An Analysis on Chinese Culture in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club

【Abstract】s: The paper focuses on the interpretation of Chinese culture in the Chinese-American writer Amy Tan’s novel, making an analysis on The Joy Luck Club and exploring her identity crisis and her unique understanding about Chinese culture.

【Key words】 Amy Tan; Chinese-American family relation; Chinese culture

【作者简介】高嘉庆，福州大学。

1. Introduction

Amy Tan is one of the representative writers who are good at telling Chinese stories in a special way and interpreting Chinese culture from a new perspective. For example, The Joy Luck Club written by Amy Tan describes Chinese-American women’s life of two generation in American society vividly. “In their novels, female Chinese-American particularly describe as ‘the other’ in white and patriarchal society.” (黃燕丽, 2018: 110) In The Joy Luck Club, Amy’s interpretation of Chinese culture goes through a transformation from misunderstanding to identification. The changing can be shown by change in relations including mother-daughter and husband-wife.

2. Chinese culture about mother-daughter relation

The relation of mother and daughter is a dynamic process from misunderstanding to understanding. In the story, there are 4 mothers and daughters. These mothers who came from China are the first generation Chinese-American. Although they are in America now, they still have a life in a traditional Chinese way with traditional Chinese mindset.

At first, these mothers set up the club for playing mahjong. They still enjoy the Chinese entertainment way. Secondly, they have a strong desire to assign many plans and arrange a decent future for their children. They are the same to the other Chinese mothers. They believe that their daughters should be obedient to them and grow up to be elites with their strict family education. Besides, they compare their children each other and show off their children in a very euphemistic way. These mothers stand for Chinese culture so their behavior is not the same to American parents.

Difference produces misunderstanding and conflict between mother and daughter. The misunderstanding and indifference of daughters in the stories towards their mothers and strict family education can reflect a distorted interpretation of Chinese culture based on American world of views. In their mind, equal and independent mother-daughter relation is a normal one and as for them, the traditional Chinese mother-daughter relation seems to be unequal, arbitrary and outdated model.

When Suyuan Woo asked her daughter June to practice the piano, June refused to follow her. The mother shouted in Chinese “Only two kinds of daughters. Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter”(Tan, 1991: 98) It is obvious that there was a collision between mother who have a traditional Chinese education view and daughter who has an independent awareness. The daughter was rebellious to traditional Chinese mother and daughter relations and could not understand mother’s high wish about her. As June’s monologue in the story, “I never found a way to ask her why she had hoped for something so large that failure was inevitable.” (ibid: 101)

With the development of the story, the collision of them changes into understanding based on the daughter’s effort to getting close to her mother and Chinese culture. With the narration of Amy Tan with June’s eyes, mother’s love become understandable. Daughters understands that mother arrange their life to make sure that they have a prosperous future. The tight connection and even domination comes from profound love of mothers. The changing views about mother in June’s mind show the dynamic interpretation of the writer towards Chinese culture especially Chinese family education ideas and parent-child relation, especially mother-daughter relation.

The writer’s understanding about the kind of relation can also be inferred in the story about the aunt An Mei. An Mei’s mother knew An Mei’s grandmother was ill. She came back home, cutting a flesh as a medicine aiming at saving the old lady’s life. When writer describes curing a person, she does not criticize too much about the ignorance of the lady and the cruel and ridiculous therapeutic method, but highlights the sincere love and appreciation of daughter towards her mother. And Aunti Lindo’s story is another example of the traditional mother-daughter relation. Whatever Lindo suffers, she never forgot that her mother’s wish about her. Chinese mother and daughter relation used to be extremely closed and the mother has to be strict in case her daughter might live a miserable life. The more narration about China, the more understandable the mothers’ behavior is. The Chinese culture about mother-daughter relation is touching in the novel by the first person narration of these mothers.

To summarize, there are some evidences that when Amy Tan interprets Chinese culture with American mainstream culture, the deficiency of Chinese culture is revealed and even overstated. Amy exposes the degeneration of ancient Chinese culture such as male-domination and superstition but the sincere love between family especially love between mother and daughter is praised and admired.

3. Chinese culture about wife-husband relation

The relation of husband and wife is another point in the novel which can show the Chinese culture indirectly. When Rose married with a white man, she was obedient to him unconsciously. She did not have her own ideas. She kept silent in her marriage like a traditional Chinese woman in China although she was born and grew up in America. The poor social status of women in family life was repeated in the second generation Chinese American.

Amy Tan interprets Chinese culture not only as “the other” but also “the self”. As “the other”, she points out the unreasonable part of Chinese culture, while as “the self”, she finds connection and positive side with Chinese culture. However, the disadvantage of her interpretation also should be noticed, which is the common feature of Chinese-American writers. Chinese culture in their eyes is exaggerated or overstated one. Chinese culture is interpreted by the American mind style, even American stereotype. As a consequence, the Chinese culture tends to be distorted, misunderstood by them. Some Chinese traditional customs and world values are demonized by them.

In addition, Chinese culture in Amy’s eyes is broken and incomplete. The Chinese-American writer who has no real memories about China so Chinese culture in her novel differs from Chinese culture in reality. All of Chinese culture in her mind comes from their parents, family education and stories in books. What the source of Chinese culture is in pieces. Moreover, Chinese culture in her eyes is influenced by her gender. Amy pays more attention about women status in ancient China rather than the whole Chinese society.

4. Conclusion

In summary, Chinese culture in Amy’ novel is meaning and impressive, but is still different from the real one. Chinese culture in her eyes is the features of being broken and incomplete. Hence, The Joy Luck Club is helpful to establish the bond between American and Chinese culture, through telling stories about the Chinese Americans’ family and their relation, and it shows identity crisis of Chinese-Americans with the contradictory feelings towards Chinese culture.

References:

[1]Tan,Amy.TheJoyLuckClub[M].Vintage.1991.

[2]夏婉璐.華裔美国移民作家的中国文化元素翻译策略[J].民族文学研究,2017,35(01):170-176.