Study On The Identity Of Chinese American Playwrights

Since the middle of the 19th century,Chinese Americans have been struggling to survive in the United States for more than a hundred years,but they have not left the deep trace in the history and literature of the United States.It was 1970s and 1980s until Chinese American literary creation began to attract the attention of the mainstream American society under the infulence of various social movements,and Chinese American theatre finally entered the mainstream American theatre.Frank Chin and Genny Lim are up-and-coming Chinese American playwrights during this period,their works show great attention to the issue of the identity of the Chinese American community,and the study of identity has always been a prominent hotspot in the study of Chinese American literature.In their respective creations,the two playwrights used different methods to plot the history of Chinese people’s struggle to survive in America,which was deliberately obscured by the mainstream white society,and expressed a consistent historical identity,so that the true history of the Chinese can be presented on the stage.In the three paths of gender identity,social identity and cultural identity,the two playwrights confirmed their identities with obvious differences,and adopted different strategies in constructing and expressing these three types of identities.After breaking the racist stereotype imposed by white-centered power discourse on Chinese men,the surpassing heroic male gender identity is confirmed and constructed.Under the idea of establishing "Asian American sensibility",Frank Chin constructed the special independent social identity of "Tang people" by drawing lessons from African African experience.In the construction of cultural identity,in the 1970s and 1990s,he showed the choice of identity from alienation to return to traditional Chinese culture.When faced with gender prejudice,Genny Lim firstly demonstrated the excellence of Chinese women who are different from stereotypes.The good character and positive image of the Chinese woman give a strong sense of self and modernity to the group of Chinese women,constructing and expressing an awakened modern female gender identity.Genny Lim emphasizes self-consistency as a prerequisite for the construction of social identity,and builds an inclusive self-consistent social identity through the group portrait of Chinese immigrants.On this basis,her work combines the characteristics of Chinese culture and American mainstream culture,expressing her integrated cultural identity.Their discussion on the identity of Chinese descent in their works is of great referential significance in confirming the identity of the Chinese descent group in today’s globalized world.Standing at a new starting point for the development of American history,the contemporary Chinese group should inevitably confirm their historical identity at a correct node,that is,to transform from a participant in the past American history to a builder of the future development of American history.And social identity,cultural identity,gender identity,etc.,in a more inclusive and open modern society,if not examined with a more open and integrated perspective,it will eventually be eliminated by the torrent of the times.The reason why Frank Chin and Genny Lim stand out as pioneers in the theatre landscape of Chinese identity is not only that they gave Chinese theatre a place in the mainstream culture of the United States and exerted a profound influence on the later Chinese playwrights.More important is they caught the essential reason why Chinese American facing identity crisis and build the identity for Chinese American group through different paths,then they can finally make their own sound out.