杰克·伦敦的亚太叙事与种族伦理意识

Jack London’s Asia-Pacific Narrative and His Ethical Consciousness of Race

1907年,杰克·伦敦携妻子查米安乘坐“蛇鲨号”进行亚太航行并收集素材,创作了一系列短篇小说。其中,《麻风病人库劳》用夏威夷领袖库劳的英勇抗争替换了水手斯托尔兹版本中重要的家庭情节。不少学者认为,该作品使伦敦摆脱了“种族主义者”的标签。然而,若考虑整个亚太叙事的脉络,伦敦则表现出对黄种人强烈的蔑视。那么,这种对有色人种的区别对待将如何理解呢?“脑文本”概念与种族伦理意识对亚太叙事的解读可以揭示出库劳故事的改写并非出于种族正义,而是受19世纪末美国社会流行的斯宾塞思想的影响,由此折射出伦敦的种族伦理悖论与美利坚民族共同体利益的一致性。

In 1907,Jack London and his wife Charmian sailed on the“Snark”in the South Seas and wrote a series of short stories based on this voyage.In one of the stories,“Koolau the Leper”,the romantic family story is replaced with the rebellion of Koolau,the leader of Hawaii.Many scholars believe that this work overturns London’s previous image as a white racist,but London’s Asia-Pacific narrative is full of stigmatization and contempt for the yellow race.This article explores the racial ethics behind London’s creation.According to Nie Zhenzhao’s theory of“brain text”and the concept of ethical consciousness of race,the article finds that instead of being a work of social justice,London’s rewriting of Koolau’s story is influenced by the Spencerian thought popular in the late-19th-century American society.London’s ethical choice is based on his national identity,reflecting the consistency between his racial ethics and the interest of American national community.