On Ouyang Yu's Representation Of Chinese Australisns

This thesis focuses on Ouyang Yu's representation of Chinese Australians in the perspective provided by Said's Orientalism, and the point I am trying to prove is that his representation is a more genuine one because of his special position and theoretical approach, which are evidenced in the analysis on his novel The Eastern Slope Chronicle.The thesis is divided into four chapters.In the introduction, the reasons for choosing the subject, my methodology and a brief history of Ouyang Yu's life and work are presented. What prompts me to write a thesis on Ouyang Yu's representation of Chinese Australians is attributed to various factors, mainly the public's indifference to academic work and the relative inadequacy of Chinese research on Australian literature. Adopting a method of applying the theory to the practice, the major part of this thesis begins with a general look at Said's Orientalism, and then it proceeds to analyze Ouyang Yu's position and theoretical approach, and ends in the study of his novel The Eastern Slope Chronicle, thus gradually limiting the scope of arguments. Ouyang Yu is an indispensable figure in overseas Chinese literature, particularly in Australian Chinese literature. An analysis on him will help understand the development of the whole Chinese literature. The second chapter is a survey of the theory of Orientalism. The publication of Orientalism is a revolutionary event in the 20th century literary criticism. Discussed here are the three connotations of Orientalism, its major defects and also its significance to Ouyang Yu in his representing Chinese Australians. With the help of the two important terms-the Other and the Stereotype, this chapter deals with the image of Chinese in Australian Orientalist discourse. Chinese have been written and orientalized as the Other in the Australian literature ever since they set foot on the...