超越“20世纪60年代晚期至70年代早期”:美国亚裔文学批评源头考辨

Beyond“from the Late of 1960s to the Early of 1970s”:Examining the Origin of Asian American Literary Criticism

20世纪80年代以来,批评界普遍把"20世纪60年代晚期至70年代早期"视为美国亚裔文学批评的源头,其标志是70年代几部重要美国亚裔文学选集的导言。这种界定只是对"美国亚裔"一词诞生以来美国亚裔文学批评源头的一种特殊解读,肯定了美国亚裔文学批评与美国亚裔运动同生共进的文化政治关系,但同时遮蔽了美国亚裔文学批评的真正源头。美国亚裔文学批评的真正源头是1887年美国《日晷》杂志刊发的《我在中国的童年》书评。介于1887年到1910年前后出版的关于李恩富、伊迪丝·伊顿、温妮弗莱德·伊顿、容闳等早期美国亚裔作家作品的其他评论可以界定为这个源头的主流。

Since 1980,"from the late of 1960 s to the early of 1970 s"has been generally viewed as the origin of Asian American literary criticism,which is marked by the appearances of the introductions of several influential Asian American anthologies in the 1970 s.This view is just the particular interpretation of the origin of Asian American literary criticism since"Asian American"was coined.It affirms the synchronously cultural and political relationship Asian American literary criticism and Asian American Movement,while it obscures the authentic origin of Asian American literary criticism.The authentic origin of Asian American criticism is the appearance of the book review of When I Was a Boy in China published by the American magazine The Dial in 1887.The other commentaries on the works of the early Asian American writers such as Yan Phou Lee,Edith Eaton,Winnifred Eaton,and Yung Wing,which were published from 1887 to 1910 or so,can be viewed as the mainstream of the origin of Asian American criticism.