Reflections upon Some Major Issues of Chinese American Literature Studies:An Interview with Professor Cheng Aimin
In this interview,Professor Cheng Aimin offers his insights into the development stages,the current trend,the China narrative,and the criticism of Chinese American Literature.Chinese American Literature undergoes three major development stages:the founding stage in the 1960s,the transitional and mature stage during the 1970s and the 1980s,and the prosperous stage since the late 1980s and the early 1990s.Currently,Chinese American Literature exhibits distinct trends of de-ethnization and diversification.As for the China narrative,Chinese American authors often adopt traditional Chinese narrative pattern and strategies,such as spatial narrative structure,zhanghuiti(a type of traditional Chinese novel structure with captions for each chapter),and"talk story".Future studies can pay more attention to the following issues:the literariness of Chinese American Literature,thought of cultural community in Chinese American Literature,the biographical and autobiographical tradition of Chinese American Literature,the religious,ethical,and universal themes of Chinese American Literature,the translation and reception of Chinese American Literature,and the nationality and globality of Chinese American Literature.
Chinese American Literaturedevelopment stagescurrent trendsChina narrativeliterariness