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With the reform and opening-up policy, immigration and studying abroad became increasingly popular so that new immigration group appeared and new immigration literature was increasingly prosperous. Yiyun Li is a typical writer in this period because her spare and quietly understated style of storytelling draws readers into powerful and emotionally compelling explorations of her characters’ struggles. In this period, more works seek fusion in the conflict, and self-examination rather than the pursuit of American dream and feeling of being in different cultures.
2. Views Concerning Education
Cultural differences between China and America have existed for a long time. Most Chinese-American moved to the United States after growing up. Although living in the US for several years, Chinese Americans cannot remove traditional Chinese education they have received. They often stick to some traditional Chinese views and therefore, cause misunderstanding even conflicts in their life when dealing with their children. Anyhow, many Chinese-American parents have realized this problem and are gradually changing some views concerning education to keep up with the times.
Generally speaking, views concerning education come from two aspects, family and school or society, with the latter two considered as one sine more often than not they are more closely related to mainstream culture in the society while the former mainly concerns parents.
2.1 Family Education
Both “home” and “family” can be used to represent the same concept in Chinese. However, “home” can never take the place of “family” because “family” includes each inpidual in the home and relationships between family members, while “home” just focus on the house. Family education refers to influence that parents have on children in a family. Also, family education accounts for a huge percentage in education for not only parents are the first teachers of children, but also family education relates to the whole life of a child. Chinese American, who affected by traditional Chinese education, pay more attention to family education.
2.1.1 Marriage
Two issues cannot be avoided when discussing parents and children in Chinese-American families. One is academic study, and the other is marriage. Marriage is a particularly important part in one’s life, especially in a girl’s life. Traditional belief of marriage in China, which is pretty strict to women, is that girls are born to marry men. However, with the broadening of thinking pattern, views on marriage changed as well. Views on marriage include not only their attitudes toward marriage itself but also what parents want their children to do in a marriage.
Arranged marriage was everywhere in China before reform and opening up. Parents had a duty to find a man for their daughters. All that girls needed to do was to stay inside the room and wait. Once married, a girl had nothing to do with her own family, and needed to serve her husband and his family. Jade Snow lived in that period and was brought up with such views. When her fourth elder sister got married, she--the Fifth daughter--knew that “she[the fourth elder sister] married to serve her mother-in-law first and then her husband. Her personality will be completely submerged. Husband and wife are strictly decorous and formal in public, always deferring to the parents or grandparents.” (Wong, 1945: 134) However, this is not the case in The Joy Luck Club. Four parents all encourage their daughters in various ways to pursue their own rights rather than just bearing the situation. 文献综述
In the Joy Luck Club, the mother generation, like millions of traditional Chinese women, was restricted in many aspects in their life. When oppressions became unendurable, they escaped to America, a land of freedom. Their rebellious spirit was then passed on to the next generation.When An-mei Hsu’s mother question her "Why do you not speak up for yourself?" "Why can you not talk to your husband?"(Tan, 1989: 127) In addition, ying-ying St. Clair worried that her daughter is coward and bellied, so she encouraged her daughter to pursue equal rights with her husband by overturning the marble table boldly.