Crisis And Reconstruction: A Study Of Masculinity In China Men

Masculinity serves as an important theme in Maxine Hong Kingston's second book China Men,different from the attention that feminism in her first book The Woman Warrior had received,Chinese men's experiences in America have been neglected,so did the concern about masculinity.Chinese men have long been emasculated in history,and they have been regarded as effeminate and sissy.Having heard and witnessed the sufferings of her forefathers and peers,Kingston seems to endeavor to deconstruct the emasculated images of Chinese men,and reconstruct their masculinity.Using myth,folklore,recollections and historical facts,Kingston tells the story of the immigrant Chinese men,and then addresses the different kinds of masculinity that are often unacknowledged and unaccounted for because they fall outside the pale of traditional or hegemonic manliness.This dissertation will endeavor to explore the crisis of masculinity that Chinese men encountered in America,how does Kingston reconstruct the masculinity of Chinese immigrants and what kind of masculinity Kingston tries to advocate in China Men,in the end,the new kind of masculinity have been highlighted.This thesis consists of three parts: an introduction,the main body and the conclusion.Introduction is a brief overview of Maxine Hong Kingston's literary status and literary achievements,critical reception of the book and theoretical basis will also be explained in this part.The main body of the thesis is divided into four chapters.Chapter one discuss the overall keynote of masculinity in China Men,the concept of masculinity,Asian American masculinity,and Kingston's understanding of masculinity will be discussed separately.Chapter two explores what kind of masculine crisis that Chinese men encountered in America,and the political and cultural reasons that cause it.Chapter three discusses how does Kingston try to reconstruct Chinese immigrants' masculinity.By transforming these Chinese immigrants' status from absence to presence,Kingston uncovers a history of tears,agony,and bearing,and unveils the contributions and sacrifices that they made to build a new American continent.To avoid creating new stereotypes,Kingston presents varied instead of homogenous characters.Furthermore,she uses two different genres in a single book to redefine the masculinity of Chinese men.Chapter four studies what kind of masculinity that Kingston wants to advocate.Kingston writes to transform the emasculated images of her forefathers,celebrate their contributions and prove their manhood,she unravels new versions of masculinity that show her refusal to validate a traditional Chinese masculinity.By manifesting the menial things that Bak Goong did,Kingston discards the restrictions that traditional conception in patriarchal society that lays on masculinity,she holds that traditional feminine forms of labor and emotion help to make Chinese men possess healthier masculinity.By presenting an educated and hardworking mother,Kingston disagrees with the traditional conception of family role that stipulating men do the bread-winning job and women do the housework,instead,she tries to build an equal relationship that men and women can help each other,thus constructing a masculine that is beneficial to the harmonious relationship.By telling the story of her brother,a new generation,she presents us a conciliatory and peaceful masculinity.Therefore,after consulting the relevant references and careful scrutiny of Kingston's works,a conclusion has been drawn in this paper that instead of validating the traditional masculinity that appeals to violence and class,Maxine Hong Kingston intends to explore a masculinity that inherits some traits from traditional conception of masculinity which requires men to be brave and strong,at the same time,by deconstructing the racial and gender formation,a wholesome and advanced masculinity has been constructed.