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• t e n Under Easter n Eyes : Ghost s and Cultura l Hauntin g i n Maxine Hon g Kingston' s The Woman Warrior an d China Men Walter S. H. Lim If a n Asian reade r wishe s t o locat e a usefu l poin t o f entr y int o the narrativ e univers e an d cultura l worl d o f Maxin e Hon g Kingston's The Woman Warrior, he o r sh e i s likel y t o find i t i n th e author' s treatment o f ghosts . The reaso n i s tha t th e stor y o f th e hungr y ghost , th e narrator's unname d aunt , a t th e ver y star t o f th e boo k invoke s th e contex t of th e hungr y ghos t festival , which , i n societie s lik e Singapor e an d Hon g Kong, i s ritualisticaU y observe d b y man y Chines e i n th e sevent h mont h o f the luna r calendar . The 'ghostly ' aspec t o f thi s festiva l derive s largel y fro m the Taoist concep t o f heU. Taoists believe i n pu du, a general amnest y fo r th e souls of the dea d in heU, which last s the thirt y day s that ghosts are permitte d to wande r i n th e real m o f th e living . O n th e fifteenth day , a banque t o f sorts i s prepare d fo r th e ghosts . Kingston's invocatio n o f th e hungr y ghos t festival the n suggest s a poin t o f cultura l familiarity . Upo n close r reading , however, familia r cultura l coordinate s offere d b y one' s ow n immediat e understanding o f wha t th e celebratio n o f th e hungr y ghos t festiva l entail s get slightl y jostled, for w e find ourselve s i n th e worl d o f a n American tex t in whic h th e presentatio n o f thing s Chines e get s mediate d throug h th e controUing lenses of an American perspective . How, then, can an Asian reade r make critica l sens e o f th e term s o f th e culturaU y unfannlia r i n relatio n t o the apparen t structure s o f th e famUiar ? Academic discours e ca n alway s be relie d o n t o hel p i n th e initia l phas e of critica l deciphering . And s o i t i s that commentator s hav e bee n quic k t o 156 Walter S. H. Lim identify th e theoretica l structure s o f Anglo-American feminis t discours e in , for example , Kingston's us e o f th e moti f o f th e materna l empowermen t o f the daughter . Brave Orchid' s unveilin g o f the tragi c lif e stor y o f this aun t i n old rura l Chin a facilitate s th e youn g narrator' s meditation s o n th e functionings o f gender(ed) assumption s an d bias in Chines e culture , enabUng ideological critiqu e an d interrogation. Although usefu l an d important, readin g the 'No Nam e Woman' episode throug h th e theoretica l structure s o f feminis t discourse show s u p limit s i n th e critica l unpackin g o f resonan t cultura l meanings, relate d t o th e dee p genera l uneas e registere d i n th e narrator' s portrayal o f he r relationshi p t o he r mother . This uneas e i s inscribed earl y o n i n th e narrator' s conferra l o f ancestra l status o n he r aunt , a powerfuUy transgressiv e ac t withi n a Chines e cultura l context. Fo r i n th e norma l orde r o f thing s a s define d b y th e patriarcha l norms regulatin g th e maintenanc...

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