creating career, his status in and influence on Chinese American literature.Generally speaking, Chin's theory of creation consists of one center and three elements. The center is Frank Chin's target of creation—to establish "Chinese American sensibility"; the three elements are "fighting", "originating" and "enhancing".Thinking for the living space of Chinese Americans, Frank Chin compares the differences between Chinatowns and White American society, and insists on creating with his own judgments and choices. He aims to build a distinctive and independent Chinese American literature, history and culture, which is related to "Chinese American sensibility", a term coined by Chin to mean neither Chinese nor white American.With his famous slogan "Writing is fighting", Frank Chin places himself as a soldier armed for Chinese Americans, whose war is against white racism and cultural hegemony operated in the multiracial nation. By dispelling racial stereotypes and setting up heroic images, Chin tries to establish "Chinese American sensibility" for Chinese Americans."Originating" is the second element in Frank Chin's creation theory. In Frank Chin's opinion, Chinese American literature should have its own unique style, and be independent in American literature. With this target, Frank Chin always probes and innovates in his way of writing.The third element is "enhancing", by which Frank Chin tries to establish "Chinese American sensibility" for Chinese American history and culture. To Chin, Chinese America has lost its "soul", or integrity, along with its past. By enhancing Chinese traditional culture and rediscovering the erased history, Frank Chin encourages Chinese Americans to take root in their Chinese legacy, and finally find the way out.