Amy Tan: A Chinese-American Writer Or An American Writer?

Since the publication of The Joy Luck Club in 1989, Amy Tan has stepped on her way to success in writing. Till now, she has published five novels, one collection of essays and two books for children. These novels have won popularity in readers, and some of them have even been adapted for movies and TV programs.Due to her typical Chinese face and the adoption of Chinese elements in her novels, she has been labeled Chinese-American writer. As a result, when her novels are studied, the focus is always on her description of immigrant experience, her presentation of Chinese culture, and the conflict between Chinese culture and American culture. She is even praised as an outstanding representative of contemporary Chinese-American writer, who paves a way for other writers of Chinese origin.However, Amy Tan objects to the title of Chinese-American writer. For one thing, as a writer born and educated in the U.S.A, she claims that she"enjoys the freedom to write whatever she wants". (OF, p. 208) In her novels, the application of Chinese elements is only for the stories themselves and for reflecting the themes, not for establishing her identity as a Chinese-American writer. For another, her knowledge of China mainly came from her mother, whose experience in China long ago constructed much of the content of their daily dialogues. Therefore, the Chinese elements in her novels are far from what they really are in China. Furthermore, it's obvious that Tan has intentionally re-interpreted or re-shaped certain Chinese elements to more effectively express her Americanized personality and ideology.This analysis of Amy Tan's identity as a writer is based on the interpretation of Chinese elements in her three novels: The Hundred Secret Senses, The Kitchen God's Wife and The Joy Luck Club. Firstly, as an American writer, Tan's settings of China in the novels are different from the real situation, because she has been deeply influenced by the bias of Western scholars on events of China. Secondly, the Chinese superstition described in her novel is actually not confined to China; on the contrary, it is universal to all races and nations. Thirdly, Tan has also included in her novels some Chinese folklore. But a careful study shows that the folklore has been transformed or rewritten by Tan in order to satisfy the Americans'curiosity for exotic cultures. The above analysis of Chinese elements in Tan's novels reveals that Amy Tan is an American writer. Her preference for incorporating Chinese elements in her novels is only a narrative strategy.