Trauma Writing in The Gold Fields by Ouyang Yu

The Gold Fields presents a world of suffering for the Chinese gold miners in Australia in the 19th century and reveals the evil of racial discrimination. In writing the suffering of Chinese gold miners, the author Ouyang Yu also presents their group image in both positive and negative light, praising the early Chinese settlers’ hard work, courage and endurance, criticizing their ignorance, selfishness and internal strife. The trauma writing in this novel attempts to represent the missing history about early Chinese immigrants and their economic contribution in Australia which is long neglected in official history.