Images of Chinese in Australian nationalist literature

Abstract

This article focuses on images of Chinese in the work of Australian nationalist writers. It discusses the manifestations of, and rationale for, images of Chinese as “others,” “scapegoats,” and “round characters” in three categories: distorted images of the lower-class Chinese, demonized images of Chinese merchants, and true-to-life Chinese images. The distorted and demonized images reveal Australians’ cultural cringe during the nationalist period and the xenophobic psychology of building a White Australia, whereas those Chinese portrayed as normal and realistic are culturally Australianized Chinese. These images of Chinese are all characteristic of a post-1880s historical moment in which racist ideas prevailed within Australian nationalist sentiment.