The Evolution Of Chinese Culture In The 20th Century American Chinese English Literature

Chinese American English literature as a non-negligible branch of American literature has been more than a hundred years,since its inception in the late 19 th century.Since then,it has experienced a tortuous journey,from sporadic to prosperous,from being marginalized to being accepted by the mainstream.Throughout this process,Chinese culture has always been used in the different forms the American Chinese literature took during various periods.This paper takes the 20 th century American Chinese English literature as the research object,we attempt to analyze the attitudes of American born Chinese writers towards Chinese culture at different periods by combing through the presentation of Chinese culture in their works,we explore the causes of differences,and then sort out the evolution of Chinese culture at different periods of Chinese American English literature throughout the 20 th century.This will enhance our understanding of American Chinese literature,and also encourage us to understand the demands of American ethnic groups in different eras from the perspective of literature.The body part of the paper consisted of three chapters.In the introduction part,the author first gave a brief overview of the development of Chinese American English literature,and expounded the existence and importance of Chinese culture in Chinese American English literature in various periods of the 20 th century.Secondly,the author also compiled the research resultsof American Chinese literature at home and abroad,and analyzed the research status of Chinese American English literature.Based on this,the research purpose and research significance of this paper were proposed.The discussion in first chapter is based on Chinese American English literature from the late 19 th century to the 1960 s,the author explored the characteristics of the Chinese American English literature in its pioneering period,especially the phenomenon that the writers demonstrate Chinese culture by describing the daily life of ordinary Chinese in their works.First of all,this chapter analyzes the social,cultural conditions and the writing characteristics of Chinese writing groups of the Chinese American English literature in the pioneering period.American Chinese literature experienced the process from silence to vocalization from the earlydays.Chinese writers mainly spread Chinese culture by showing the daily life of ordinary Chinese,and try to find the understand ding and acceptance of American society.Secondly,this chapter focused on the analysis of representative work of Jade Snow Wong,mother of Chinese literature,Fifth Chinese Daughter.Fifth Chinese Daughter is very representative in the founding period of American Chinese literature.Therefore,the author takes Fifth Chinese Daughter as the research object,and deeply analyzes the description of the living customs and traditional Confucianism of Chinese people among it,and how the Fifth Chinese Daughter shows the traditional Chinese culture from the phenomenon level.Finally,this chapter discussed the reasons for the description of Chinese daily life customs and traditional Confucianism during this period,as well as the loyal new ordinary Chinese image created in their works.The second chapter takes the Chinese American English literature in the 1960 s and 1970 s as the research object,and discusses the characteristics of the transition period of Chinese American English literature,especially the rewriting and borrowing of heroes in Chinese classic literature.First of all,this chapter analyzes the social,cultural conditions and the writing characteristics of Chinese writing groups of the Chinese American English literature in the transition period.Due to the emergence of a series of social movements such as civil rights movement,feminist movement and Asian American movement,American Chinese literature faces challenges and opportunities during this period.A series of social movements have brought ideological impacts to all classes and nations of the United States,and the ethnic consciousness of Chinese writers has been generally awakened.They have incorporated a wider and richer range of Chinese cultural resources into their works,and used this to declare the particularity of Chinese ethnic groups.Secondly,this chapter focuses on the representative works of two Chinese writers,Maxine Hong Kingstong and Frank Chin.At the turning point of American Chinese literature,they both rewrote and reconstructed the prototypes of heroes in Chinese classic literature.Further,they all completed the reshaping of the image of ordinary Chinese.Maxine Hong Kingstong and Frank Chin created differences in their writing concepts due to differences in their respective positions and writing perspectives,which led to the "Zhao Tang's dispute"."Zhao Tang's dispute" has had an important impact on the writing ideas of Chinesewriters after that.Finally,this chapter discusses the reasons why Chinese writers have rewritten and borrowed traditional Chinese heroes as their writing strategies,and how to treat the " Zhao Tang's dispute ".The discussion in third chapter is based on Chinese American English literature after the end of 1980 s,the author explored the characteristics of the Chinese American literature in its prosperity period,especially the phenomenon that Chinese American English literature reflects on modernity of Chinese culture.First of all,First of all,this chapter analyzes the social,cultural conditions and the writing characteristics of Chinese writing groups of the American Chinese literature in the prosperity period.Due to the spread and popularity of multicultural thoughts,the American Chinese writers group began to reflect on their own identity and actively build their own ethnic identity around the world,and have more diverse appeals for their identity and cultural identity.Secondly,this chapter focuses on the works of representative new immigrant writer Ha Jin.He deeply reflected on the modernity of Chinese culture in his works as a discrete writer.By writing Chinese stories,Ha Jin shows the predicament of the characters in the traditional Chinese concept and the challenges people face under the impact of modern civilization.Finally,this chapter analyzes the identity consciousness and cultural identity constructed by Chinese writers under the spread of multicultural thoughts.The new concept of cultural identity prompted them to begin to reflect on the modernity of Chinese culture,thus enabling them to actively contribute to the modernization of Chinese culture by means of literary creation.In the conclusion part,the full text is summarized.In the more than 100 years since the American Chinese literature was created in the late 19 th century,Chinese culture has always been the source of writing for American Chinese writers,and it is also a special element for American Chinese writers to build ethnic identity and cultural identity.The Chinese writers' understanding of Chinese culture is gradually improving,and the development of Chinese culture is constantly promoted in the creation.Therefore,studying the evolution of Chinese culture in the 20 th century American Chinese English literature can enable us to understand the Chinese American ethnic group's thinking about their own survival in the development ofAmerican society in the 20 th century.It provides us with ideas for studying American Chinese literature in the 20 th century.In this process,we are shocked by the strong vitality and creativity of Chinese culture and are proud of it.