近代旅美华侨华人与中美文化的双向交流

Chinese Americans and Chinese Immigrants to America and the Cultural Interaction between China and America in Modern History

鸦片战争强制性地拉开了中西文化交流的序幕。1848年以后,随着北美至中国航线的开通,一部分居住在珠江三角洲的广东人在多种原因的驱使下,远渡重洋来到北美。在美国西部形成了一个又一个的华侨华人社区,使中国的古老文明渐次播散到美国西部各州。随着北美华侨华人的不断扩展,不同类型的华侨华人在不同的领域里(商业、建筑、科技教育、宗教伦理、风俗习惯等许多文化领域里)对中华传统文化进行了被动和主动传播。被动的传播形成了美国多元文化的文化飞地,主动的传播使中国传统文化在美国文化的大熔炉里形成了一种鲜明的、交叉式的边缘文化。文化的传播是一个双向互动的过程。随着大批旅美华侨华人陆续返回故乡,他们也把西方文明带回侨乡。它们与本土文化发生碰撞、冲突、融合,从而在珠江三角洲一带的侨乡形成了新鲜的、西方式的边缘文化。

The Opium war opened the cultural communication between China and the Western by force. With the shipping line from North America to China opening, a lot of Cantonese who lived in Zhujiang Delta went to Western America during the mid 19th century owing to various reasons, and formed the Chinese communities there one after another. They spread Chinese culture gradually in Western America, including business culture, architecture, science and education, religion beliefs and customs, ethics and so on. Chinese culture was propagated in both passive and active ways. The result of passive spreading is the forming of a special cultural enclave in American society, while the active dissemination promoted the cultural communication between Chinese immigrants and Americans, and it strengthened the cultural melting between different culture cycles. With large quantities of Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans returning to their homelands, they also brought back the western civilization, which conflicted and mixed together with native culture and then established a brand-new western-style marginal culture in emigrating area, so the Cultural interaction between China and America came into being unconsciously.