Chinese Identity Within American Culture:A Study Of Ha Jin's And Amy Tan's Works

Both labeled as "Chinese-American writer",Ha Jin and Amy Tan have much in common in their languages.Their novels contain abundant expressions marked with Chinese characteristics;also,Chinese culture is an inevitable factor in their works.However,Ha Jin and Amy Tan have very different backgrounds,and differ a lot in their understandings of China.This paper will take their respective masterpiece,Waiting and The Joy Luck Club,as an example,to explore the characteristics of their languages,and the representation and expression of their Chineseness in American culture.This paper consists of five parts:Introduction offers a sketch of Ha Jin's and Amy Tan's backgrounds and their respective masterpieces,Waiting and The Joy Luck Club,and also briefly presents the studies carried out both home and abroad,and the thesis statement.Chapter one examines the characteristics of Ha Jin and Amy Tan's languages.This chapter begins with an introduction of the concept of "China English" brought up by Chinese scholar Ge Chuangui,and both Ha Jin's and Tan's use of English can be classified into this category.This is followed by a discussion of the language of Lin Yutang,the precursor of China English,and Indian writer Salman Rushdie's masterpiece,Midnight's Children.Ha Jin's use of China English can be classified into three categories:(1)defamiliarization of common items;(2)items that embody epochal features;and(3)proverbs and common sayings.Amy Tan also engages the methods of defamiliarization and translation of proverbs,and besides this,she incorporates transliteration of Chinese phrases and mixes her mother's broken English in the text.A writer's choice of language is closely interwoven with his or her own experiences and views.Chapter two analyzes Ha Jin's background,literary views and the characteristics of his writings.Indian English literature,especially diasporic literature,has become a strong force in contemporary literary circles,and formed their own theories during this process,which can shed light on the study of Chinese diasporic literature.This chapter first studies the development of Indian English literature and the principle views formed during this process,and accordingly explores Ha Jin's views on homeland,native country,migrant writers,etc.Ha Jin holds that home is where one lives in a geographical sense,and writing is his spiritual homeland;he sees himself as a writer who stands alone,seeking existence in writing.Chapter three explores Amy Tan's background and writing techniques.Tan's mother had a deep influence on her,which is not only reflected in the stories and themes,but also in language.Based on her mother's telling,Tan would re-create the materials,and thus develops a distinctive style of her own.Familiar with both cultures,Tan could explain the differences between them ingeniously,or use the technique of imagery or symbols to promote the exchange between two cultures.This is inseparable with the influence of her family and the cultural background.Conclusion points out that although Ha Jin and Amy Tan both belong to Chinese-American writers,and have much in common in their languages at first glance,but they differ hugely in backgrounds,themes and writing techniques.They were born in the same decade,but it may be said that they actually belong to two different generations.Chineseness has different representation in their identity,and the root and the charm of their writings lie exactly in it.