Ethnic Chinese Subjective Construction In The Novel By The Chinese Malaysian Writer Jong Chian Lai

In this paper I address on the question of Ethnic Chinese subjective construction in the novel by the Chinese Malaysian writer Jong Chian Lai. I will focus on his works published from1986to2011.I aim to show how Jong Chian Lai use host language in his novel creation in response to the dominating Malay Heritage and national system, and in what sense is he writing the response?First, it is important to base my argument in the writing context of Malaysian Chinese, including Malaysian Chinese both writing in Malay and in Chinese, in order to locate Jong Chian Lai writing in Malay on the whole landscape of Malay literature, and try to clear up the relationship of the location and Ethnic Chinese subjective construction. Second, I will give a short summary of the novel created by Jong Chian Lai, and present the subject and theme which interest Jong Chian Lai. I concentrate on the main subject and theme of Jong Chian Lai’s novels, in order to unfold the position of Ethnic Chinese in his novels and this is the main point of this paper. Moreover, I will contrast the Ethnic Chinese in Jong Chian Lai’s works with actual Ethnic Chinese or Ethnic Chinese in history, so as to shed light on Jong Chian Lai’s construction of Ethnic Chinese and its politics and culture. This paper will center on how Jong Chian Lai constructs Ethnic Chinese subjectivity, traceback the source of the construction of Ethnic Chinese, discuss the meaning of the construction of Ethnic Chinese, also explore the identity Jong Chian Lai presents in his works.For Malaysian Chinese, whose dominant language is Chinese, Jong Chian Lai’s creation is a fringe literature of the Ethnic Chinese literature. But on the contrary, by creating in Malay has brought him to the light of the Malaysian as a Ethnic Chinese writer. As far as I am concerned, it is meaningful to understand Jong Chian Lai’s works about Ethnic Chinese subjective construction. Besides, knowing how Ethnic Chinese present to other nations, especially to Malay, we can also know why in such way a writer present Ethnic Chinese, these should be recognized by Ethnic Chinese from all over the world, especially Malaysian Chinese, this is what they can not neglect. Jong Chian Lai’s Ethnic Chinese subjective construction has given Malaysian Chinese another possible thinking, also it has shown how Chinese writers think about being in Malaysia.