Chinese Immigrants’ Cultural Identity Construction In Lin Yutang’s Chinatown Family

Lin Yutang is a world-known Chinese writer famous for his English writing in the20^th century.Chinatown Family was published in 1948.It deals with the lives of Chinese immigrants in New York Chinatown in the 1930s and 1940s.In the novel,Chinese Americans mostly lived in the cultural enclave--Chinatown.The members of the Fongs made different cultural choices and constructed different cultural identities,hence their circumstances and lot differed.Lin expresses his views on Chinese and Western culture through the novel.Up to now,critics home and abroad compare Chinatown Family with the novels by some Chinese American writers.Besides,multiple themes and characterization of the novel are also their focus.While from the perspective of cultural identity,a branch of cultural studies,this thesis intends to discuss the cultural identity construction of Chinese immigrants in Chinatown Family.This thesis is comprised of five parts.The introductory part introduces Lin Yutang and his Chinatown Family,literature review and the subject of the research.Chapter one points out that part of the Fongs constructed two different cultural identities and analyzes the subsequent consequences.The consequences indicates that neither complete adherence to Chinese culture nor total Americanization is not feasible.Chapter two discusses the necessity and nature of the cultural identity of“Chinese essence and Western utility.”The nature of the strategy is a kind of location of culture.For Chinese Americans,first and foremost they are Chinese,and then they are Americans.And then points out that another part of the Fongs constructed a hybrid cultural identity which is characterized by“Chinese essence and Western utility”and elaborates on the strategy they employed,that is,“taking Chinese culture as foundation and mastering Western culture for use.”Taking the historical background into consideration,Chapter three analyzes the significance of the cultural identity of“Chinese essence and Western utility.”It was beneficial to the achievement of cultural symbiosis and cultural diversity.Besides,it gave birth to Chinese American culture.Furthermore,it prompted Chinese immigrants to bring the positive roles of marginal people into full play and paved the way for their transformation from marginal people to citizens of the world.The last part is conclusion.Lin Yutang has been immersed in and wandered between Eastern and Western cultures for many years and has much personal understanding of cultural issues,which inevitably have great impact on his literary creation.On the face of it,Chinatown Family follows the stories of a Chinese immigrant family.In fact,it reveals Lin’s cultural thoughts,appeals and ideals.In essence,cultural identity construction is a dynamic process.For immigrants,the single and fixed cultural identity is unfeasible.In an era of frequent contact between different races and cultures,Chinese immigrants could survive and thrive better by constructing a cultural identity of“Chinese essence and Western utility.”In this way,when they tried to assimilate into American society and culture,they would not discard their ethnic features,Chinese traditions and culture.This embodies the ideal of“to seek harmony in diversity or difference”and“coexistence of the unique beauty of each country/nation’s culture.”The cultural identity of“Chinese essence and Western utility”is the most proper and realistic choice for those Chinese immigrants and diasporas as a whole.It is enlightening for diasporas to handle the relationship between the culture of home country and the culture of host country.