Gendering Cross-strait Relations: Romance and Geopolitics in Li Ang's Seven-Generation Predestined Relationship and Ping Lu's East and Beyond

• Published in: Archiv orientální Vol. 81; no. 3; pp. 515 - 538
• Main Author: LIN, Pei-Yin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Praha Oriental Institute 01.01.2013; Oriental Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
• Subjects: Asian literature; China; Chinese history; Females; Feminism; Foreign relations; Geopolitics; History; Identity; International relations; Language and culture; Language culture relationship; Li, Ang; Li, Ang (1952- ); Linguistics; Literature; Narratives; Novels; Peoples Republic of China; Ping, Lu; Politics; Romance languages; Sociolinguistics and ethnolinguistics; Source studies; Taiwan; Text analysis; Writers; China; Taiwan; Li Ang; romance; Cross-strait Relations; Feminism; Literature; Narrative; geopolitics; Gendering; Ping Lu; Woman
• ISSN: 0044-8699

Studies on women's literature from Taiwan so far can be divided into two categories. The sociological one investigates the emergence of certain popular authors as a phenomenon, whereas the thematic one either condemns women writers for describing triviality only or hailing them as feminists. These two approaches cannot fully analyse the works by authors such as Li Ang (b.1952) and Ping Lu (b.1953), who venture into the mostly male-dominated realm of politics and history. This paper examines the relationship between romance and Taiwan's socio-political issues in Li Ang's Seven-Generation Predestined Relationship and Ping Lu's East and Beyond. Based on a close textual analysis, it offers a detailed interpretation of the multi-layered narratives in Li Ang's novel, looking at how Li's characterisation points to a female-centric view and a post-national global identity. It then scrutinises the interplay between personal desire and Taiwanese history, as well as the use of female details, in Ping Lu's work. It argues that the narrative form - romance - commonly employed by both writers should not be deemed clichéd or unserious. Rather, it serves as an effective means to subvert the "hardcore" politics, providing engendered insights into Taiwan's own past and current interactions with China. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]