DOCSLIB.ORG

Nicole Mones: a Novelist Who Exemplifies Chinese-American Friendship Andrea Kempf Johnson County Community College, [email protected]

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Nicole Mones: a Novelist Who Exemplifies Chinese-American Friendship Andrea Kempf Johnson County Community College, Akempf@Jccc.Edu Johnson County Community College ScholarSpace @ JCCC Library Papers and Presentations Billington Library Summer 2015 Nicole Mones: A Novelist Who Exemplifies Chinese-American Friendship Andrea Kempf Johnson County Community College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarspace.jccc.edu/lib_pp Recommended Citation Kempf, Andrea, "Nicole Mones: A Novelist Who Exemplifies Chinese-American Friendship" (2015). Library Papers and Presentations. 24. http://scholarspace.jccc.edu/lib_pp/24 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Billington Library at ScholarSpace @ JCCC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Library Papers and Presentations by an authorized administrator of ScholarSpace @ JCCC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. --,---------- - -------------------I( Book Reviews J periment that until recently enslaved ed China in World War II. blacks and women. But her main Nicole Mones: A As the paleontologists begin their focus is China. Novelist Who work, Alice learns about Chinese Sections include China's history archaeological prehistory. She also (chaotic), urban migration (doubled Exemplifies learns about some of the horrors in past 20 years), health care (un­ of the Cultural Revolution from a stable), materialism (on the rise), Chinese-American Chinese archaeologist in the group the pursuit of religion, and environ­ Friendship whose wife has been missing for 20 mental challenges. Of this last topic, By Andrea Kempf years since her arrest. Combining she writes, "More than three-fourths the present with the past, American of the country's forests have disap­ Delacorte Press: racial prejudice with Chinese racial peared. Two-thirds of its 600 cities • Lost in Translation, 1998 prejudices, and a serious investigation fail to meet the country's air quality of archaeology, Mones offers readers a • A Cup Light, 2002 standards. Only one percent of Chi­ of view of China rarely seen in American na's urban dwellers breathe air con­ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: fiction. She writes with the knowl­ sidered safe. Water pollution is severe • The Last Chinese Chef, 2007 edge of an insider who is captivated and deteriorating. Ninety percent of • Night in Shanghai, 2014 by China and Chinese culture. urban rivers are polluted, 62 percent A Cup ofLight, published four years of surface water cannot support fish, In 1977 at the age of 25, speaking later, was the author's second novel. and 26 percent is unsuited for any no Chinese, Nicole Mones went to In this work she moves to the world purpose. In addition, about one hun­ China and began trading textiles. of Chinese porcelain and into the dred cities in northern China were In the course of seventeen years she universe of art lovers, art forgers, and suffering severe water shortages." learned Chinese, developed a thriving smugglers. Again she introduces the Interspersed among these alarm­ bUSiness, and observed the astound­ reader to an American woman in Chi­ ingly heavy topics are personal vi­ ing changes that followed the end of na, protagonist Lia Frank, an expert in gnettes about the realization of her the Cultural Revolution. Then she antique porcelain. She has been sent impossible dream to study in the U.S. began to write novels drawing on her to China to evaluate a collection for And at the end of each chapter is a experiences and the things she had a buyer in the United States. section wrap-up, which reiterates the learned and observed. So far she has In this book, as in Lost In Trans­ East-West differences presented, but published four highly praised works lation, a lonely American woman is stresses these should be complemen­ of fiction that focus on Americans working in China. She becomes in­ tary differences. living and working in China, their volved in intrigues surrounding the "In to day's globalized world, it relationships with Chinese men and collection. Are the pieces authentic? is in our best interest to learn from women, and little-known aspects of How will the sellers smuggle the each other. Once we understand the Chinese history and culture. collection into Hong Kong since it different modes of thought between Published in 1998, Mones's first is illegal to sell Chinese treasures the West and the East, such as linear novel, Lost in Translation, won the abroad? Who forges these pieces with versus non-linear thinking, we can Kafka Prize for the year's best work of such accuracy? see they are actually complementa­ fiction by an American woman, the Pa­ The reader and Lia encounter ry, like the right and left sides of the cific Northwest Bookseller's Association smugglers, forgers, and Chinese brain. By learning to use both, we can Book Award for the year's best novel officials who want to keep China's achieve a greater oneness in thought from the five northwestern states, and historical treasures in China. She also that we can use to enhance personal was selected as one of the New York meets an American doctor who just and global problem solving for the Times Book Review's Notable,Books. might add romance to her hitherto betterment of all." It tells the story of Alice Manneg­ quiet life. This novel is part mystery, The Chinese Dream will be of inter­ an, the daughter of a Congressman part romance, and part scholarly les­ est to those readers wanting a basic noted for his prejudice against African son on the history and art of Chinese summary of some of the major issues Americans. To flee her father's racist porcelain. A Cup of Light illuminates facing China and the U.S. today, and reputation, Alice moved to China an aspect of Chinese art and history those needing a reminder of why it's where she is an interpreter for En­ that most readers will encounter for vital- as many members have oft glish-speaking business people. She the first time. repeated- that our nations be friends. also actively pursues one-night stands Mones's third novel, The Last with Chinese men she picks up in Chinese Chef, explores the Chinese ~ bars. Then she is hired by an Ameri­ culinary world. The protagonist is lana McBurney-Lin, author of My Half can paleontologist who believes the Sam Liang, a direct descendent of of the Sky (Komenar, 2006) and Blos­ missing bones of the Peking man were the last Chinese Emperor's chief chef. soms and Bayonets (Redwood, 2012), hidden in the deserts of Northwest Sam has returned to China to open is President of the USCPFA South Bay a restaurant and reconnect with his Chapter. China by the French scholar Teilhard do Chardin when the]apanese invad- family, whose attention to culinary Summer 2015 US-CHINA REVIEW. 19 [Book Reviews Jf-------- - ----- --- ----- -- excellence exceeds the imagination. there is Mones's Signature love story ascendancy that was filled with chaos He is also competing for a place on to keep the readers' interest. and bloodshed- a month that seems the Chinese Olympic Food Team. In sum, Nicole Mones has written to have disappeared from the memo­ Enter Maggie McElroy, an Amer­ four fascinating novels about Amer­ ries of the Chinese citizenry. ican food writer whose magazine icans in China in the 20th and 21st The mystery of the missing month has sent her to China to write about centuries from an insider's perspec­ is driving certain people on a mis­ Sam's restaurant while she is also on tive. She has explored archaeology, sion. They want to know the truth. a personal mission to discover if her fine porcelain art history, cuisine, and This disparate group includes an recently deceased husband had a Shanghai on the eve of World War II. itinerate world traveler named Fang child in China and whose family is She speaks Chinese, she knows the Caodi; Little Xi, a failed lawyer who pressing a claim against the estate. Chinese people. She is a member of posts anti-government screeds on Again Mones manages to combine the Committee on U.S.-China Rela­ the Internet as she hides in various a romance with a serious discussion of tions. She may possibly be the first places throughout China; and Zhang an aspect of Chinese culture, this time American woman since Pearl Buck to Dou, a young man who was a child food. And the author does know her write so knowledgeably about China. slave-laborer and now plays guitar in food. She is a contributing writer for Her novels are well worth reading.~ small restaurants. They converge on Gourmet Magazine. The Last Chinese a noted Taiwanese author, Old Chen, Chef won first place in the World Andrea Kempf, Professor/Librarian who has moved to Beijing because life Gourmand Cookbook Award contest Emeritus at Johnson County Commu­ has become so pleasant in China. in the U.S. and third place worldwide. nity College in Overland Park, Kansas, At first, Old Chen doesn't want Most delightful is her depiction of was named Fiction Book Reviewer of the to get involved with these people. Sam's cranky family of chefs who Year 2000 by the Library Journal. She However, he has a long-standing want him to succeed, but are rigid in is also an alumna of the Asian Studies crush on Little Xi, so his romantic their approaches to perfection. Development Program at the East-West interest gets the better of his desire Finally there is her latest novel, Center, University of Hawai'i. to continue his pleasant existence. Night in Shanghai. This time Nicole Then Fang Caodi begins to present Mones ventures into Chinese histo­ his evidence to Old Chen. It seems ry. She writes about Shanghai in the New literature from that old publications and journals 1930s on the verge of World War II.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • China As Dystopia: Cultural Imaginings Through Translation Published In: Translation Studies (Taylor and Francis) Doi: 10.1080/1
    China as dystopia: Cultural imaginings through translation Published in: Translation Studies (Taylor and Francis) doi: 10.1080/14781700.2015.1009937 Tong King Lee* School of Chinese, The University of Hong Kong *Email: [email protected] This article explores how China is represented in English translations of contemporary Chinese literature. It seeks to uncover the discourses at work in framing this literature for reception by an Anglophone readership, and to suggest how these discourses dovetail with meta-narratives on China circulating in the West. In addition to asking “what gets translated”, the article is interested in how Chinese authors and their works are positioned, marketed, and commodified in the West through the discursive material that surrounds a translated book. Drawing on English translations of works by Yan Lianke, Ma Jian, Chan Koonchung, Yu Hua, Su Tong, and Mo Yan, the article argues that literary translation is part of a wider programme of Anglophone textual practices that renders China an overdetermined sign pointing to a repressive, dystopic Other. The knowledge structures governing these textual practices circumscribe the ways in which China is imagined and articulated, thereby producing a discursive China. Keywords: translated Chinese literature; censorship; paratext; cultural politics; Yan Lianke Translated Literature, Global Circulations 1 In 2007, Yan Lianke (b.1958), a novelist who had garnered much critical attention in his native China but was relatively unknown in the Anglophone world, made his English debut with the novel Serve the People!, a translation by Julia Lovell of his Wei renmin fuwu (2005). The front cover of the book, published by London’s Constable,1 pictures two Chinese cadets in a kissing posture, against a white background with radiating red stripes.
    [Show full text]
  • Critique of Anthropology
    Critique of Anthropology http://coa.sagepub.com/ The state of irony in China Hans Steinmüller Critique of Anthropology 2011 31: 21 DOI: 10.1177/0308275X10393434 The online version of this article can be found at: http://coa.sagepub.com/content/31/1/21 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com Additional services and information for Critique of Anthropology can be found at: Email Alerts: http://coa.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://coa.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://coa.sagepub.com/content/31/1/21.refs.html >> Version of Record - Mar 30, 2011 What is This? Downloaded from coa.sagepub.com at NATIONAL CHENGCHI UNIV LIB on February 23, 2012 Article Critique of Anthropology 31(1) 21–42 The state of irony ! The Author(s) 2011 Reprints and permissions: in China sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0308275X10393434 coa.sagepub.com Hans Steinmu¨ller Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics Abstract In everyday life, people in China as elsewhere have to confront large-scale incongruities between different representations of history and state. They do so frequently by way of indirection, that is, by taking ironic, cynical or embarrassed positions. Those who understand such indirect expressions based on a shared experiential horizon form what I call a ‘community of complicity’. In examples drawn from everyday politics of memory, the representation of local development programmes and a dystopic novel, I distinguish cynicism and ‘true’ irony as two different ways to form such communities. This distinction proposes a renewed attempt at understanding social inclusion and exclusion.
    [Show full text]
  • The Global Politics of China
    The Global Politics of China Instructor: Daniel Large Instructor Contact: [email protected] Department: School of Public Policy, Central European University Number of Credits: 2. Teaching Format: Seminar. Semester: Winter 2019. Course Status: Elective. Office Hours: Tuesday 4-5pm, October 6 u. 7, 2nd floor, Office 241. Course Description This course provides an intensive introduction to the global politics of China. As well as a crucial intellectual challenge today, China is increasingly important for a range of policy engagements. While China has become globally prominent in recent times, this course is not just about current affairs or foreign policy per se. It also explores how China came to be in its current circumstances, and the interconnections between China’s ‘domestic’ and ‘global’ relations. The first part of the course explores the politics of history and China’s modern historical trajectory. Going beyond a unitary conception of the Chinese state, the second part examines the nature and domestic sources of China’s foreign policy before exploring key themes in its global politics. Finally, it analyses China’s changing engagement with and role in global governance. Throughout, it will involve active learning. Learning Goals and Outcomes This course aims to provide an intensive orientation to the changing global politics of China. While providing a structured framework to achieve this, it also seeks to enable individual learning pathways and enhance analytical, writing and verbal skills. By the end of the course, students should be able to: • Understand the historical trajectory behind China’s current world role, and the politics of history; • Understand the interplay between China’s domestic and global politics; • Critically assess and engage debates about China’s (re)emergence and evolving global role; • Undertake further, more indepth study into the global politics of China.
    [Show full text]
  • The 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests in Chinese Fiction and Film
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Making the Censored Public: The 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests in Chinese Fiction and Film A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature by Thomas Chen Chen 2016 © Copyright by Thomas Chen Chen 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Making the Censored Public: The 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests in Chinese Fiction and Film by Thomas Chen Chen Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature University of California, Los Angeles, 2016 Professor Kirstie M. McClure, Co-Chair Professor Robert Yee-Sin Chi, Co-Chair Initiated by Beijing college students, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests—"Tiananmen"— shook all of China with their calls for democratic and social reforms. They were violently repressed by the Chinese state on June 4, 1989. Since then, their memory has been subject within the country to two kinds of censorship. First, a government campaign promulgating the official narrative of Tiananmen, while simultaneously forbidding all others, lasted into 1991. What followed was the surcease of Tiananmen propaganda and an expansion of silencing to nearly all mentions that has persisted to this day. My dissertation examines fiction and film that evoke Tiananmen from within mainland China and Hong Kong. It focuses on materials that are particularly open to a self-reflexive reading, such as literature in which the protagonists are writers and films shot without authorization that in their editing indicate the precarious ii circumstances of their making. These works act out the contestation between the state censorship of Tiananmen-related discourse on the one hand and its alternative imagination on the other, thereby opening up a discursive space, however fragile, for a Chinese audience to reconfigure a historical memory whose physical space is off limits.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded from Brill.Com09/28/2021 07:12:07AM Via Free Access 144 Xi Jinping’S Leadership Style
    Asian International Studies Review Vol. 17 No.2 (December 2016): 143-158 143 Received September 7, 2016 Revised November 10, 2016 Accepted December 2, 2016 Xi Jinping’s Leadership Style: Master or Servant? KERRY BROWN* Much commentary has been made about the amount of power that Xi Jinping has accrued since the leadership transition over 2012 and into 2013. He is interpreted by many as being the most powerful of modern Chinese leaders. But his leadership needs to be interpreted carefully within the organisation that he leads and whose interests he and his colleagues serve–the Communist Party of China. Looking at his relationship with this body reveals a more complex framework within which to see his real authority, one which implies that he is as much a servant of its corporate interests as he is an autonomous, self- serving agent. Keywords: Xi Jinping, China, Leadership, Power, Politics, Authority * Professor, King’s College, London, the UK; E-mail: [email protected] DOI: 10.16934/isr.17.2.201612.143 Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 07:12:07AM via free access 144 Xi Jinping’s Leadership Style I. INTRODUCTION From November 2012, when Xi Jinping emerged as the Party Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), he has been talked of as being the most powerful leader the country has had since the era of Deng Xiaoping, who was the paramount leader from 1978 to the 1990s. Some have even claimed his power equals that of regime founder Mao Zedong (Nathan 2016). But it is clear in these discussions that we need to differentiate between two levels of power, or two contexts within which to consider Xi, to make any headway with this question.
    [Show full text]
  • Master´S Thesis 2020 Bc. Denisa Máchová
    Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of Chinese Studies Master´s Thesis 2020 Bc. Denisa Máchová Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of Chinese Studies Cultural Studies of China Bc. Denisa Máchová The Self – loathing Discourse in the Theme of Modernisation in the Chinese Literature of the 20th Century Master´s Thesis Supervisor: Mgr. et Mgr. Dušan Vávra, Ph.D. 2020 I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and it contains no other materials written or published by any other person except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. Brno, May 2020 …..…………………… The thesis was completed within the cooperation framework between the Department of Chinese Studies (Masaryk University) and the Institute of China Studies (Zhejiang University). During my two- semester stay in China, the thesis was supervised by Prof. Jiang Wentao 姜文涛, Associate Professor in School of International Studies at Zhejiang University, China. ABSTRACT This thesis elaborates the self-loathing discourse in the theme of modernization in 20th century Chinese literature. The main question is how the discourse of self-loathing is elaborated in chosen works from the 20th century and how is it evolving during this century. This work is divided into four chapters. The first one contains the definition of self-loathing, the presentation of main historical events of the 20th century and philosophical changes in Chinese society during the 20th century. The second chapter presents the authors, their lives, creation, writing style and general attitude towards modernisation of Chinese society. The third chapter contains the discourse analysis of chosen literature works and presents the concrete examples of discourse of self-loathing, which were found.
    [Show full text]
  • Dreamers and Nightmares Political Novels by Wang Lixiong and Chan Koonchung
    China Perspectives 2015/1 | 2015 Utopian/Dystopian Fiction in Contemporary China Dreamers and Nightmares Political novels by Wang Lixiong and Chan Koonchung Chaohua Wang Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/6636 DOI: 10.4000/chinaperspectives.6636 ISSN: 1996-4617 Publisher Centre d'étude français sur la Chine contemporaine Printed version Date of publication: 1 March 2015 Number of pages: 23-31 ISSN: 2070-3449 Electronic reference Chaohua Wang, « Dreamers and Nightmares », China Perspectives [Online], 2015/1 | 2015, Online since 01 January 2017, connection on 28 October 2019. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/ chinaperspectives/6636 ; DOI : 10.4000/chinaperspectives.6636 © All rights reserved Special feature China perspectives Dreamers and Nightmares Political novels by Wang Lixiong and Chan Koonchung CHAOHUA WANG ABSTRACT: Wang Lixiong’s Yellow Peril (1991) represents the return of political fiction of the future not seen in China for decades. Chan Koonchung’s The Fat Years (2009) brings the imagination to a full dystopian vision. Reading the two novels side by side, this paper argues that Chinese fiction of the future in the early 1990s responded to the country’s struggle for direction when the bloody crackdown of the Tiananmen protest wiped out collective idealism in society. In the twenty-first century, such fiction is written in response to China’s rapid rise as one of the world’s superpowers, bringing to domestic society a seemingly stabilised order that has deprived it of intellectual vision. KEYWORDS: Political novel, dystopian literature, Wang Lixiong, Chan Koonchung, Yellow Peril , The Fat Years . Introduction G. Wells, but his critical edge was not perceptively appreciated in China.
    [Show full text]
  • South Korea and the US
    Joint U.S.-Korea Academic Studies 2013 | Volume 24 Editor-in-Chief: Gilbert Rozman, Princeton University KEI Editorial Board KEI Editors: Abraham Kim, Nicholas Hamisevicz Contract Editor: Gimga Group Design: Gimga Group The Korea Economic Institute of America is registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as an agent of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, a public corporation established by the Government of the Repubic of Korea. This material is filed with the Department of Justice, where the required registration statement is available for public inspection. Registration does not indicate U.S. government approval of the contents of this document. KEI is not engaged in the practice of law, does not render legal services, and is not a lobbying organization. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. While this monograph is part of the overall program of the Korea Economic Institute of America endorsed by its Officers, Board of Direc- tors, and Advisory Council, its contents do not necessarily reflect the views of individual members of the Board or of the Advisory Council. Copyright © 2013 Korea Economic Institute of America www.keia.org Printed in the United States of America. ISSN 2167-3462 Contents KEI Board of Directors ...........................................................................................................................i KEI Advisory Council.............................................................................................................................ii
    [Show full text]
  • Chinese Classics Present Future, November 2018
    Wordtrade.com| 1202 Raleigh Road 115| Chapel Hill NC 27517| USA ph 9195425719| fx 9198691643| www.wordtrade.com Spotlight 043 Here in 'China' I Dwell: Reconstructing Historical Discourses of China for Our Time by Ge Zhaoguang, translated by Jesse Field, Qin Fang Chinese Classics [Brill's Humanities in China Library, Brill, 9789004279971] Present Future The Reincarnated Giant: An Anthology of Twenty- First-Century Chinese Science Fiction by Mingwei Song and Theodore Huters [Weatherhead Books on Table of Contents Asia, Columbia University Press, 9780231180221] Studies on Contemporary Chinese Philosophy (1949– Slender Man Is Coming: Creepypasta and 2009) by Guo Qiyong, translated by Paul J. Contemporary Legends on the Internet edited by D’Ambrosio, Robert Carleo III, Joanna Guzowska, Chad Meyers, Martyna Świątczak et al. [Modern Trevor J. Blank & Lynne S. McNeill [Utah State Chinese Philosophy, Brill, 9789004360501] University Press, 9781607327806] Confucius and the World He Created by Michael Schuman [Basic, 9780465025510] Bibliography A Concise Companion to Confucius edited by Paul R. Goldin [Blackwell Companions to Philosophy, Wiley- Blackwell, 9781118783870] Neo-Confucianism: Metaphysics, Mind, and Morality by JeeLoo Liu [Wiley-Blackwell, 9781118619148] Studies on Contemporary Chinese Philosophy (1949– Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu 2009) by Guo Qiyong, translated by Paul J. Hyŏngwŏn and the Late Chosŏn Dynasty (Korean D’Ambrosio, Robert Carleo III, Joanna Guzowska, Studies of the Henry M. Jackson School of Chad Meyers,
    [Show full text]
  • The Reception of Thai Boys Love Series in China
    The Reception of Thai Boys Love Series in China: Consumption, Imagination, and Friction Junqi Zhang Senior Honors Thesis Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill May 2021 Approved by Dr. Mark Driscoll, Thesis Advisor Dr. Lorraine Aragon, Reader Table of Contents Acknowledgements 1 Abstract 4 Notes on Romanizations, Names, and the Series 6 Chapter One: Introduction 9 Chapter Two: Censorship, Self-Censorship, and Carnival Under Censorship 31 Chapter Three: The Alternative World to Escape from the Reality 56 Chapter Four: Gay Paradise, Gay Archetype 80 Chapter Five: Vulnerability of the “Chinese-Thai Romance” 106 Chapter Six: Discussion 139 Appendix 154 Reference 159 Contact Me 165 Acknowledgements During the journey of completing this thesis, I am forever indebted to the kindest people who never ceased to motivate and inspire me. Their steadfast support and intellectual acumen meant a lot to this very first endeavor of mine to become a stellar scholar in Asian Studies. I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to them. My heartfelt thanks go to my thesis committee, Dr. Mark Driscoll (thesis advisor) and Dr. Lorraine Aragon (second advisor, reader). Dr. Driscoll has been passionate and caring, and his instructions were well beyond this thesis itself and insightful. He always astutely (re)directed me to some aspects and pointed out a refreshing path for me, not only in academia but also in my personal life. I could still recall my excitement when I explored Boys Love for the first time in a course with him back in 2018 and my delight after he said he would be willing to be my advisor for this project.
    [Show full text]
  • William A. Callahan Citizen Ai: Warrior, Jester, and Middleman
    William A. Callahan Citizen Ai: warrior, jester, and middleman Article (Accepted version) (Refereed) Original citation: Callahan, William A. (2014) Citizen Ai: warrior, jester, and middleman. Journal of Asian Studies, 73 (04). pp. 899-920. ISSN 0021-9118 DOI: 10.1017/S0021911814001004 © 2015 The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. This version available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/64459/ Available in LSE Research Online: November 2015 LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website. This document is the author’s final accepted version of the journal article. There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it. William A. Callahan, ‘Citizen Ai: Warrior, Jester, and Middleman’, Journal of Asian Studies 73:04 (2014): 899 – 920, DOI: 10.1017/S0021911814001004 Ai Weiwei is famous for crossing boundaries, especially the boundary between art and politics. To appreciate the often contradictory nature of Ai’s work, this essay employs multiple narratives: “Ai the Heroic Warrior” who criticizes the Chinese government; “Ai the Court Jester” who plays with the Chinese state and Western media; and “Ai the Middleman” who acts as a broker between China and the West, between young and old people, and between civil society and the state in the PRC.
    [Show full text]
  • Hong Kongese in Koon-Chung Chan's Hong Kong Trilogy
    Presenting Hybridity: Hong Kongese in Koon-chung Chan’s Hong Kong Trilogy by Leung, Chun Yin A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Chinese Literature Department of East Asian Studies University of Alberta © Leung, Chun Yin, 2015 Leung 1 Abstract This dissertation examines the characteristics, such as inclusivity, dynamism, creativity and otherness, of hybridity in the Hong Kong Trilogy written by Koon-chung Chan. He states clearly that hybridity does not simply mean a mixture and shallow exchange of cultures that exists in Hong Kong. Chan believes that it innovates a local culture with Hong Kong as the mainstay and it consolidates the identity of Hong Kongese by clearing the differences between Hong Kongese and the people in the neighbouring areas. The concern and the pursuit for identity of the Hong Kongese is a contemporary occurrence in Hong Kong society and academia. Due to Hong Kong's colonial background, Hong Kongese cannot avoid the effects of both Chinese and colonial cultures that have affected and will continually affect them in the post-colonial period. Hybridity provides a postcolonial perspective to assess the behaviours and thoughts of the protagonists and their relationship with their society in the stories. The protagonists show a 'so far yet so close' relationship between Hong Kong and themselves. The complexities of how they give themselves an identity intertwine with their relationship with their families and community. Leung 2 Abstract--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
    [Show full text]