A Cross-cultural Analysis Of The Reconstruction Of Patriarchal Order In Frank Chin's Gunga Din Highway

In the mid-19^th century,many Chinese immigrated to America as labors.Consequently,the prevailing Chinese patriarchal culture in China at that time was introduced to America and rooted in American Chinatowns.Frank Chin has been deeply affected by this culture and come of age with the internalization of the patriarchal gender identity,which defines male as dominant,heroic and masculine.However,the American mainstream society pursues the social system of white supremacy,and thus deprives the patriarchal power of the Chinese male by imposing the effeminate stereotypes on them.Chinese American men confront the identity crisis of both gender and race.This thesis aims to investigate the Chinese patriarchal order reconstructed in Frank Chin's novel Gunga Din Highway.From the perspective of cross-culture study paralleled with feminism,this study examines the attempt Chin makes to recapture the patriarchal identity.In order to disapprove of the distorted image of Chinese American men,Chin highlights the Chinese heroic tradition in the novel and endows it to his male protagonists.As another important approach to the reconstruction of the old Chinese patriarchy,Chin further dehumanizes various female characters in this novel into the Other of the patriarchal Chinese American man.This thesis consists of five chapters.Chapter One is designed to introduce the study background,including Chin's writing career,and a literature review of the researches in Gunga Din Highway at home and abroad.In addition,it also introduces the strategies of cross-culture study and feminism.Chapter Two focuses on how the Chinese American men lose their Chinese patriarchal identity in America.They are devalued by the white supremacist as effeminate,submissive and emasculate.Besides,their patriarchal authority is intendedly challenged by some Chinese American feminist writers.Their patriarchal identity is further destroyed by Charlie Chan and Fu Manchu,two typical stereotypes in the mass culture.Chapter Three begins with the explanation of the historical and cultural reasons for Chin to inherit the Chinese patriarchal tradition from Chinese American communities.Then it moves on to explore how Chin reconstructs the Chinese hero,Ulysses Kwan,in Gunga Din Highway and how he subverts the stereotype of the model minority incarnation,Longman Kwan.By contrasting the two characters,Chin endeavors to set up for the Chinese American man a role model,a masculine hero who strives for the reconstruction of his patriarchal identity.Chapter Four exhibits the final step of reconstructing the patriarchal order.The novel portrays two kinds of Chinese American female stereotypes.One is the Chinese heroine Lucinda who is hailed by Chin for practicing the masculine heroic tradition and refusing to submit to the authority of the white man.As a symbol of powerlessness,by contrast,she remains silent,obedient and submissive before the Chinese American man.The other female character,Pandora,is a converse image of Lucinda.She is condemned by Chin for embracing the white supremacist order and betraying the Chinese patriarchal tradition.By contrasting the two characters,Chin endeavors to set up for the Chinese American woman a role model,which contributes to a gender-biased patriarchal order.Chapter Five points out that the Chinese American male identity Chin pursues is the old Chinese patriarchal identity,and the Chinese American culture that he advocates in Gunga Din Highway is the old Chinese patriarchal culture.