Eileen Chang as Proper Name
Vol. 50 No. 2 6/2020
|
Title |
Eileen Chang as Proper Name |
|
Author |
Chang Hsiao-hung |
|
Genre |
Article |
|
Pages |
313-351 |
|
DOI |
10.6503/THJCS.202006_50(2).0004 |
|
Download |
|
|
Language |
Chinese |
|
Key words |
clan patriarchy, generation name, patronymy, feminism, deconstruction |
|
Abstract |
This paper attempts to probe into the “proper name” of Eileen Chang 張愛玲 by mapping out the delicate fabrication among Chang Ying, Chang Yun-ying, Chang Ai-ling, Chang Meng-Yuan, Eileen Chang, Eileen A Chang, and Eileen Chang Reyher. It will bring in two lines of critique on the naming system. First, a feminist critique of the Chinese naming tradition will demonstrate how the legitimacy, authenticity, and propriety of clan patriarchy are solidified through the practice of patronymy, generation names, male-centered pedigree, etc. Second, a deconstructionist critique of the “proper name” will help to reflect upon the “self-sameness” perpetuated by the “proper name” on the one hand and destabilization on the other hand by the “life-writing” to come. “Eileen Chang” as the name, the proper name, and the signature can thus be read at the intersection of these two critical lines to expose the possible subversion from cultural heritage to literary studies of “the origin,” “the rectification,” “the orthodoxy,” and the “propriety” that help to establish the ultra-stable hierarchy. |