From the Margin to the Center: The Transformation of the Identity Discourse of Chinese Ethnic Minority Literature

Xiaojun Gao

doi:10.4236/als.2018.61001

Abstract

Generally, the paper tries to rethink and rediscover the very notion and the identity discourse of Chinese ethnic literatures through multi-ethnic perspectives. According to the survey, the author finds ethnic minorities and their cultures are either under “ethnic erasure” or excluded from many of the orthodox Chinese national literary histories, while writers and artists of Han nationality have always taken the center stage. The misconception of Chinese literature as Han national literature is influenced by the orthodox Chinese national literary histories and hegemonic discourses. With the transformation of literary history from monistic to multivalent, Chinese ethnic minority literatures are moving from the margin to the center in the literary landscape of China, reclaiming their identities and providing another practical methods for Chinese literature to enter into a dialogue with the world from a new perspective.

Highlights

Chinese ethnic minorities and their cultures are indispensable parts of the nation’s history
With the transformation of literary history from monistic to multivalent, Chinese ethnic minority literatures are moving from the margin to the center in the literary landscape of China, reclaiming their identities and providing another practical methods for Chinese literature to enter into a dialogue with the world from a new perspective
It is the beginning for Chinese ethnic literatures to help create a new literary historiography that recognizes the contributions of ethnic works and their writers in the past and embraces multilingualism and diverse textual practices for Chinese literature in times ahead

Summary

Introduction

Chinese ethnic minorities and their cultures are indispensable parts of the nation’s history. A Han-centric perspective and discursive hegemonies in literary historiography have suppressed the practice of minority literatures, causing a partial conclusion that Han national literature represents Chinese literature As the research moves along, when Chinese ethnic literatures and cultures enter into a wider global context, they represent “the center” for both the identity discourse and the nation’s literature It is the beginning for Chinese ethnic literatures to help create a new literary historiography that recognizes the contributions of ethnic works and their writers in the past and embraces multilingualism and diverse textual practices for Chinese literature in times ahead

The Loss of Chinese Ethnic Literatures

The Chinese View of Literary History

The Margin or the Center?

Conclusion