A Comparative Study Of Image Of China In The Good Earth And The Woman Warrior

Reviewing the history of communication between China and western countries, we can easily find that the image of China in western culture can be concluded into two types: Utopian and Ideological. These two completely different images appear repeatedly in writings of different periods of history. But to most westerners, China is only a country in the east of the world. With the rapid development of globalization, communication between different countries and cultures becomes more frequent and deeper. As a result, the national image also becomes more important. It reflects the soft strength of a country. In this thesis, the author will try to discuss the image of China through the comparison between Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth and Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior from the perspective of Imagologie, a branch of Comparative Literature studies. This thesis will help people of western countries, especially of the United States to learn more about China. It will also help Chinese people to know more about themselves and their own culture. What is more, it will also clear up other countries’ misunderstandings of the image of China to reduce the malicious slander to China.This thesis is divided into three chapters. Chapter One analyzes the similarities of image of China in The Good Earth and The Woman Warrior. In the representations of Image of China, these two novels share some similarities in the following aspects: first, Chinese women images have often been shaped with some respectable characteristics; next, exotic Chinese customs in feudal family system and social life display the mysterious and old China; last, common attitudes like “Filial Obedience” and “Son Preference” highlight the traditional national psychology in feudal China. Chapter Two analyzes the differences of Image of China in The Good Earth and The Woman Warrior. First of all, the author finds out that The Good Earth and The Woman Warrior shape different images of Chinese fathers. In The Good Earth, father is the center of a family. However, in The Woman Warrior, father is “silenced.” The difference of fathers’ images reflects the difference of different historical backgrounds and regions. Furthermore, huge difference between eating habits also exists. Exaggerated eating habits in The Woman Warrior provide western readers with the “fantastic” and “exotic” image of China. Last, different common attitudes toward “earth” reflect the different modes of economy and different ways of life in China. Chapter Three analyzes the main factors in shaping image of China in the two novels. Common describing object and target readers, authors’ marginalized identities are the main factors of similar images of China in the two novels. However, different historical backgrounds, authors’ personal experiences, and different writing purposes are the factors of different image of China.Based on the above analysis, the thesis comes to the conclusion that images of China in The Good Earth and The Woman Warrior belong to two different categories. Image of China in The Good Earth is a kind of balance between the traditional ideological images and Utopian images of China under the influence of Oriental mindset in mainstream western culture. However, image of China in The Woman Warrior belongs to “self-shaping image,” a special kind of “alien image” which is totally different from the “Other” image under the influence of Oriental mindset. It is worth noting that though both images of China in the two novels made great contribution to the cultural communication between China and the west, China has been misread inevitably to certain extent. Images of China in the two novels are the reflection of the writers’ subjective imagination.