Exophonic writing has recently been regarded as an act by non-native speakers to challenge the notion of national literature. For instance, Japanese writer Tawada Yōko (b. 1960) chose to write in German, while Hideo Levy (b. 1950) and Li Kotomi (b. 1989), from the United States and Taiwan respectively, chiefly write in Japanese. However, this paper argues that writing in a second language also allows writers from less liberal regimes to address the history of their nation of origin. Early Chinese-born French writers include François Cheng (b. 1929) and Dai Shijie (b. 1940). As a case study, this paper looks at their second-generation successor, Shan Sa (b. 1972), who moved from China to France and made her novel debut in French with Porte de la Paix céleste (Gate of Celestial Peace), which won the Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman. I will examine the plot of the text through stylistic and linguistic means to unveil how the narrator (re)presents the Tiananmen crackdown in a lyrical way. Through close reading of the text, as well as comparison with earlier works by her predecessors, such as Dai Shijie’s Balzac et la petite tailleuse chinoise (Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress), this paper aims to find a common ground in how French as a second language creates a mediating space for these exophonic writers to narrate this piece of modern Chinese history, untold or forbidden to be told in their country of origin.

Authors:
Kin Pong James Au, Tama Art University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Mr. James Au is currently an Assistant Professor of Center for Liberal Arts and Sciences at Tama Art University, Japan.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/kin-pong-james-au-507822a4/

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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