早期美国华人文学研究：历史经验的重勘与当代意义的呈现

【作者】 盖建平；

【导师】 陈思和；

【作者基本信息】 复旦大学 ， 比较文学， 2010， 博士

【摘要】 以中美学界早期美华文学研究既存成果的梳理与当代命题的提出为导论,本文的四章正文分别对早期美国华人文学的四部代表作品《金山篇》、《逐客篇》、《苦社会》、“木屋诗”展开文学与历史的互文性阐析与跨学科研究。本文打破美国华人史及排华史研究与中国侨乡文史研究之间原有的学科界线,在相关各类文史资料充分储备的基础上,深入探讨文学文本对于早期美国华人生存经验的特定书写形态,同时阐发文学与既存历史叙事之间的互文关系,在文学的场域中对19世纪中期到20世纪40年代间华人移民美国的历史经历予以重新观照。贯穿本文正文四章的基本命题,乃是对早期美国华人生存经验的文史互证,以及对早期美国华人形象的正面呈现。本文对美国排华主义言论中关于早期华人移民的几个基本观点[“流民苦力”说(coolie)、“客民”说(sojourner)、“唯利是图”说(gold-digger)、“文盲”说(illiterate)等]予以引入中国学界侨乡文史研究成果的正面解构,由此实现文学研究之于早期美国华人生存经验的创造性书写,从而阐发以华语写成的早期美国华人文学作为近代时期华人赴美跨国生存经验记录的文学价值。第一章从美华文学开篇之作《金山篇》的艺术风格分析入手,从中“发现”早期美华文学不同于既存美华历史叙事的对近代华人赴美动机的感性呈现,进而导向对中国唐宋以降的出洋传统的认知、对近代华人的美国观的重新认识,并最终解构既存历史叙事中“晚清赴美华人多为贫苦流民”的基本定调。这首长诗创作于美国排华初露端倪的时期,作者张维屏作为中国侨乡的先进知识分子,运用五行理论及中国传统文化关于黄金的诸多典故来推想华人在美国的未来。《金山篇》字里行间流露出的乐观、期待、向往美国的情绪,体现出“站在侨乡看美国”的特定视角,因而具有广泛而特殊的代表性。另一方面,《金山篇》未能指出当时华人在“金山”遭遇的歧视性赋税本质上源于美国的种族主义。然而,此诗折射出的当年出洋者近乎盲目又自圆其说的乐观态度,应当被视为19世纪中期以来华人不断赴美的一种精神动力。第二章研究美国《排华法案》1882年出台之后的及时之作《逐客篇》,结合作者黄遵宪领先的西学修养、干练外交才华,分析《逐客篇》对美国排华运动来龙去脉的特定表述。本文认为,《逐客篇》贯注着近代中国一位优秀外交官所特具的现实经验与务实眼光。在排华成为美国全民性政治社会运动的特定时代语境下,黄遵宪将早期华人在美国“安居乐业”的“当初”与眼前的现状相对照,其中加入了黄遵宪对《排华法案》的种族主义性质的系统认知。在对《逐客篇》所特具的时代性的解读中,本文植入了近代中国思想界接受欧风美雨的文化变迁背景,主张：正是亲身介入美国排华现实的政治经验,促成了黄遵宪对当时中国进步士人热心西学时所怀的“大同”理想的正面反思。另外,在痛陈华人在美的可悲遭遇时,黄遵宪以美国黑奴作为对照,来突出华人强烈的耻辱之感,这又透露出诗人受到西方种族主义观念沾染的痕迹。由是,晚清近代中国文明转型期“新”“旧”观念驳杂的时代风貌亦得以随之呈现。第三章从《苦社会》与国内同时期“谴责小说”的比较入手,呈示这部小说跨国书写的别异之处,进而平行参考国内学界对1905-1906年抵制美货运动的研究成果,发掘至20世纪初期为止美国华人生存经验的丰厚积累,最终得以辨识“美国华人”这一跨国文化身份的最初成形过程。在《苦社会》的文学叙事中,超脱于世俗物欲争斗的伦理诉求与反击排华的现实立场始终隐然并行,这一特定的观念状态与第一、二章所研究的《金山篇》、《逐客篇》对所处时代的观察评说一起,共同构成了早期美国华人跨国生存状态的多个面相。早期美华族群强烈的道德意识与亲情观念,亦在相关的移民观念变迁的框架下得以充分披露。第四章对当代美华学界蔚为显学的“木屋诗”即天使岛诗歌研究予以细化梳理,通过对这一文本的内容及形式的文史整合,追溯20世纪前半叶被拘禁于美国旧金山海关候审所“木屋”中的华人的生存状况与精神世界,从而展现富于感性与个性的早期美国华人形象。本文主张,在衣食不周的囚居困境中,木屋华人除了对自身遭受的不公待遇发出愤怒的抗辨,还依然秉有优美的情感、自尊的气质、开阔的心灵、彼此的关切。如上种种感性力量,皆为早期美华移民群体对抗生存绝境的精神资源。本文将这一特殊创作形态的文学传统追溯到中国唐代的梵志诗,对木屋诗作为古代民间诗歌跨国延伸的文学特质予以比较阐发。最后,参照中国历代《诗经》读法,本文论述了读解《木屋诗》以及对整个早期美国华人文学予以深度研究的当代现实社会文化价值。经由正文四章对早期美华文学文本的比较研究,本文将结论落于早期美国华人文学主题发展脉络与当代价值的重新描绘。面向美国学界,本文正面讨论了为美国排华话语这一“语言的铁幕”遮蔽的“未名之物”,指出呈现早期美国华人正面感性形象的要点所在；面向中国学界,则是实践以早期美华文学研究为平台的跨学科文本细读,展现早期美华文学阐释与美华历史重写之间的特定关系,进而对文学研究、文本读解的既定范式予以突破,并最终呈现早期美国华人文学作为当代中美两国可以共享的文化遗产的丰厚内蕴,以及促进两国文化界反思历史、沟通对话的“桥梁”特质。更多还原

【Abstract】 This dissertation is made of one Introduction, four Chapters and one Conclusion. Starting with a review on the Early Chinese American Literature study in China and America, this dissertation questions the Chinese scholars’description on the early Chinese immigrants’living conditions and literary writing, and takes the American scholars’problem-awareness as an shotcut in interpreting the early Chinese American literature’s literariness. Focused on surveying the early Chinese immigrants’experiences in a transnational historical context and reevaluating the early Chinese American Literature’s value in the post-globalization era, this dissertation chooses four classic "Jin Shan Pian" ("Gold Montain"), "Zhu Ke Pian" ("Expulsion of the Immigrants"), "Ku She Hui" ("Bitter Society") and "Mu Wu Shi" (Angel Island Poetry) as its subject, deconstructs the Chinese stereotypes (coolie, sojourner, gold-digger, illiterate, etc.) with new historical materials from Qiaoxiang(Chinese immigrants’background) study, and makes a creative academic writing on the early Chinese immigrants’American experiences.The first chapter starts with a discussion on the artistic style of "Jin Shan Pian". Begin with close reading work, this dissertation "discovers" a kind of first-hand expression about the early Chinese immigrants’expectation on their new life at "gold mountain". Different from the existing Chinese American history studies’ conclusions on the early immigrants’"possetic nostalgia", "Jin Shan Pian" shows a rather optimistic expectation on the early Chinese immigrants’future lives in America. As a traditional Chinese scholar, Zhang Weiping interpreted the Chinese Americans’fate with the Wuxing theory. Based on Wuxing theory and the ancient Chinese folklores about gold, "Jin Shan Pian" failed in pointing out the deep-rooted racialist motive of "driving out Chinamen," but understood the Foreign Miner’s Tax(1852) as the American government’s urgent for money. However, this poem’s innocent but self-consistent belief on "Gold Mountain’"s virtue of kindness also reflects the "Golden Mountain Heros’" courage in searching for their new home.The second chapter discusses Huang Zunxian’s famous poem "Zhu Ke Pian." This poem based directly on Huang’s experience as a responsible and passionate Chinese diplomat in San Francisco in the 1880s. Comparing "Zhu Ke Pian’"s description with the Chinese exclusive narration in the 19th century America, this chapter argues that at least in Huang’s point of view, the early Chinese immigrants did have the intent of rooting when they arrived in America in the 1850s. Witnessing the ruthless facts of Chinese Exclusive Acts and social movement, Huang claimed that the traditional Chinese ideal "Great Harmony" is not proper in this "racial competition" social context. This cognition advanced in his generation of Chinese intellectuals owed to the Chinese immigrants’first-hand experiences.The third chapter begins with a comparison between "Ku She Hui" and typical "Condemnation Novel" in the 1900s in China, then uncovers "Ku She Hui’"s transnational political criticism against both the Chinese and the American governments. Introducing the 1905-1906 Boycott Movement study and China-America diplomatic relationship study, this chapter discusses the formation of the early Chinese American’s transnational identity as a combination of the traditional Chinese ethical ideas and realistic experiences of surviving in America. The fourth chapter makes a further close reading on "Muk Wuk Poetry" (Angel Island Poetry), exhibiting the early Chinese American’s sensibility and discovering their life details in the "wooden house". Beyond anger and depression, "Muk Wuk Poetry" contains great beauty of dignity and morality. Tracing this literary tradition back to "Fan Zhi Shi" in Tang Dynasty, this chapter discusses the early Chinese American’s literary power against the writers’dreadful living conditions. At last, refered to the explanations of Shi Jing (Book of Songs), this chapter articulates the value of early Chinese American Literature reading for contemporary China and America.This dissertation concludes on the rearticulation of early Chinese American’s transnational life and their literary writing and the reevalutaion of their immigrating actions. To the American academia, this dissertation discusses the nameless thing about early Chinese American, reconstracts for them positive images against the Iron Curtain of Language; to the Chinese academia, put the "realistic close reading" into practice, this dissertation present the early Chinese American Literature as a common heritage and a bridge of historical reflection between China and America.更多还原