Representations of Chinese Masculinity in Chinese Australian Literature 1978-2008
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University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2012 Representations of Chinese masculinity in Chinese Australian literature 1978-2008 Zhong Huang University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. 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For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2012 Representations of Chinese masculinity in Chinese Australian literature 1978-2008 Zhong Huang University of Wollongong Recommended Citation Huang, Zhong, Representations of Chinese masculinity in Chinese Australian literature 1978-2008, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of English Literatures and Philosophy, University of Wollongong, 2012. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/3595 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] REPRESENTATIONS OF CHINESE MASCULINITY IN CHINESE AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE 1978-2008 A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree Doctor of Philosophy from UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONONG by Zhong Huang BA (Sichuan University, China), MA (Wuhan University, China) School of English Literatures and Philosophy 2012 THESIS CERTIFICATION I, Zhong Huang, declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the School of English Literatures and Philosophy, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Zhong Huang 26 March, 2012 II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I am greatly indebted to my supervisors, Professor Wenche Ommundsen and Dr Alison Broinowski, for their invaluable guidance and unwavering support for my research throughout the years. Before I came to Australia, I had been mostly involved in teaching and research regarding TESL. Although I had taken some literary courses while doing a MA at Wuhan University in China, my knowledge of literary theory and research methodology in literary studies was limited. Doing a PhD in literature was a daunting task for me, and supervising me was equally daunting for my supervisors. I felt like a primary school student before Wenche and Alison. I was ashamed of my ignorance and always worried that I would let them down. Aware of my background and concerns, Wenche and Alison went to great lengths to relieve me of anxiety and distress. Both the academic guidance and the spiritual solace I have received from them are unparalleled. I was moved as well as astonished when Wenche bought me a coffee as a reward for my good writing. In China, the relationship between teachers and students is hierarchical with teachers high up and students low down. It rarely happens in Chinese academia that students receive service from their teachers. It is the first time in my life that I have truly experienced equality. For me, her coffee as well as her complimentary remark “you deserve it” is a thousand times more precious than the most precious thing in the world. I was also touched when Alison bought a book for my son when she was attending a conference in Singapore. For a father like me, nothing is more endearing to him than genuine care for his children. My supervisors’ assistance has been multifaceted. To put it in one sentence, III this thesis would not have been possible without the high-quality supervision, care and consistent encouragement of Wenche and Alison. I owe a debt of gratitude to Prof. Ren Xiaojing, Prof. Chen Yiping, Dr Ouyang Yu and my other colleagues at the School of Foreign Languages and Literature of Wuhan University for recommending me to study in Australia. Had it not been for their recommendation and support, I would not have been able to come to Australia in the first place. I thank Associate Professor Tony Simoes da Silva and Dr Guy Davidson for giving me the opportunity to learn literary and cultural theory in their classes. I thank Dr Guy Davidson and Dr Michael Flood for reading my thesis and offering constructive ideas. I thank Mr Tao Min for offering me the opportunity to gain teaching experience in Australia, as well as introducing me to a number of Chinese Australian writers in Sydney. I thank my friends in the writing group for helping me develop a disciplined writing habit, providing me with constructive comments on my thesis and assisting with editing my writing. I would like to make special mention of Prof. Brian Martin, Narelle Campbell, Jenn Phillips, Nicola Marks and Trent Brown. My postgraduate peers, with whom I share the postgraduate corridor in the Arts IV Building, offer me assistance in various ways. My thanks go to Huo Yanxia, Nichole Georgeou, James Dahlstrom, Michael Matteson, Huang Dan, Emma Dalton, Ingeborg van Teeseling, Robert Carr, Stephanie Hanson, Marisa Ramos Goncalves, Clara Endah Triastuti, Raewyn Campbell, Amanda Anderson, Paula Arvela and Mostafa Azizpour, to mention only a few. I thank Peter Gibson for introducing Australian culture and Australian English to me. I am particularly grateful to him for offering free English lessons to my son and helping him assimilate into the local community. It is a great pleasure to thank my Bible Study tutors at the Corrimal Gospel Chapel, Colin Hadfield, Helen Hadfield, Dan Faulds and Rod Woollard, for providing me with biblical knowledge and knowledge about Western history and culture. I also thank Gong Xun and Xu Ruina for entertaining me with amusing anecdotes as well as nice food at their place. Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to my wife, Guo Xiaomin, for her encouragement and consistent support for my academic pursuits. It is because of her loving care for our parents that I have been able to concentrate on my research in Australia. I also thank my son, Huang Kai, for his company over the past two years. I apologise to those who have helped me in one way or another but whose contributions I have not acknowledged here. V ABSTRACT Though Chinese Australian writers have produced a large number of works in both Chinese and English, there is little research on their representation of Chinese masculinity. In particular, there is an absence of scholarship on the representation of Chinese masculinity in works by Chinese Australian writers of mainland background. This thesis intends to fill this void. I focus on fiction and autobiography by writers of mainland background. Writers who have published in Chinese or English include Ouyang Yu, Liu Guande, Huangfu Jun, Yan Tiesheng, Li Wei, Liu Ao, Ying Ge, Zhong Yazhang, Jin Kaiping, Li Cunxin, Cai Zixuan, Jin Xing, He Yuqin, Lingzhi, Shi Guoying, Su Shan’na, Xibei, Bi Xiyan, Xia’er and Wang Hong. I also include a study of Brian Castro’s novels in English, Birds of Passage and After China. This thesis aims to identify the models of Chinese masculinity that figure in the texts used in my research, as well as to examine the extent to which these models fit or challenge theories of masculinity. I combine gender theory, masculinity theory in particular, with narrative analysis. Relevant concepts include Kam Louie’s wen-wu dyad of Chinese masculinity, R.W. Connell’s ‘hegemonic masculinity/marginalised masculinity’ and ‘protest masculinity’, and Anthony S. Chen’s notion of the ‘hegemonic bargain’. VI The thesis argues that there is a marked difference between male Chinese authors, Chinese women writers and Brian Castro in their representation of Chinese masculinity. Male characters created by male writers are either confined to traditional models of Chinese masculinity epitomised by the scholar/intellectual or conform to the male ideal of the capitalist world embodied in the successful businessman. Models of masculinity constructed by male writers have attributes of Chinese patriarchy. However, male-constructed models of Chinese masculinity are challenged in the works of Chinese women writers. A shared feature in the texts of women writers is their incorporation of gender equality in the construction of ideal masculinity, which, in most cases, is embodied in a Western man. Castro’s Chinese men deviate from any established models of Chinese masculinity. The ‘hegemonic bargain’ that has been used to describe the North American Chinese diaspora does not necessarily apply to the male Chinese characters in these Australian texts.