On the Reconstruction of the Chinese American History in China Men

Approaching from Michel Foucault’s notion of history, mainly his counter-memory, the paper explores how Kingston reconstructs Chinese American history through the main strategy of counter-memory—talk-story. Through retelling how the male immigrants in her family participated in constructing America, rooted in America and served in the army, Kingston, with these transgenerational adventures as an archetype, discloses the discontinuity of American history and reconstructs an alternate Chinese American history from the perspective of Chinese Americans. The counter-memory in China Men highlights Chinese Americans’ outstanding contributions, prowess and masculinity, thus helping to carve a place for Chinese Americans in American history, recreate the new images of Chinese Americans and subvert the stereotypical images of Chinese Americans as submissive, feminine, and lack of manhood and prowess.