(Question about things) Yin Xiaohuang: How does Chinese American literature shape the image of Chinese people?

　　China News Service, Beijing, December 17th, title: How does Chinese American literature shape the image of Chinese people?

　　——Interview with Yin Xiaohuang, tenured professor of American Western College

　　China News Agency reporter Ma Xiuxiu

　　Since the 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.

For more than a hundred years, how has Chinese American literature reflected the changes in the image of the Chinese community in the United States?

How should Chinese-American literature make breakthroughs and enhance American understanding of Chinese and Chinese culture?

　　Recently, Yin Xiaohuang, executive director of the China Overseas Friendship Association and tenured professor at Occidental College, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service on the above topics.

The summary of the interview record is as follows:

China News Service reporter: The "History of Chinese American Literature" you wrote 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 changes in the image of this group?

Yin Xiaohuang:

According to the Chinese experience in the United States, Chinese literary works can be roughly divided into three main stages.

　　One is the "early stage", that is, from the rise of the American "gold rush" in the mid-nineteenth century to the 1940s.

At this time, the Chinese mainly showed two images in literary works: hardworking, nostalgic for their homeland; protesting anger and appealing voices.

1848-1882 was the period when Chinese freely immigrated to the United States.

At that time, not only the "gold rush" attracted Chinese immigrants, but the United States recruited Chinese workers from China because of the large labor force needed to develop the western region.

Chinese literary works mostly describe the Chinese immigrants' hard work in the United States and their love for their homeland.

In 1882, the United States passed the "Chinese Exclusion Act". Social turmoil and economic downturn made Chinese workers no longer needed. Chinese immigrants became a competitive role in the labor market and became victims of domestic political struggles in the United States.

From 1882 to the abolition of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, the Chinese image of Chinese literary works was more angry, helpless, and appealing for social justice.

In May 2016, the copyright signing ceremony of "Pioneer" was held in Los Angeles.

The script was created by Chinese-American Li Jinyang. It tells the history of the Central Pacific Railway, the first railway across the North American continent, built by thousands of Chinese workers who crossed the ocean a hundred years ago.

Photo by Lu Wei issued by China News Service

　　The second is "transformation", that is, from the 1930s to the 1960s and 1970s.

In the 1930s, the United States suffered from the Great Depression. In order to stabilize the society, Roosevelt's New Deal (The New Deal) proposed to improve labor conditions and promote ethnic justice.

After the outbreak of World War II, the United States even more needed to unite with China to counter Japan.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943, and a large number of Chinese immigrants became American citizens. At the same time, the second generation of Chinese American writers emerged. Their works sought to prove that the Chinese were part of American society and showed the image of Chinese assimilation into American society. American social exclusion is beginning to be accepted.

　　The third is "contemporary", that is, from the 1960s to the present, the era of reshaping the image of the Chinese.

The United States passed the "Civil Rights Act" in 1964 and passed the new immigration law in 1965, giving Chinese people the same equal opportunities as immigrants from other countries. The 1960s was also the era of the rise of multicultural and multi-ethnic politics in American society, and a large number of overseas Chinese students came. Beauty has greatly increased the education ratio of Chinese in the United States, and many Chinese writers born in the United States have gradually matured, including Maxine Hong Kingston and Amy Tan, and some Peranakan writers have begun to emerge.

At this time, the image of the Chinese turned into authentic Chinese Americans, retaining the Chinese cultural traditions, such as diligence, dedication, education, honesty and pragmatism, and other Confucian cultural strengths, and a clear-cut stand against racial discrimination.

In November 2011, the first "China-US Culture and Art Forum" was held in Beijing. The famous Chinese writer Amy Tan (middle) discussed the similarities and differences between Chinese and American cultures based on their own experiences.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Hou Yu

　　In short, if we say that the literary image of Chinese Americans was helpless in the early stage and passively joined in the mid-term, now they are actively reshaping the Chinese image, starting to make a difference in various fields such as American technology, economy, education, and politics.

China News Service: Since the 1970s, Chinese-American literature has entered the mainstream of American literature.

What do you think of the development of Chinese American literature in the United States in recent years?

Yin Xiaohuang: The

entry of Chinese-American literature into the mainstream of American literature is historically inevitable, and it is a "hero made by the times."

In the 1960s, the United States passed the "Civil Rights Act" and the new immigration law. The Vietnam War forced the United States to re-examine Asia. From the 1970s to the 1980s, the information revolution and technological development brought new opportunities, and the world entered globalization. China Development has received widespread attention; since 1965, the Chinese population has grown substantially. Chinese movies and catering have been generally welcomed in the United States. American society urgently needs to understand China.

All these have provided opportunities, space 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 Maxine Hong Kingston, and Chinese literature has begun to be valued by mainstream American literature.

China News Agency reporter: There is a saying that overseas Chinese literature is "old songs and new songs" based on Chinese domestic literature.

According to your observation, what is the relationship between the two?

Yin Xiaohuang:

This statement has some truth, 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, Chinese immigrant writers, such as Yan Geling, who are influenced by Chinese literature and write in Chinese, belong to a more typical Chinese realism genre, and their writing style has traces of Chinese "scarred" literature.

The movie "Fang Hua" can be regarded as a reappearance of nostalgia and youth literature.

In this regard, it can be said that Chinese works of Chinese American literature originated from Chinese literature and are an overseas branch of Chinese literature.

After all, the market for Chinese works is limited in the United States. Based on the creative background and the needs of the reader community, authors must maintain connections with Chinese literature and the market.

In December 2017, the film "Fang Hua" held its premiere in Beijing.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan

　　But the English works have been completely reborn.

Chinese English works are actually American-style thinking and literary genres, and writing techniques, theme selection, and stylistic styles are the first to meet the needs of American readers.

For example, Maxine Hong Kingston’s masterpiece "The Woman Warrior" is very different from Chinese literature. It can only be said to be American literature with Chinese characteristics that was born in American society.

China News Agency reporter: At present, what are the main audience groups of Chinese literature in the United States?

What factors affect the audience of Chinese-American literature?

Yin Xiaohuang:

The main audience of Chinese works by Chinese is Chinese readers, especially new Chinese immigrants.

This group has a relatively high level of education, is proficient in Chinese, loves reading, and is closely connected with Chinese society, so there is interest and demand for understanding Chinese works.

　　The audience of Chinese English works is mainly the American middle class. For example, Maxine Hong Kingston's works are appreciated and loved by mainstream American women, and she became the first Asian female writer to win the American Presidential Literary Award.

If a work wants to succeed in the United States, especially literature, it must first impress the readers of American society, that is, middle-class women.

　　Although Chinese literature has now become part of the mainstream of American literature, it is still habitually labeled as "Chinese writers" in marketing and other aspects.

Although labeling can bring specific market groups, Chinese writers are American writers first. When Chinese literature completely removes the "Chinese" label, will it be fully accepted by American society.

China News Agency reporter: What role does Chinese literature play in enhancing American understanding of Chinese and Chinese culture?

In your opinion, how should you break through and win more American readers?

Yin Xiaohuang:

American Chinese literature is not only a channel to enhance American understanding of Chinese and Chinese society, but also makes American people aware of the richness of Chinese culture and social changes and progress.

　　If Chinese writers want to win more American readers, they first need to think from another perspective, stand on the stand of American mainstream society, think about Chinese stories, and break through certain established themes and frameworks.

Not only must we consider the needs of mainstream society, but also take into account the audience's response.

　　Second, we must understand who to talk to, what to talk to, how to talk to whom.

Consider that the audience is relatively unfamiliar with Chinese culture.

For example, if I translate "Anti-Japanese War" into Anti-Japanese War, my American students and colleagues will question whether China is biased against Japan; but with a slight modification, the translation into Anti-Japanese Invasion War will make it clear at a glance.

In addition, it is necessary to consider the integration of Chinese and Western.

Maxine Hong Kingston is very popular because she uses American literature as a carrier and draws inspiration from traditional Chinese stories.

These inspirations broke the thinking mode of English literature and refreshed American critics and readers.

　　Third, Chinese-American literature also needs to establish its own book review, publishing and marketing systems.

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 the real right to speak overseas.

(Finish)

About the interviewee:

Yin Xiaohuang, executive director of the China Overseas Friendship Association, and tenured professor of American Western College.

Photo courtesy of Yin Xiaohuang

　　Yin Xiaohuang, Ph.D. at Harvard University, tenured professor at Occidental College; executive director of the China Overseas Friendship Association, Changjiang Scholars Chair Professor, Dean of the School of Advanced Translation, Xi'an International Studies University, and doctoral supervisor of Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Major English books include "History of Chinese American Literature", "Chinese Americans and Sino-US Relations", and more than 100 English and Chinese papers and articles; participated in editing several academic works on Chinese immigration and cross-cultural exchanges, including "New America" People: American Immigration since 1960 (Harvard University), The Tower of the United States: A Collection of Essays on Language, Immigration, and Translation (Harvard University), etc.