The Postcolonial analysis of Flower Drum Song

【摘 要】文學(xué)作品《花鼓歌》獲得了出版社的青睞和很好的銷售成績(jī)，但關(guān)于黎錦揚(yáng)這部作品引起的批評(píng)聲音也是不斷。黎錦揚(yáng)運(yùn)用薩義德筆下“駛?cè)氲暮匠獭边M(jìn)入美國主流文化世界的視野，與主流文化打成一片，讓他們看到了曾經(jīng)被忽視的被邊緣的美國華裔，也不失為一種華裔“發(fā)聲”并且能夠被“聽見”的策略。他筆下的男性角色既不是“種族主義的愛”也不是“種族主義的恨”這兩種極端，而是當(dāng)時(shí)萬千華人男性的一部分。這篇文章主要運(yùn)用愛德華·賽義德的后殖民主義觀點(diǎn)來分析作者筆下的三位男性主人公，討論他們?cè)诿绹畹恼{(diào)整適應(yīng)和妥協(xié)。

【關(guān)鍵詞】《花鼓歌》；薩義德后殖民理論；流亡；駛?cè)氲暮匠?/p>

Ⅰ.Introduction

The well-known Asian-American Literature critic， Elaine H.Kim has ever criticized that this novel deals problems of the Asian-American in a comic way， and has blamed that C.Y.Lee has deepened the inherently stereotype of Asian-Americans； other Asian-American writers like Frank Chin， Jeffery Paul Chin and Shawn Wong unanimously reprehended Flower Drum Song for catering for non-Chinese people at the expense of insulting and distorting the image of Asian-American. However， it is unreasonable to charge this novel for betraying Chinese people， and it is thoughtless to think intellectuals as ideal warriors that they wearing shining armors， able to resist any temptation of material interests.

Ⅱ.an Analysis the Three Main Male Characters in Flower drum song.

2.1 Wang Chi-yang——the embodiment of the old generation of the immigrant ——nestling in china town

“Even as they console themselves with fantasies of returning to China and illusions of family life， their most important moments are spent with each other in Chinatown， where they can fell the sympathy， understanding， and not available to them anywhere else.”

Wang Chi-yang’s social circle is small. It can be said that he is a Chinese American nestling in China Town. More precisely， he nestled in his own world. He only can speak Hunan dialect which limits his communication with other Chinese people in Chinatown. The inconvenience of language disability mostly limits his mind to narrow view and small world. The status of Wang Chi-yang in his family typically reflects features of traditionally Chinese patriarchical family. Wang Chi-yang is a “l(fā)ord” in the family.. As a twenty-eight years old adult， Wang Ta obviously felt embarrassed by his father’s doing， but he was unable to persuade his father into making any change. The author criticized Wang Chi-yang’s deep- rooted bad habits indirectly. His deep-rooted patriarchical thoughts are epitomized in his attitudes towards Wang Ta’s life events. For example， Wang Chi-yang would never allow Wang Ta to find a foreign wife. Actually， whether to find a foreign or a Chinese wife， it all depends on Wang Ta’s willingness. Wang Chi-yang’s stubbornness is reflected on not choosing Miss Chao as his daughter-in-law. He absolutely did not want to see a woman with speckles fully on face to join in his family. He thought that unclear face would bring misfortune to the family. Moreover， he and Tang Tai tried to settle a marriage for Wang Ta without his agreement at first. All of the details above fully reflect that Wang Chi-yang is full of feudal paternalistic features. Wang Chi-yang has a strong sense of family continuity and a complex of the family glory. Family has the greatest important status in every Chinese people’s mind. Confucianism， belong to Chinese traditional culture， which Wang Chi-yang relies on is a kind of Clan departmentalism. Wang Chi-yang ever complained to Chinese doctor in China Town that new born Chinese children in America always lacked sense of filial piety. As the family standard thoughts， whether children have filial piety is decided greatly by whether they can continue their family lines. It can explain why Wang Chi-yang sought help from the Chinese doctor in china town on the one hand， and on the other hand he admonished Wang Ta about Confucius’ four stages for a man， especially the second stage—— to set up a family. He even condescended himself to seek help from Tang Tai to find a suitable girl in China Town for Wang Ta. In Flower Drum Song， the father’s decision is decisive and the attitude of patriarchy is overwhelming. It was also no wonder that he shook with anger when he knew Wang Ta refused to marry the second daughter of the Lu family as he had arranged. Thereafter， Wang Ta announced to marry Mei Li without Wang Chi-yang’s agreement at first， which totally violated Wang Chi-yang’s patriarchy.

Wang Chi-yang’s way of doing also reflects his nativism that is full of thoughts of exclusiveness. It also reflects that he wants to hold sovereignty， control other people， and exclude other race. For either Chinese culture or western culture， it is not wise for Chinese people overseas to depreciate one culture from another culture every. “Far from being unitary or monolithic or autonomous things， cultures actually assume more ‘foreign’ elements， alterities， differences， than they consciously exclude.” “The difficulty with theories of essentialism and exclusiveness， or with barriers and sides， is that they give rise to polarizations that absolve and forgive ignorance and demagogy more than they enable knowledge.”

2.2 Wang Ta——the embodiment of the exile ——struggling between the feudal family and racial discrimination from the mainstream western society.

The author mentioned in this novel that there were two “impure” elements in this traditional Chinese family——Wang Ta and Wang San. Especially Wang San， he was totally a cowboy in Wang Chi-yang’s eyes. It leads to the inevitable conflicts between the old generation of immigrants and the new generation of young Chinese American who have almost been completely westernized. Wang Ta’s experience proves that the new immigrants had been suffered by racial discrimination in job market from the major ethnic groups and assaulted by conflicts with the old generation immigrates on thoughts. As Wang Ta is economically independent， he still relied on his family and father for a long time， which is also the reason that he could not live his own life. Although he had learned economics for four years， he still could not find a respectable job by his major. Then he gave up his major and picked up another major to evade the pressure of finding a job and the economic pressure. He had to compromise under the sternly realistic conditions. Of course， this was not only for Wang Ta’s own reason. Actually， the author intimates to readers that Chinese Americans had been suffered unfair treatment in job market. At that time， the movements of excluding Chinese were very popular in most areas in America. Most Chinese American had to live in a place which had no racial segregation， like China Town. “Besides mob violence and incidents of hangings and murder， Chinese were subjected to discriminatory legislation that limited their participation in the economic and cultural mainstream of American life.”

The author sheds much light on Wang Ta’s love life. His disappointment and confusion about love belongs to not only his own world， but also represents a large group of unhappy bachelors in Chinatown. He knew that his father wouldn’t allow him to marry an American woman. He also knew that most of the American parents wouldn’t allow their daughters to marry a Chinese man. Actually there is another reason for explaining this. “Intermarriage between chinese or ‘Mongolians’ and whites was prohibited in the fourteen states where most Chinese lived. Intermarriage was deemed a ‘gross misdemeanor’ in Nevada， subject to a 500 dollars’ fine or one year in prison. In Maryland， it was an ‘infamous crime’ subject to ten years’ imprisonment. Anti-miscegenation legislation remained on the books in California until 1967.” And the sharply skewed gender ratio in china town had not been changed until 1980s reached balance. In Chinatown， many Chinese men are “married bachelors”. Their wives are at home in China， living with the money they send on time. This causes an embarrassed situation that the married Chinese men can’t pick up their wife to America while the unmarried younger Chinese men can’t find their love in American. At that time， Chinese men were totally in a “castrated” situation whom were seriously distorted both physiologically and mentally. Wang Ta is one of the victims of these unfair policies. In Flower Drum Song， the author described Wang Ta’s dates with some Chinese girl several times. Every time， Wang Ta would bring a wish of proposal， but only get an unhappy ending not know whether to laugh not to cry， such as， Wang Ta seriously expressed his love to a Chinese American girl born in Stockton. He said， “Will you marry me， Mary？” the girl answered with an unexpected answer “I’m already engaged， Lawrence.” The understatement by this Chinese American girl truly crushes Wang Ta’s all illusions about marriage and family. The girl said， “A lot of other fellows have taken me out. It doesn’t mean that I have to marry all of them.” His illusion for love sets stage potentiality for some frustration of his love story with Miss Tung and Miss Chao. As for his love for Miss Tung whom Wang Ta met afterwards， he was totally falling in love her out of his innocent illusions about love. He had a crush on Miss Tung’s characteristics of being natural， unstrained and straightforward， which was totally different from traditional Chinese girls’. From this love experience， it can be perceived that his consciousness of revolting against his father’s dictatorship comes to his mind again. “He was ready to revolt if his father refused to give his permission. He would pack and leave the house.” He always wants to be independent， but lack of the right opportunity. But he got into her more deeply， only to find she was a gold digger. After his failure love with Miss Tung， he got well acquainted with Miss Chao. Wang Ta was touched by her capability and thoughtfulness. But after the superficial relationship， he again felt regretted， self-blamed， lost and painful. This kind of feeling peaked when he got the news of Miss Chao’s suicide.

When Wang Ta suffered failure in love life and agitation from his feudal family， he thought of going back to his hometown——China. It is not the thought that the young generation of immigrants would have after their suffering of setbacks in life， but also the dream of the old generation of immigrants which they would think day and night. The unfair treatment they suffered in America enhances their feelings of being only passers-by in America. They have no home and roots in there， which firms their thought of going back as they have been dreaming all the time. “Changes were forced on the fossilizing patterns of Chinatown life with the advent of the Chinese revolution， which for many Chinese in America sealed off the possibility of ever returning to china to retire. Both the confiscation of property they had been trying to accumulate in china through their remittances and the uncertainty of their political and economic futures in a new china forced many to surrender the dream of return， however real or practical， that had sustained them during many long years of labor in America.” Chang reminded him with doubt and uncertainty of the new founding government in China. In Chang’s point of view， it is incompatible between communism and capitalism. Wang Ta was frightened and finally gave up the thought of going back to China.

Wang Ta and his friend——Chang finally choose to blend in with the general public in American and begin a experience of new life. As a generation of intellectuals among Chinese American， they are intellectuals “l(fā)ike a shipwrecked person who learns how to live in a certain sense with the land， not on it， not like Robinson Crusoe whose goal is to colonize his little island， but more like Marco Polo， whose sense of the marvelous never fails him， and who is always a traveler， a provisional guest， not a freeloader， conqueror， or raider.”

2.3 Chang——the embodiment of the mature exile ——“voyaging” in the general people

In author’s description， Chang is a Chinese man with fine figure and manliness. His thoughts on love and life deeply affect Wang Ta. In Wang Ta’s eyes， Zhang is a Chinese Romeo who knows everything about women. Chang’s generous attitude towards life adds some hints of hope in this novel. “Generally speaking， the image of the author usually can be mirrored in the characters created by him. As If from the mentality and age， Wang Ta shares the same characteristics with C.Y. Lee just graduated from the Yale， then from the mature mentality and view of life， the image of Chang gets close to the figure of C.Y. Lee who has been meeting with setbacks， and on the eve of publishing the Flower Drum Song.” Chang gets a doctor’s degree on politics in America， which brings him rather than a respectable job and a bond of salary， but brings him huge hindrance.Then， Chang returns to reality and becomes a layman in his major. He then never talks about politics， joins in the ordinary people’s life， and communicate with ordinaries. He gets more fun and lives happily in this way. It enriches his dull life， helps him to open his mind and finds his future at last. It can find some truth in his analyses on the reason why Chinese in American have suffered difficult situations. Ultimately， Chang marries a dark-haired non Chinese who is cheerful， hard-working， and affectionate， and starts a grocery store， which stands for his setting down in the second home——America.

Chang’s giving up his intellectual status and starting as a grocery store man， which may make readers to sign that although he has high education degree， he still cannot find a respectable job out of racial discrimination in America on the one hand， on the other hand， he also breaks people’s stereotype of intellectual. His blending with the general people also reflects optimistic mentality. After all， making a living is the most important thing. Only survival can continue the hope of changing. To compromise with reality is not a shame or betrayal of his country. It is just a representation of the period of time that thousands of Chinese American， squeezed by life， which will finally fade away.

Ⅲ.Compromise， Exile and voyage in

Chinese American adapts themselves to the local life， in the hope of really setting root in America. It can be perceived of their efforts of their making of different degree of compromises. In Flower Drum Song， Chang gives up his highly intellectual status to become an ordinary grocery store manager， and marries a new Mexican immigrant， which stands for starting his new life； Wang Ta leaves from his wealthy home， takes Mei Li to join Chang and begins to start his restaurant； Wang Chi-Yang begins to understand the young generation’s sense of justice and self-motivation. And he begins to face up to his stubbornness.

Whatever for Chang and for Wang Ta， they are Chinese exiling in America. Exile is one of the saddest fates. “it not only meant years of aimless wandering away from family and familiar places， but also meant being a sort of permanent outcast， someone who never felt at home， and was always at odds with the environment， inconsolable about the past， bitter about the present and the future.” “the fact is that for most exiles the difficulty consists not simply in being forced to live away from home， but rather， given today’s world， in living with the many reminders that you are in exile…the exile therefore exists in a median state， neither completely at one with the new setting nor fully disencumbered of the old， beset with half-involvements and half-detachments， nostalgic and sentimental on one level， and adept mimic or a secret outcast on another. Being skilled at survival becomes the main imperative…” In this novel， Chang， Wang Ta all make effort to find the way of survival： Chang and his newly married wife leave China Town to start their grocery store； Wang Ta taking Mei Li leaves his home to join his friend， plans to marry and start a restaurant. Wang Ta finally breaks through the hedge of feudal family， starts his new voyage independently and also starts a new voyage of exile.

“Dwelling， in the proper sense， is now impossible. The traditional residences we have grown up in have grown intolerable： each trait of comfort in them is paid for with the musty pact of family interests.” Wang Ta’s leaving home symbolizes that he gets rid of the influence of patriarchy. Wang Ta and Mei Li starts to establish their home actually achieve the hope of continuing the family line. And whatever for Chang and for Wang Ta， their adaptations have embodied the Gramsci’s “breaks of an organic kind.” They actually “voyage in” They enter into the western world， mix with it， transform it， to make it acknowledge marginalized or suppressed or forgotten histories.

Notes：

[1] Elaine H. Kim. Asian American Literature： An Introduction to the Writings and Their Social Context. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching And Research Press， 2008： 116.

[2] C.Y.Lee. The Flower Drum Song. England： Penguin Books Ltd， 2002： 4.

[3] Ibid： 67.

[4] Ibid： 62.

[5] Ibid： 84.

[6] Edward W. Said. Culture and Imperialism. New York： Vintage Books， A Division of Random House， Inc， 1993： 15.

[7] Ibid： 31.

[8] C.Y.Lee. The Flower Drum Song. England： Penguin Books Ltd， 2002： 4.

[9] Elaine H. Kim. Asian American Literature： An Introduction to the Writings and Their Social Context. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching And Research Press， 2008： 96.

[10] C.Y.Lee. The Flower Drum Song. England： Penguin Books Ltd， 2002： 15.

[11] Elaine H. Kim. Asian American Literature： An Introduction to the Writings and Their Social Context [M]. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching And Research Press， 2008： 97.

[12] C.Y.Lee. The Flower Drum Song. England： Penguin Books Ltd， 2002： XVIII.

[13] Ibid： 17.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid： 49.

[16] Elaine H. Kim. Asian American Literature： An Introduction to the Writings and Their Social Context. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching And Research Press， 2008： 103.

[17] Edward W. Said. Representations of the Intellectual. New York： Pantheon Books， A Division of Random House， Inc， 1994： 59-60.

[18] 俞寧.《花鼓歌》誰所唱？《花鼓歌》誰來聽？——美籍華人作家黎錦揚(yáng)評(píng)議[A].吳冰，王立禮.華裔美國作家研究[M].天津：南開大學(xué)出版社，2009：79.

[19] Edward W. Said. Representations of the Intellectual. New York： Pantheon Books， A Division of Random House， Inc， 1994： 47.

[20] Ibid： 48-49.

[21] Theodor Adorno. Reflections from Damaged Life， cited in Edward W. Said. Representations of the Intellectual. New York： Pantheon Books， A Division of Random House， Inc， 1994： 57.

[22] Edward W. Said. Culture and Imperialism. New York： Vintage Books， A Division of Random House， Inc， 1993： 50.

[23] Ibid： 216.

【Bibliography】

[1] C.Y.Lee. The Flower Drum Song[M]. England： Penguin Books Ltd， 2002.

[2] Elaine H. Kim. Asian American Literature： An Introduction to the Writings and Their Social Context [M]. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching And Research Press， 2008.

[3] Edward W. Said. Culture and Imperialism[M]. New York： Vintage Books， A Division of Random House， Inc， 1993.

[4] Edward W. Said. Representations of the Intellectual[M]. New York： Pantheon Books， A Division of Random House， Inc， 1994.

[5]吳冰，王立禮.華裔美國作家研究[M].天津：南開大學(xué)出版社，2009：79.