Yin Xiaohuang: How does Chinese-American literature shape the image of the Chinese?
China News Service, Beijing, December 17 Title: How does Chinese-American literature shape the image of the Chinese?
——Interview with Yin Xiaohuang, tenured professor of Western College in the United States
China News Service reporter Ma Xiuxiu
Since Chinese immigrants published the first Chinese newspaper in the United States in 1854 and the first English literary work in 1887, Chinese-American literature has a history of more than 100 years. Literary works are records of the times. Over the past hundred years, chinese literature has reflected the image changes of the Chinese community in the United States. How should Chinese literature break through and enhance American understanding of Chinese and Chinese culture?
Recently, Yin Xiaohuang, executive director of the China Overseas Friendship Association and tenured professor of Occidental College in the United States, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Question" on the above topics.
The interview transcript is summarized below:
China News Service: The "History of Chinese American Literature" written by you is considered to be the most detailed and authoritative research result of Chinese American literature to date. In your opinion, how does the literary works of Chinese Americans in different periods reflect the image changes of this group?
Yin Xiaohuang: According to the experience of Chinese people in the United States, Chinese literary works can be roughly divided into three main stages.
The first is the "early days", that is, from the rise of the "gold rush" in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century to the 1940s. At this time, the Chinese mainly showed two images in literary works: hard work and struggle, attachment to the homeland, and protest anger and the voice of appeal. 1848-1882 was a period of free Chinese immigrants to the United States. At that time, not only did the "gold rush" attract Chinese immigrants, but the United States recruited Chinese workers from China because of the large number of laborers needed to develop the western region. Chinese literature mostly describes chinese immigrants working hard in the United States and their attachment to their homeland. In 1882, the United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, social unrest, economic downturn, no longer need Chinese workers, Chinese immigrants into the role of competing in the labor market, and became the victims of domestic political struggle in the United States. From 1882 to the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States in 1943, the Chinese image in Chinese literature was more angry, helpless and appealed to social justice.
In May 2016, the signing ceremony of the copyright of "Pioneers" was held in Los Angeles. Written by Chinese-American Lai Kam-yang, the script tells the story of the Central Pacific Railway, the first transcontinental railway across North America, a hundred years ago when thousands of Chinese workers crossed the ocean. Photo by Lu Wei, China News Service
The second is "transformation", that is, from the 1930s to the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1930s, the United States suffered the Great Depression, and in order to stabilize society, Roosevelt's New Deal proposed to improve the labor situation and promote ethnic fairness. After the outbreak of World War II, the United States needed to unite with China to counter Japan. In 1943, the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed, a large number of Chinese immigrants joined the United States, and the second generation of Chinese American writers rose up, and their works turned to seek to prove that the Chinese were part of American society, showing the image of Chinese assimilation in American society, and Chinese immigrants were ostracized from Being Ostracized by American Society to being accepted.
The third is "contemporary", that is, from the 1960s to the present, it is the era of reshaping the image of the Chinese. In 1964, the United States passed the Civil Rights Act, and in 1965, a new immigration law was passed, so that Chinese people had the same equal opportunities as immigrants from other countries; the 1960s was also the era of the rise of multiculturalism and multi-ethnic politics in American society, coupled with a large number of Chinese students coming to the United States, which greatly increased the proportion of Chinese educated in the United States, and many Chinese writers born in the United States gradually matured, including Maxine Hong Kingston and Amy Tan. And some native Chinese writers began to emerge. At this time, the image of the Chinese was transformed into an authentic Chinese-American, retaining the Chinese cultural traditions, such as diligence and dedication, emphasis on education, honesty and pragmatism, and other Confucian culture, and took a clear stand against racial discrimination.
In November 2011, the first "Sino-US Culture and Art Forum" was held in Beijing, and the famous Chinese writer Tan Enmei (center) discussed the similarities and differences between Chinese and American cultures based on her own experience. Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu
In short, if the literary image of Chinese Americans was helpless in the early days and passively joined in the medium term, now it is actively reshaping the image of Chinese people, and has begun to make achievements in various fields such as science and technology, economy, education and even politics in the United States.
China News Service: Since the 1970s, Chinese literature has begun to enter the mainstream of American literature. How do you see the development of Chinese literature in the United States in recent years?
Yin Xiaohuang: The entry of Chinese literature into the mainstream of American literature is a historical necessity and a "hero created by the times". In the 1960s, the United States passed the Civil Rights Act and new immigration laws, the Vietnam War forced the United States to re-examine Asia; from the 1970s to the 1980s, the information revolution and the development of science and technology brought new opportunities, the world entered globalization, and China's development received widespread attention; since 1965, the Chinese population has grown significantly, Chinese films, television, and catering have been generally welcomed in the United States, and American society urgently needs to understand China. All these have provided opportunities, spaces and markets for Chinese literature to enter the mainstream of American literature, and more Chinese writers have begun to show their talents.
Nowadays, the literary anthologies issued by major publishing houses in the United States include works by Chinese writers such as Tang Tingting, and Chinese literature has begun to be valued by mainstream American literature.
China News Service: There is a saying that overseas Chinese literature is an "old song and new singing" based on China's domestic literature. What do you think is the relationship between the two?
Yin Xiaohuang: There is some truth to this statement, but it is not accurate.
Chinese American literature can be divided into two categories: Chinese works and English works.
As far as Chinese works are concerned, due to the influence of Chinese literature, Chinese immigrant writers who use Chinese to create, such as Yan Geling, belong to a more typical Chinese realist genre, and their creative style has traces of Chinese "scarred" literature. The movie "Fanghua" can be regarded as a reproduction of nostalgia and youth literature. In this regard, it can be said that the works Chinese Chinese American literature originated from Chinese literature and are an overseas branch of Chinese literature. After all Chinese works have a limited market in the United States, and the author must maintain a relationship with Chinese literature and the market based on the creative background and the needs of the readership group.
In December 2017, the film "Fanghua" held its premiere in Beijing. Photo by Liu Guanguan, a reporter of the China News Service
But English-language works have been reborn. Chinese English works are actually American style thinking and literary genres, and writing techniques, theme selection, and stylistic styles first adapt to the needs of American readers. For example, Tang Tingting's masterpiece "Female Warrior" and Chinese literature are very different, and can only be said to be American literature with Chinese colors that was born in American society.
China News Service: At present, what are the main audiences of Chinese literature in the United States? What factors affect the audience of Chinese literature?
Yin Xiaohuang: The main audience of Chinese Chinese works is Chinese readers, especially Chinese newcomers. This group is highly educated, well-versed in Chinese, loves to read, and has close ties with Chinese society, so there is an interest and demand for understanding Chinese works.
The audience of Chinese English works is mainly the Middle Class in the United States, for example, Tang Tingting's works are deeply appreciated and loved by mainstream Women in the United States, and she has become the first Asian female writer to win the U.S. Presidential Literature Award. If a work wants to be successful in the United States, especially in literature, it must first impress the main reading subject of American society, that is, middle-class women.
Although Chinese literature has become a mainstream part of American literature, it is still habitually labeled as "Chinese writer" in marketing and other aspects. Although labeling can bring specific market groups, Chinese writers are first and foremost American writers, and when Chinese literature completely removes the "Chinese" label, it can be completely accepted by American society.
China News Service: What role does Chinese literature play in enhancing the understanding of Chinese and Chinese culture in the United States? How do you think you can break through and win more American readers?
Yin Xiaohuang: Chinese-American literature is not only a channel to enhance the understanding of chinese people and Chinese society in the United States, but also makes the American people aware of the richness of Chinese culture and the changes and progress of society.
If Chinese writers want to win more American readers, they first need to think differently, stand in the mainstream social position of the United States, think about Chinese stories, and break through certain established themes and frameworks. It is necessary to consider the needs of mainstream society, but also to take into account the audience response.
Second, we must understand to whom, what to say, how and to whom. Consider that the audience is relatively unfamiliar with Chinese culture. For example, when translating "The War of Resistance Against Japan" as "Anti-Japanese War," my American students and colleagues would question whether China was biased against Japan; but with a slight change, the translation as Anti-Japanese Invasion War would make it clear. In addition, consider integrating East and West. Tang Tingting is popular because she uses American literature as a vehicle to draw inspiration from traditional Chinese stories. These inspirations broke the mindset of English literature and refreshed American critics and readers.
Third, Chinese literature also needs to establish its own supporting system of book review, publishing and marketing. In the United States, the book review system is extremely important, and Chinese literature currently lacks a complete book review system. Only by creating its own literary evaluation system can American Chinese literature and even Chinese stories have a real voice overseas. (End)
Respondent Profiles:
Yin Xiaohuang is the executive director of the China Overseas Friendship Association and a tenured professor at Western College in the United States. Courtesy of Yin Xiaohuang
Yin Xiaohuang is a Ph.D. student at Harvard University and a tenured professor at Occidental College, executive director of the China Overseas Friendship Association, Yangtze River Scholar Chair Professor, dean of the School of Advanced Translation of Xi'an University of Foreign Chinese, and doctoral supervisor of Northwestern Polytechnical University. His major English books include A History of Chinese American Literature, Chinese Americans and Sino-American Relations, and more than 100 Papers and Articles in English and Chinese; he has participated in the editing of several academic works on Chinese immigration and cross-cultural exchange, including New Americans: American Immigrants Since 1960 (Harvard University) and "The Tower of Americans: Language, Immigration, and Translation Papers" (Harvard University).