PureEthnicityinHybridizationAReturneesQuestfor.docVIP

Pure Ethnicity in Hybridization: A Returnee’s Quest for Chineseness in “Love in a Fallen City” Abstract Some critics find Fan Liuyuan, the male protagonist in Eileen Chang’s novella Love in a Fallen City (1943), to be a rake; what they fail to take into account, however, is the complexity of Fan Liuyuan’s identity as well as his predicaments, both before and after his return to China. By adopting the concept of diaspora, the present study explores how his desire for the absent authentic Chinese culture is developed, and how his failure to come to terms with the paradox of hybridization and pure ethnicity results in a process of fruitless attempts to construct his cultural identity in his homeland. Eileen Chang’s depiction of this futile pursuit indicates that pure “Chineseness” exists only in the diasporic imagination, rather than in any tangible object or place, not even in the Chinese homeland. Such a revelation negates the essentialization of pure Chineseness, and allows for more diverse articulations of diasporic ethnicity. Keywords: diaspora, returnee, cultural identity, hybridization, pure ethnicity Introduction As John O’Donohue states, “distance awakens longing; closeness is belonging” (xxii)；when the diasporic Chinese return to their homeland from sojourns abroad, they can feel a sense of belonging. Their pursuit for their identity can be seen in “Love in a Fallen City” (1943; henceforth “LIFC”), a novella by Eileen Chang.1 Although “LIFC” is regarded as one of Chang’s best works, the behavior of the male protagonist, Fan Liuyuan (henceforth Fan), is often singled out for criticism. For instance, the prominent literary critic Fu Lei declared soon after the publication of “LIFC” that Fan never had any intention of getting married and settling down, and that his love affairs were nothing more than activities to kill time (10). This opinion is still being echoed by scholars today. He Yuqing regards Fan as an immoral dandy and sly womaniser who pursues sex