Cultural implications of Asians

In the forties and fifties of the 2th century,

Although the specific situation of Asian-Americans was different, their cultural choices were generally consistent with those of Chinese-Americans, and they basically agreed with the United States without hesitation. In the 196s and 197s, the situation reversed, that is, most Asian Americans, by examining their social status and identity attributes in the United States, advocated giving up the pursuit of mainstream American culture and establishing the real status of Asian American culture in American society. This change is a milestone, which reflects the deep awakening of pan-Asian ethnic consciousness in the United States and is a fruitful spiritual achievement achieved by all Asian Americans in a specific historical period. This paper will focus on the analysis of the internal and external causes of the formation of pan-Asian ethnic consciousness and explore the cultural meaning of the title of "Asian American". The formation of pan-Asian ethnic consciousness has a profound social and historical background.

during the 196s and 197s, international political forces underwent major reorganization, and a large number of newly independent countries separated from the imperialist colonial system, thus forming the "third world". This new combination not only dealt a blow to the arrogance of imperialism and colonialism, but also made racial equality an internationally recognized norm, thus starting a new revolution in world history. This new phenomenon in the world has greatly inspired American intellectuals who have a tradition of criticizing reality, and launched a massive "New Left Movement", "Anti-traditional Cultural Movement" and the Black Civil Rights Movement at home, pointing directly at American domestic and foreign policies and social problems. Among them, two major themes have attracted much attention, one is to demand racial equality, and the other is to oppose the Vietnam War. The strong social thoughts formed by these movements have given an unprecedented impact on the current system in the United States.

In the fierce social unrest, the research ideas of American academic circles have also changed. Ethnic minorities, a once neglected or marginalized social group, have become an important part of historical research. "Black history, Asian history, Native American history, Hispanic history, women's history, gay history and other fields are very prosperous." As a result, the status of ethnic minorities in American history has been unprecedentedly emphasized. During this period, the American government promulgated and implemented the new Immigration Act (1965), abolishing the old system of ethnic origin and implementing the principle of priority under the condition of quota. With the implementation of the bill, the number of Asian immigrants has surged, making the Asian-American team expand continuously; The quality of immigrants has been greatly improved, which has obviously strengthened the socio-economic status of Asians; The number of women among immigrants has increased significantly, making the gender ratio of Asians more balanced. This is undoubtedly a favorable opportunity for Asian Americans to oppose racial discrimination and strive for equal rights in society. Under the above background, Asian-Americans, who were silenced by the mainstream society, joined the movement of questioning American society, culture and fundamental values with a positive attitude and unique way, even though their steps were a little slow.

Anti-Vietnam War Movement

The invasion of Vietnam by the United States has aroused widespread anger among people of all ethnic groups in the United States. Many Asians believe that the nature of this war is racial discrimination and racial aggression by the United States against Asians. Moreover, "looking at the history of racists roaming around the world, the current white colonial predatory war and the bloodshed of Asian people will not stop soon, and it will drag on indefinitely." In view of the atrocities committed by the US military in Vietnam, more and more Asian American college students and high school students are shocked to realize: "The enemy that American soldiers aim at and shoot is Asians with the same face as them." Therefore, when they took to the streets in excitement, they did not shout slogans such as "We want peace" or "Withdraw the troops" like white protesters, but from their own perspective, they held high placards such as "Stop killing Asian brothers and sisters" and "Reject ethnic wars" and shouted the same slogans in unison to participate in anti-war demonstrations. Obviously, they linked this war with their own racial oppression, and began to believe that no matter what efforts they made, the fact that the mainstream society regarded Asians as Asians and outsiders would not change. Such a brand-new understanding is conducive to the formation of pan-Asian ethnic consciousness.

Black civil rights movement

The reason why Asian Americans actively participate in the movement of black people for civil rights is that they really feel their identity and status have many similarities with black people. This movement "has brought us racial pride and self-esteem; At the same time, I realized: "There is an important connection between political struggle and a brand-new identity, and … I have a new understanding of the meaning of being an Asian American"; "There is a close relationship between the third world countries striving for economic, political and cultural independence and the American minorities striving for autonomy. The struggle for national liberation of the people of the third world goes hand in hand with the struggle for equal rights of the ethnic minorities in the United States." In addition, the Black Panther Party's aim of self-defense and re-establishing equality for blacks also has a great influence on Asian students. Therefore, the civil rights movement can not be ignored in promoting the awareness of pan-Asian ethnic groups.

Campus Movement

In the 196s, Asian students from the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University also launched a campaign for their equal rights on campus. The incident originated from the fact that the school ignored the legitimate request of Asian students to reform the history course, which led to the collective strike of Asian students. In American colleges and universities, the education system centered on Europe and America is generally implemented, and the needs of minority communities are not considered at all, which is also a typical racial discrimination. Under this system, many Asian students know little about their ethnic history, and even as Chinese, they don't know the fact that they were forced to live in Chinatown. To this end, students often hold their own reports, such as the "Yellow Identity Conference" held in Berkeley campus, which respectively described the history of Chinese and Japanese identities, American policy toward Asia, social structure and customs of Chinatown, etc. A student who heard such reports later recalled: "During the whole process of listening to the report, I nodded frequently and agreed with the speaker's words. For a moment, I suddenly realized that everything I experienced was racial discrimination. It was at that meeting that I found an accurate expression for the feeling that had accumulated in my heart for a long time. Therefore, Asian students are eager for the reform of history curriculum. After being left out in the cold by the school, students began to doubt the real purpose of school education. Someone pointedly asked, "What does Berkeley's degree mean to Asians? My uncle got an engineering degree from Berkeley in the 193s, but he ended up as the owner of a grocery store in Chinatown.

When the request for the establishment of a "Third World College" was shelved again, Asian students were finally angered and joined the radical "Third World Liberation Front" one after another, and launched a tit-for-tat struggle with the school authorities. In the autumn of 1968, The San Francisco State Strike of San Francisco State University students pushed the campus movement of Asian students to a climax. After more than five months of strike, in the spring of 1969, San Francisco State University founded the first Asian American Department in the United States. Soon, the University of California, Berkeley, also set up a course on minority studies. By the early 197 s, Qiaoshu University in California and some universities on the East Coast also offered courses on Asian history, society and culture.

The Asian student movement centered on campus sports is one of the important symbols of the formation of pan-Asian ethnic consciousness, and its influence on American society and Asian groups cannot be underestimated. First of all, it changed the attitude of education and academic circles towards Asians, and made Asian studies and minority studies begin to occupy a place in the American university education system. Asian studies, a new discipline, has become a respectable and respected field, and has played a role in improving, innovating and prospering American racial studies. Secondly, the Asian student movement has changed the public opinion environment, which made the Asians be silenced and erased, and heard and seen by the mainstream society in the late 196s. Although they are still on the edge of society, the cross-racial alliance has strengthened their strength, public opinion can no longer ignore their existence, and government decision-making departments have also improved their understanding and attention to Asian Americans. Thirdly, it is the cradle of the first generation of Asian American scholars and writers in the true sense of Asian American culture, history and literature. In 196, the Asian American Political Alliance, founded by the radical Asian intellectual elite of the University of California, Berkeley, connecting all parts of the United States, is a very active mass organization. At that time, it was the first time in American history that the concept of "Asian American" was formally put forward and regarded as the main actor of a political organization, and its great significance was obvious. It reflects the awakening of Asian ethnic consciousness from at least the following aspects:

First, it shows that Asians no longer follow the values of white Americans in terms of cultural identity.

The "integration theory" put forward by Rose Lee in the 195s was really attractive to the Asian people at that time, and made them frantically pursue and practice their American dreams as if possessed. (1) However, as Mary Uyematsu, a member of the Alliance, pointed out: In the process of Americanization, Asians have tried their best to transform themselves into Americans physically and psychologically. ..... They gave up their own language, customs, historical and cultural values to adapt to the white culture. However, after these efforts, I found that I was not accepted by the mainstream society, and the state of discrimination remained the same. Therefore, their "contempt for the eyes cast by white people" can only be a kind of "almost desperate inferiority and eternal confusion." Yuji Ichioka, the founder of the alliance, put it more thoroughly: although Asians pretend to be white, imitate their actions and speak, and strive to be like them in almost all aspects, "this is just a self-deceiving dream, which has aggravated their own identity crisis."

after such reflection, the majority of Asians deeply realize that the consciousness and culture of white people are beyond their reach; We must abandon this unrealistic American identity and establish a new direction that is more suitable for our own characteristics. This change in understanding is the key to the formation of pan-Asian ethnic consciousness. Secondly, it completely negates the derogatory terms such as "Oriental", which shows that the awareness of racial equality of the majority of Asians is unprecedentedly enhanced.

Since Asians first landed on the North American continent, they have had the nickname "Oriental". It is passed down from generation to generation, and it is more and more discriminatory. This title almost makes Asians live in a "cage" full of prejudice and restrictions, which poses a huge obstacle to their foothold and development in the United States. After 1965, although the number of Asian immigrants has been increasing, their quality has been improved and their economy has improved, the mainstream society has not reduced its exclusion and discrimination. According to the survey results in 197, among the Chinese who were praised as "model ethnic minorities", some% of college graduates worked in restaurants, gift shops or grocery stores, and many college graduates could not find jobs, becoming typical "underemployed"; Among men with a bachelor's degree, only 13% earn $1,. 39%, while among white men with the same educational background, 27% have a personal income of 1, dollars. 7%。 As for Chinese women, incomplete employment is a common phenomenon; Even if they can find jobs, most of them are engaged in clerical jobs, such as accountants, cashiers, secretaries, typists, file managers and so on. According to statistics, more than 4% of Chinese female secretaries have a college degree, while most white women engaged in this profession often have only a high school education. In California, 36% of Chinese female employees are engaged in clerical or typist jobs.

In this case, the Asian people hate the appellation of "Oriental". But for a long time, I have been suffering from no solution and can only submit to humiliation. As a new concept, "Asian American" emphasizes the idea that "Asians are also Americans", which the mainstream society has to admit, and then denies a series of names with obvious derogatory meanings such as "Oriental". The essence of this struggle around appellation lies in maintaining or opposing the existing racial discrimination, which reflects the new awakening of the racial equality consciousness of the majority of Asians. Thirdly, it is beyond the single ethnic consciousness to regard different Asian races as a whole and have the cognition of "American native third world"

For a long time, there has been a lack of necessary ties between Asian ethnic groups, and the anti-discrimination struggle has always been fought alone. Since the end of the Indian era, this situation has fundamentally changed. Throughout the speeches of the Alliance, no matter which particular ethnic group the author comes from, his basic position is the same, that is, he regards himself as a member of the Asian ethnic group and discusses the problem from this point. Roots： An Asian American Reader, a collection of essays published in 197, was co-written by Franklin Waldo, Mary Uyematsu, Ken Hannada, Peggy Lee and Maria Cheng, the core figures of the Alliance, who came from Japanese, Indian, China and other different ethnic groups. The book expresses their common aspiration: "We have enriched the rich Americans' pockets with hard work and tax payment, but what we get in return is a life without equal rights, full of restrictions and discrimination. Like the colonial people, this kind of life is considered reasonable, uncontroversial and unchangeable. Obviously, there are many similarities between the treatment of Asians in the United States and the treatment of Asians in China. " DH (P24) "Many problems that plague the third world are also plaguing the third world in the United States." [III (P225) It can be said that the same experience, social status and the pursuit of equal rights for Asians have pushed the consciousness of pan-Asian ethnic groups onto the stage of Asian American history. The term "Asian American" unites all Asian Americans across nations, labels their identity and attributes as "unique", and enables them to know themselves from a brand-new perspective, define themselves and explore the true meaning of being an Asian American.

In the late 196s and early 197s, a group of outstanding Asian writers began to emerge, and their works all discussed the issues of racial identity and cultural identity closely related to them. Frank Chin, a Chinese American writer, is one of the most representative. After historical and cultural filtering, he accurately summarized the cultural connotation of "Asian American": "Asian American is not an ethnic group, but is composed of several ethnic groups such as Chinese, Japanese and Filipino. Chinese-Americans and Japanese-Americans have been separated from China and Japan for seven generations and four generations respectively in terms of geographical location, social culture and history. They have evolved a very unique culture and emotion in this land of the United States, which is different from the characteristics of China and Japanese, as well as the characteristics of white Americans. Even the languages of Asian ethnic groups that are still used by Asian ethnic groups in the United States have been adjusted and developed into unique languages that express their new experiences. "

The term "Asian American" takes all