UNIVERZITA PALACKÉHO V OLOMOUCI FILOZOFICKÁ FAKULTA Katedra Anglistiky a Amerikanistiky
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UNIVERZITA PALACKÉHO V OLOMOUCI FILOZOFICKÁ FAKULTA Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Šárka Velínská Chinese Immigrants to the United States in Yiyun Li ’s Works Bakalářská práce Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Matthew Sweney, Ph.D. Olomouc 2015 Prohlašuji, že jsem bakalářskou práci na téma “Chinese Immigrants to the United States in Yiyun Li ’s Works” vypracovala samostatně pod odborným dohledem vedoucího práce a uvedla jsem všechny použité podklady a literaturu. V Olomouci dne _________________ podpis Děkuji vedoucímu práce PhDr. Matthew Sweneymu a svým rodičům Františkovi a Šárce Velínským, kteří mě podporovali při studiu. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................. 6 2. Chinese-American Immigrants in the United States …............................................... 7 2.1 The First Wave …........................................................................................... 7 2.2 The Second Wave …....................................................................................... 9 2.3 Current Situation …........................................................................................ 9 2.4 Chinese-American Life Today …................................................................. 10 2.5 Return to China …........................................................................................ 12 3. Chinese-American Literature …................................................................................ 13 3.1 Definition and Differences …....................................................................... 13 3.2 Common Themes …..................................................................................... 14 3.3 Women Writers …........................................................................................ 15 3.4 Overview of the Literary Tradition ….......................................................... 16 4. Yiyun Li …................................................................................................................. 20 4.1 Biography …................................................................................................. 20 4.2 Writing …..................................................................................................... 22 4.3 Personal Views of America …...................................................................... 24 5. Chinese-American Characters in Li’s Works …......................................................... 25 5.1 General Description …................................................................................. 25 5.2 Short Stories …............................................................................................ 26 5.2.1 “The Princess of Nebraska” …...................................................... 26 5.2.2 “Son” …......................................................................................... 28 5.2.3 “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” …....................................... 28 5.2.4 “Prison” …..................................................................................... 29 5.2.5 “Gold Boy, Emerald Girl” …......................................................... 30 2.2.6 “Alone” …..................................................................................... 31 5.2.7 “The Science of Flight” …............................................................. 31 5.2.8 “A Sheltered Woman” …............................................................... 32 5.3 Kinder Than Solitude …............................................................................... 33 6. Conclusion …............................................................................................................. 36 7. Resumé ….................................................................................................................. 38 8. Bibliography ….......................................................................................................... 39 9. Anotation …............................................................................................................... 43 1. Introduction Yiyun Li is a remarkable contemporary Chinese-American author whose style does not quite fit into the traditional boxes created for Chinese immigrant literature, nor does she try to hide her roots. This thesis is focused on how she describes the characters of Chinese-American immigrants, and how much are they inspired by the real problems of immigration. It explores their reasons for leaving their homeland, maps how successful are their new lives in the United States, and how do they perceive the differences between China and America. To set the theme into the context, the first part describes the history of Chinese immigration to the United States from the very beginning until now. It depicts the two entirely different waves of Chinese who came to America, and shows the newest trends in immigration. The second part is concerned with the history of Chinese-American literature, its definition, common themes and gives a time line since the second half of nineteen century until now. Because there is a remarkable literary tradition of female authors, and the subject of this thesis is an outstanding woman herself, one of the parts is dedicated especially to Chinese-American woman writers. The next chapter is entirely devoted to Yiyun Li. Her biography offers a real life background comparable to her characters, mentioned are also her personal opinions on America which mirror in her works. There is a section which gives details about her works, and analyzes her unique style also in comparison to her predecessors. When all the information necessary for understanding of the Chinese-American community in the United States are provided, the last chapter can take one Chinese- American character from Li’s short stories and a novel after another, and after briefly describing their plot line, examine their views on life in both China and their new country. It is pointing out the similarities between different stories and characters, as well as their distinctions, and questions the importance of the impact the change of environment had on them. 6 2. Chinese American Immigrants in the United States 2.1 The First Wave The Chinese were among the first who immigrated to the U.S. during the California Gold Rush 1 in the 1850s. They were almost exclusively male laborers, driven from China by the political chaos and economic pressure after the Opium War, who found temporary jobs in mining, construction, agriculture and manufacturing. It is recorded that nearly 300 000 Chinese immigrants came to the U.S. between 1850 and 1889, but according to historians more than half of them ultimately returned to China. This estimation is confirmed by the 1890 census which records only 100 000 Chinese-born residents in the United States.2 The reason why most Chinese looked for salvation to the U.S., rather than other countries, is given by the historical happenings of 1840s furthermore backed by the very essence of Chinese culture. Since the 5th millennium B.C., when the Chinese civilization began, its core was the concept of tianxia which translates as “all under heaven”. It gave people within the borders of the empire feeling of unity and cultural entity in contrast to the uncivilized Others who lived outside. Confucians, however, believed that those barbarians can be uplifted by the presence alone of a man of virtue with Chinese cultural tradition who will become their model. This theory was seriously shaken only by the Western imperialism in Asia in the first half of 19th century. When the British won the Opium War in 1842, Chinese used the method proved by ages. They drew the least threatening and aggressive power to their side. And because Americans appeared the most respectful in their dealings after the opening of Chinese ports to the world, Chinese representatives put forth a view of Americans as pure-minded and honest partners with the late George Washington pictured by propaganda as an exemplary, flawless statesman of Confucian qualities. This was supposed to reduce the sting of humiliation caused by the West, and encouraged the interest of Chinese in the United States.3 1 “Chinese Americans,” last modified June 19, 2012, accessed September 30, 2015, http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/asianamericans-graphics/chinese/. 2 Kate Hooper and Jeanne Batalova, “Chinese Immigrants in the United States,” Migration Policy Institute, last modified January 28, 2015, accessed September 30, 2015, http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/chinese-immigrants-united-states. 3 Kevin Scott Wong, “The Transformation of Culture: Three Chinese Views of America,” American Quarterly 48.2 (1996): 205-209, accessed April 20, 2015, www.jstor.org/stable/30041535. 7 Unfortunately, they were bitterly disappointed and soon driven out by a wave of racism and ethnic discrimination caused by several factors. The whites perceived Chinese as morally and physically comparable to the barbaric blacks or animalistic Indians, and therefore found them worthy of the same treatment. On the other side, they were a source of more efficient labor than the other two groups and much cheaper than white workers, thus becoming a strong competition for native laborers in the time of declining profits and economic crisis. Racist political propaganda was further supported by a common fear of Asians as so called “yellow peril”. People believed that since the Chinese were introduced to modern western