鐵道綿延：北美鐵路華工之文學與文化再現

Abstract

2015 年為華工正式參與美國太平洋鐵路建造之150 週年紀念，然而此段史實持續遭 到官方歷史邊緣化、甚至消音，至今仍缺乏系統化之研究，特別是從文學與文化觀點探 討十九世紀華裔鐵路工人對於建築北美中央太平洋鐵路（the Central Pacific Railroad）之 貢獻。此一令人遺憾之缺失，卻也提供了創新研究之契機。本三年期計畫即欲從離散研 究、亞裔美國研究以及視覺研究等多重面向探討十九世紀北美鐵路華工之文學與文化再 現，以補充官方歷史與學術研究的雙重缺憾。三年計畫主題分別為：「金山勇士：《龍門》 與《唐老亞》的青少年成長敘事」；「重返歷史現場：北美太平洋鐵路華工之影像再現」； 「『我是無名氏！你是誰？』：《莎拉•康納利》中的異形/異鄉/異族敘事」。 第一年計畫：金山勇士：《龍門》與《唐老亞》的青少年成長敘事 華裔美國文學文本以鐵路華工為主題者多為兒童或青少年讀物，以葉添祥（Laurence Yep）的《龍門》（Dragon’s Gate 1995）最為著名，其餘多為繪本。黃哲倫（David Henry Hwang）的劇本〈鐵道之舞〉（“Dance and the Railroad” 1981）、徐忠雄（Shawn Hsu Wong） 的《天堂樹》（Homebase 1979）、湯亭亭（Maxine Hong Kingston）的《金山勇士》（China Men 1980）、趙健秀（Frank Chin）的《唐老亞》（Donald Duk 1991）等文本，都試圖以 不同手法呈現此段歷史。本年度計畫聚焦於《龍門》中十六歲的阿德與《唐老亞》中 十二歲的唐老亞之男性成長敘述。《龍門》為葉添祥歷史小說「金山編年史」（the Gold Mountain Chronicle）系列中記述1867 年的故事，以寫實的手法描寫在酷寒嚴冬中，華 工如何在冰雪封山的內華達州開鑿鐵路隧道，讓第一人稱主角阿德（Otter）由備受家人 寵愛的中國少爺變成智勇雙全的華裔鐵路工人，同時擺脫客家人與孤兒養子身分的陰 影，在美國為創造新中國而努力。趙健秀則以寫實參雜夢境的奇幻手法，讓二十世紀末 的華埠青少年在夢中穿越時空，回到1869 年4 月底華工締造一天鋪設超過10 哩軌道之 輝煌時刻，讓原本「肖白」的唐老亞認識到官方歷史的錯誤以及華裔歷史的光榮，從而 認同華裔文化。本計畫以二文本為主，同時參考湯亭亭、徐忠雄、黃哲倫等人之相關文 本，以男性氣概研究（masculinities studies）與後殖民研究的理論架構，探討華裔男性 身分認同之建構，兼論華裔社群中的異質性與族群衝突，以打破華裔社群全然同質性的 迷思。 第二年計畫：重返歷史現場：北美太平洋鐵路華工之影像再現 近年來中國電視台相繼拍攝多部介紹鐵路華工之紀錄片，如山東齊魯電視台的《美 國鐵路華工》（2005）、《被遺忘的華工》（2008）與北京中央電視台的《金色道釘》（2010）。 在加拿大的中央鐵路建築歷史也有加拿大電視公司與中國合作、胡大為導演的迷你影集 《金山》（2008），以及香港電台在2012 年製作的《華人移民史》紀錄片。中港對於 十九世紀華工歷史的注意自有其國族意識形態之背景，但也做出保存以及流傳華裔歷史 的重要貢獻。本計畫除了研究華人社會此一視覺再現鐵路華工的風潮，也將比較研究華 裔美國、美國主流媒體與中國所拍攝之美國鐵路影片，探尋其中不同的角度與視域，由 視覺研究的角度探討華裔歷史視覺再現中的美學與政治運作。多方比較之下，可以明顯 看出美國主流媒體對於華工的貢獻仍然不甚重視，例如即使是以教育為本的公共電視 （PBS）所拍攝的《美國經驗：洲際鐵路》（American Experience: Transcontinental Railroad），雖有華裔導演共同執導，其中介紹華工的比例仍然相對偏低，對於趙健秀在 《唐老亞》中大力書寫的十哩軌道事蹟不但輕描淡寫，而且絲毫未提華人之貢獻。相形 之下，更加突顯中國的華工紀錄片熱潮之政治意義。 第三年計畫：『我是無名氏！你是誰？』：《莎拉•康納利》中的異形/異鄉/異族國家 本年度計畫跳脫十九世紀歷史研究的框架，探討法爾（Karen Joy Fowler）的推想小 說《莎拉•康納利》（Sarah Canary）如何透過一個鐵路華工趙阿金（Chin Ah Kin）之口， 描述十九世紀末各種邊緣角色在主流權力之下如何受到暴力壓迫與排擠，包括中國移 民、精神病患、女權主義者、內戰榮民以及美國原住民等等異鄉/異族人的離散故事。而 不知其來處的異形人物莎拉•康納利則是將此一飽受創傷的族群結合在一起之動力，小 說中也大量引用狄金森的詩句強調莎拉的神秘性。雖然小說強調不同角色視域各異，然 而小說以趙阿金的敘事作為開始以及結尾，顯然有意強調鐵路華工的異質性足以代表 十九世紀美國社會之邊緣人物，以極其特殊的方式書寫出對抗官方歷史的對抗論述。書 末看似與小說主要敘事無關的二十世紀末全球歷史紀實，突顯歷史的暴力與種族主義的 猖獗，俾使《莎拉•康納利》以綜合科幻、推理與歷史小說的方式對既有的權力結構與 社會提出強而有力的質詰。

The year 2015 marks the official participation of Chinese workers in the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad in North America. And yet the significant contribution of Chinese workers remains a marginalized, even silenced, part of the official historical discourse. This regrettable lack nonetheless allows us to search for creative ways to intervene in the current scholarship. Hence, this three-year project proposes to investigate literary and cultural representations of nineteenth-century Chinese railroad workers from the perspectives of diaspora studies, Asian American studies, and visual studies. The three topics to be researched are: “Becoming Gold Mountain Warriors: The Bildung of Chinese American Men in Dragon’s Gate and Donald Duk”; “Return to the Historical Scenes: Visual Representations of the Chinese Railroad Workers of North America”; and “‘I am nobody! Who are you?’: Alien-Nation in Sarah Canary.” First year: Becoming Gold Mountain Warriors: The Bildung of Chinese American Men in Dragon’s Gate and Donald Duk This project will focus on the developmental plots of Laurence Yep’s Dragon’s Gate (1995) and Frank Chin’s Donald Duk (1991). Dragon’s Gate, a part of Yep’s Gold Mountain Chronicles, tells the story of a Chinese American family in the year 1867. Through the firstperson narrative voice of the sixteen-year Otter, Yep realistically portrays the hardship and heroism of Chinese railroad workers who blast their way through the mountains of the frozen Sierra Nevada. In the process of digging the railroad tunnels, Otter grows from a spoiled teenager into a capable Chinese American railroad worker. At the same time, he is able to overcome his sense of inferiority as a Hakka and an adopted orphan, and decides to remain in America to work for the future of a new China. Frank Chin, on the other hand, mixes realism with fantasy by allowing his twelve-year-old protagonist, the eponymous Donald Duk, to travel back in time to the famous record-making “Ten Miles” day of April 28, 1869 through a series of dream fragments. The glorious achievement of the Chinese railroad workers, and their glaring absence in official history, prompts the white-identified Donald to recognize and embrace his heroic Chinese heritage. By comparing and contrasting these two texts along with other works about Chinese railroad workers, such as David Henry Hwang’s theater piece “Dance and the Railroad” (1981), Shawn Hsu Wong’s Homebase (1979), and Maxine Hong Kingston’s China Men (1980), this project will explore the construction of Chinese American manhood as well as address the ethnic diversity within the Chinese American community to demystify a false sense of homogeneity. Theories of masculinities studies and postcolonial studies will be employed as theoretical framework in the overall investigation of the project. Second year: Return to the Historical Scenes: Visual Representations of the Chinese Railroad Workers of North America The first decade of the twenty-first century saw a strong interest in documenting Chinese railroad workers by China’s broadcasting companies. Many important documentaries appear on the scene, such as the prize-winning Chinese Workers on American Railroads (2005), Forgotten Chinese Workers (2008), and CCTV’s Golden Spikes (2010). In Canada, Hong Kong-born filmmaker David Wu directed a mini-series Iron Road (2008) and Hong Kong TV Station also produced a series entitled History of Chinese Immigration (2012) to dig into the history of immigration of Chinese Canadians. While there is clearly a nationalist ideology behind this strong interest in the history of Chinese railroad workers in North America, it also contributes significantly to the preservation and circulation of Chinese American history. This project proposes to research on the growing interest in visually exploring the historical past of Chinese railroad workers. By comparing the visual texts produced by mainstream American media and Chinese American filmmakers, we hope to probe into the aesthetics and politics of visualizing Chinese railroad worker at multiple fronts. Third year: “I am nobody! Who are you?”: Alien-Nation in Sarah Canary In this project we will go beyond the framework of historical study and turn our attention to a speculative fiction, Karen Joy Fowler’s Sarah Canary, in which the arrival of an alien at the American Northwest of the 1870s offers us a window into the lives of socially marginalized characters at that particular time period, including Chinese immigrants, mental patients, proto-feminists, Civil War veterans, and Native Americans. The nameless woman, a Dickinsonian character who gets named Sarah Canary in a mental asylum, is the central force that links these traumatized characters together. The violence and oppression suffered by this group of “aliens” is keenly observed by a Chinese railroad worker Chin Ah Kin, who is clearly a member of the “alien” group and has gone through various adventures because of Sarah. Although the novel is generally believed to focus on the differences of personal perception within the context of the first encounter with an extraterrestrial life form, the fact that the narrative is framed by Chin’s feelings and observations indicates that his “alien-ness” can best represent people of marginal status in the nineteenth-century America. Thus, Fowler’s fiction provides an alternative counter-discourse to the official history that tends to erase and silence marginal figures. Moreover, Fowler inserts a catalogue of global, historical facts of the late twentieth century, which are seemingly unconnected to the main storyline, to highlight the continued practices of oppression and racism in the contemporary society. In the final analysis, by deploying a unique hybrid form—a combination of science fiction, detective and historical fiction—Fowler’s first novel effectively interrogates the existing power structure and social stratification that collectively produce a nation of “aliens.”