The Recurrence of the Traditional Chinese Features In the Joy Luck Club
文档字数：7422
Abstract
Amy Tan is a pioneer in the field of contemporary Chinese American Literature, and has a legitimate claim for special attention in the relevant research. Her maiden work, the Joy Luck Club, made a great coup once published and enjoyed worldwide prestige. It explored the traditional theme of mother-daughter relationship in the Chinese literature, yet from a brand-new perspective. Behind the seemingly impersonal description of the harmonious and pleasant family life lay the totally dissimilar views toward living in America of the new immigrants and their predecessors and conveyed the in-depth message of cultural conflicts and clashes. Theme of Mother and daughter transcended time, space, the boundaries of countries and culture, symbolizing the ictus of the theme in the novel. As for those mothers and daughters cracked in the crevice of races and cultures, clashes manifested themselves not merely in their blood relationship, but in the construction of gender, race and culture. In the depth of the spiritual inheritage and conflicts lay the succession and confrontation of culture. To a great extent, the image of mothers presented the metaphor of our Chinese culture; the image of daughters, the epitome of American culture.
Many Chinese elements in the Joy Luck Club, such as mahjong, the Five Elements, Chinese Zodiac and Feng Shui are vividly depicted through various stories of the characters and give impetus to the development of the plot as well as characterization. In my thesis, I would like to take advantage of the theories of Edward Said’s Orientalism and the quintessence in the traditional Chinese culture to elaborate on my viewpoint. The thesis consists of five parts, starting from a brief introduction of the author, Amy Tan and the novel concerned. Following the introduction come the detailed descriptions of the Joy Luck Club, Feng Shui, the Five Elements, the Chinese Zodiac in the novel, and the functions of them to give impetus to the story and create the major characters. Later the theories of Edward Said’s Orientalism will be introduced to give the readers a global picture of the theoretical foundation upon which the thesis is based. With the combination of his theories and those elements in the real Chinese context, the fourth part makes an attempt to reveal the reasons lying behind the clashes and conflicts between those mothers and daughters. Based on the aforementioned analysis, the fifth part will arrive at a conclusion and give the readers a clear picture of the excellent story-telling capability of Amy Tan and her remarkable contribution to the Asian American Literature.
Key Words: the Joy Luck Club; traditional Chinese elements; orientalism; cultural conflicts and clashes; mothers and daughters
摘要
作为当代华裔美国文坛的一位先驱，谭恩美绝对有理由受到该领域研究的关注和重视。她的处女作，《喜福会》一经出版，蜚声文坛，大获成功，享有世界级的美誉。该作品从一个暂新的角度，探索中国文学中的传统主题—母女关系。在看似其乐融融、快乐祥和的家庭生活的描述背后，是新一代移民与老一代移民之间迥然不同的生活观念，从而传达出文化冲突和斗争的深刻内涵。母女关系的认同跨越了时间、空间、国别和文化的界限，代表着小说主题中的最强音。对于在种族和异国文化中夹缝生存的母女，冲突、融合以及相互认同不仅表现在血缘关系中，同时也体现在性别、种族和文化的建构上。在精神传承和冲突的背后，折射出的是文化的继承与冲撞。在很大程度上，母亲的形象其实就是中华民族文化的隐喻，而女儿的形象，确实美国文化的缩影。
《喜福会》中描绘了许多具有浓郁中国特色的文化元素，譬如说麻将、“五行”、生肖以及风水等等，都通过不同人物的经历和叙述生动地描摹出来，同时，这些元素的描述也进一步推动了情节的发展和人物的塑造。这篇论文将充分结合爱德华-赛义德的“东方主义”理论和传统中国文化的精髓来展开论述。本文主要分为五大部分。第一部分是作者和作品简介。第二部分详细介绍小说中的麻将、风水、五行、占卜等元素，以及各自在推动情节、塑造人物方面的作用。之后，将介绍爱德华-赛义德的“东方主义”理论，并以此构建文章的整体基调。第四部分结合赛义德的理论和真正的中国文化，分析母女关系的冲突和碰撞。基于以上分析，第五部分将做出结论，并向读者阐释谭恩美精湛的艺术表现力以及其对华裔美国文学的突出贡献。
关键词：喜福会，传统中国元素，东方主义,文化冲突与碰撞
Contents
Acknowledgements i
Abstract in English ii
Abstract in Chinese iii
Ⅰ. Introduction 1
1.1 Introduction to Amy Tan 1
1.2 Introduction to the Joy Luck Club 2
1.2.1 Mother-Daughter Relationship 2
1.2.2 Potential Misinterpretation of the Novel 2
Ⅱ. The Traditional Chinese Elements in the Joy Luck Club and Their Functions 4
2.1 The Joy Luck Club: Bringing Hope and Joy to Life 4
2.2 A Horse in the Chinese Zodiac: Wrestling with Destiny 5
2.3 A Traditional Chinese Woman: Being Immersed in Feng Shui Beliefs 7
2.4 The Five Elements Theory: Creating the Characters 9
Ⅲ. Recurrent Chinese Culture through the Theories of Orientalism 11
3.1 The Theories of Edward Said’s Orientalism 11
3.2 Chinese Culture Presented through Orientalism 12
Ⅳ. The Reasons behind the Conflicts between Mothers and Daughters 14
4.1 Fragile Language and Easy Misunderstanding 14
4.2 Different Mode of Thoughts and Mentality 15
Ⅴ. Conclusion 16
Bibliography 17
