契约华工历史话语的另一面:抗争与“越界”——以汤亭亭的《中国佬》为例

The Other Side of the Historical Discourse on Indentured Chinese Labors: Resistance and “Transgression”——A Case Study of Maxine Hong Kingston's China Men

论文以美国华裔作家汤亭亭的作品《中国佬》为文本,在当时种族歧视的社会历史语境中,探讨了以伯公和阿公为代表的契约华工抗争和"越界"的行为与策略。以伯公为代表的夏威夷种植园契约华工以"捣蛋鬼"的形象,通过制造麻烦来拒绝被驯化,逾越"不许说话"的戒律;以阿公为代表的铁路契约华工,则通过罢工来争取和白人同工同酬的待遇。他们的"越界"行为既是对华工主体性的宣示,也是对现有契约华工历史话语的一种反拨。正是在不停地跨越或隐或明的边界的过程中,华人才逐步扩展自己在海外的生存空间,改变主流社会对华人的刻板印象。

This paper discusses the behaviors and strategies of fighting and ＂transgression＂ by Bak Goong and Ah Goong who represented the indentured Chinese labors under a specific racism sociohistorical context, based on a book named China Men written by a Chinese-American writer Maxine Hong Kingston. Bak Goong, who epitomized the indentured Chinese labors in Hawaiian plantation, was acting like a trouble maker by making troubles in the aim of refusing to be tamed, such as breaking the law of ＂Don＇ t talk＂ ; Ah Goong, who epitomized the indentured Chinese railroad labors, was fighting for the equal pay as the Caucasian labors for equal act by strike. Their ＂transgression＂ behaviors not only claimed for the authority of Chinese labors, but also were a sort of opposition to the current historical discourse of the Chinese labors. Through the way of trespassing the plausible boundary, Chinese immigrants have been expanding their life space abroad and changing the stereotypes to the Chinese people from the main stream society.