离散空间的衍变与再现——解读美华历史与文学中的天使岛

Changing and Representation of Diasporic Space——on the Image of Angle Island in Chinese American History and Literature

本文借鉴文化地理学的批评视角,以美国华人历史和文学中的天使岛为研究对象,探讨其在美国华人族裔地图中的持续衍变状态和特殊承接意义。在不同的文学作品中,天使岛被先后赋予了不同的寓意:从拘禁早期华人移民的霸权空间,到装载早期华人移民文化财产的文化空间,再到封存华裔族群先辈记忆的文学标本空间。在这个持续衍变的过程中,天使岛意象最终成为了警示美国政府的排华黑暗历史、宣告早期华人移民的痛苦经验与不屈精神、标示华裔族群源头和身份合法性的独特族裔空间。

Focusing on the continual changing image and special connecting significance of Angle Island in the ethnic map of Chinese ethnic group, this paper studies the image of Angle Island in Chinese American history and literature from the perspective of cultural geography. In various literary works, the Angle Island has been endowed with different underlying meanings: hegemonic space for detaining the early Chinese immigrants, literary space of early immigrants’ cultural legacy, and literary sample space of Chinese forerunners’ ethnic experiences. This continually changing process reflected the interaction and debating of the US government policy, Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans. Recording the unfair anti-Chinese history, stating early immigrants’ miserable experiences and unbending sprit, and claiming Chinese Americans’ ethnic origin and identifying legality, the Angel Island is a unique ethnic space of multiple layers and special significance.