Imaging the Chinese in Cuban Literature and Culture

2. Chinese Bondage

2 Chinese Bondage Let there be a small state with few people, where military devices find no use; let the people look solemnly upon death, and banish the thought of moving elsewhere. Lao-tzu A long tradition of colonialist and Orientalist discourses has resulted in the (mis)representation of Chineseness (a tenuous term in itself) not only by authors and artists, but also within academic circles. In this sense, Rey Chow has voiced her suspicion of Western academia’s acceptance of non-Western testimonials: As in the case of representations by all minorities in the West, a kind of paternalistic, if not downright racist, attitude persists as a method of categorizing minority discourse: minorities are allowed the right to speak only on the implicit expectation that they will speak in the documentary mode, “reflecting” the group from which they come. (16) Whatever the reason for the acceptance of this subgenre by Western academics , the influence of the testimonio in Latin American and Caribbean prose narrative and historiography is undeniable. Testimonials by political prisoners, indigenous people, favela (Brazilian shanty town or slum) dwellers , slaves, and runaway slaves have offered valuable alternative discourses to the official histories of each country. At the same time, they have presented a more accurate view of the ethnic diversity of the regions in question and of the contributions by minorities and marginalized ethnic groups to Latin American identities. The Cuban ethnographer Miguel Barnet, one of the leading experts on this subgenre, has noted the way in which it has contributed to improving the self-esteem of various sectors of the population : “It is useful when it rescues people’s pride in being alive, and when it vindicates the values that were most concealed and reveals the true identity of the people in society” (Barnet and Montejo, Biography 206). In the testimonial subgenre, ethical commitment and the impetus of urgent denunciation typically prevail over aesthetic excellence. In fact, the very 30 Imaging the Chinese in Cuban Literature and Culture nature of the testimonial account presupposes immediateness. However, in the case of The Cuba Commission Report, although the text was published in English and Chinese in 1876 and 1877, respectively, it was not widely available until the publication of the 1993 edition. Given that to this day this document has not been translated into Spanish, it never elicited the Cuban reader’s sympathy as might be expected from a testimonio. In any case, its primary objective was achieved, since it did elicit empathy and a reaction from the Chinese government. The testimonies in The Cuba Commission Report and Apunte histórico de los chinos en Cuba are mediated by sympathetic individuals from the same ethnic group. These mediators enjoy a greater degree of agency than the testifiers due to their political status, intellectual abilities, and access to publishing houses. In contrast, the three Sino-Cuban generals who produced Our History Is Still Being Written are not in a destitute position in their society . In all cases, however, the Chinese men interviewed are either witnesses to or victims of exploitation, oppression, and discrimination, and their main objective is to inform readers about the injustices committed against their people. Critics have also debated the issue of the intellectual property of testimonios . This is particularly relevant in Biography of a Runaway Slave (Biografía de un cimarrón; 1966) by Miguel Barnet (1940–) and Esteban Montejo (1860–1973), the former slave Barnet interviewed.1 For this reason, I will avoid the word “author,” which is a function of the literary system, and will use the term “testimonialist” instead. In a sense, one could argue that this work is the result of the cooperation between Montejo, who provided most of the information, and Barnet, who directed the interviews, chose most of the topics, and edited the written version of the oral evidence. Another widely debated issue concerning testimonios is their claim to objectivity and truth. Indeed, emulating at times the genre of the journalistic report, testimonial accounts usually claim to be nothing but the representation of historical truth. Yet, as in any first-person narrative text, including autobiographies and memoirs, certain views can be exposed as subjective or exaggerated. The debates among David Stoll, Arturo Arias, and other scholars about evidence of fraudulence and fiction in I, Rigoberta Menchú (Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me nació la conciencia; 1982) immediately come to mind. Although I, Rigoberta Menchú has nothing to do with the Chinese presence in Cuba, it is nonetheless an...