Postcolonial Concepts and Narrative Practice

Postcolonial theorists distinguish between cultural diversity and cultural difference, between multiculturalism and third space, and between assimilation and hybridity. These theories, perhaps by definition, are actively changing as theorists continue to contend with reality. For the sake of this discussion, we set ourselves the goal of striving for third space to mean “creating a space where those inside it feel comfortable, free and able to negotiate multiple meanings, identities and conflicts in values and interests to help with creativity and development” (Zhou & Pilcher, 2018, p. 4). The distinctions made by postcolonial theorists are important because the Cantonese community in particular has experienced colonization from the mother country of China as well as Britain for centuries. Most recently, this is exemplified by Britain ‘returning’ Hong Kong to China in 1997. However, patterns of colonization date much farther back as various dynasties throughout Chinese history have previously conquered and colonized the areas in and around Guangdong and the many ethnic minorities residing there since as early as the Qing dynasty in 222 BCE (Chang, 2021). Lee (2015) discusses how the people of southeastern China were considered inferior by the people in the government capitals of China’s northeastern cities, which is why China was willing to offer Hong Kong and Guangzhou to Britain as a colony in the case of Hong Kong, and as an international port in the case of Guangzhou (Lee, 2015). In turn, this explains why most who left China left through Guangdong or Hong Kong, with the largest early waves of immigrants being Cantonese. Further, Chinese government officials saw Cantonese citizens as dispensable, and thus, Cantonese were the primary victims of the Coolie trade, discussed more in the section below (Lee, 2015). A comprehensive history of southeastern China and colonialism is out of the scope of this paper, but this summary illustrates the importance of integrating postcolonial theory in this project. Guangdong province has long experienced cultural differences and hybridity as the province is home to many diverse ethnic minorities who have long experienced attempts of cultural and economic control from outside governments. One participant where I work, originally from Vietnam, recently stated while we were singing French nursery rhymes together: “I am not Vietnamese. I am not Chinese. I am Cantonese!” (participant, personal communication, 2021). This participant’s statement speaks to the common frustration of feeling culturally misunderstood as well as the importance of their Cantoneseness compared to their place of birth or ancestral country. It made me wonder how I could provide a space for this participant to speak out against being misunderstood and greatly inspired this project.

Postcolonial theorists make the distinctions listed above in part to recognize the liminality of culture over time and to address the artificiality of postcolonial nation-states, which promote a going back to an original pre-colonial cultural authenticity while in reality, many such nation-states continue to perpetuate some form of colonization of minorities (Spivak, 2012). This repetitious cycle of rehearsing dominant to minority group control is what this project hopes to address and move beyond. Whereas the colonialist leaders thought that to know the other, you must control and conquer it, postcolonial theorists have redefined alterity as coexisting with the otherness within everyone; it recognizes that to know yourself, you must recognize how you are different (Raja, 2019). Alterity also supports writing alternative histories. In recognizing that the dominant group cannot tell the story of a minority group, alternative stories represent an important deconstruction of colonialism (Spivak, 2015). From a narrative practice perspective, alternative stories are not simply stories that differ from the dominant discourse of an individual or society, but stories that are identified an individual as stories by which they would like to live their lives. Further, to create alternative stories, narrative theorists collaborate with individuals to identity what will assist people to break from the influence of the problems they are facing, creating thereby new possibilities for living (Morgan, 2000). This project aims at exploring the confluence of narrative and postcolonial definitions of alternative stories by suggesting that the commutation of individual narratives—each story and song in the archive— can contribute to a change in broader societal discourse.

Postcolonial theorist Bhabha discussed the importance of leaning away from multiculturalism due to the containment from dominant society propagating the values of multiculturalism or diversity and the importance of leaning towards culture as liminality and otherness (Rutherford, 1990). Indeed, Bhabha considered the major downside of multiculturalism to be that the implied perceiver is always coming from the dominant culture, that there is always an implied rehearsal of colonization. Thus, although multiculturalism entertains difference, it also contains and controls difference. Although diversity is a value in most postcolonial societies, there is an implication that to some extent, people have assimilated to the dominant culture. The importance of hybridity lies in recognizing that there can never truly be a point of assimilation; rather, every individual is in constant flux, always redefining oneself based on every interaction (Rutherford, 1990). We are all different, and postcolonial theorists intend third spaces as a space in which differences are heard, felt, and appreciated, never controlled, even when that might be uncomfortable for the dominant culture. Bhabha’s definition of hybridity is a good example of alternative stories changing broader discourse: in colonial times, hybrid was a derogatory term referring to the negative view whites had of mixed-race people, the definition has been reversed due to postcolonial theorists like Bhabha redefining the term with their alternative, preferable view which celebrates cultural mixedness (Buchanan, 2010). In our web archive, we strive to infuse this celebration of cultural mixedness in regard to traditions of music, religion and spirituality, the dynamics of the Chinese diaspora, and beyond.

Spivak (2012) discusses the many challenges of incorporating post-colonialist concepts into any space of growth. From how to prepare participants to approach a work not intended to be viewed from the standpoint of dominant culture, to the many colonialist burdens of the English language, to inadvertently rehearsing colonialism (European nationalism, nativism, superiority, culturalism, etc.), the challenges of addressing and moving beyond a colonialist framework seem daunting. Yet, Spivak (2012) also identifies a way forward, through “de(con)struction,” using this word to indicate the continuous breaking down and reinterpretation of colonialist narratives needed in order to reclaim identity. One example of deconstruction is recognizing relativity and binarism in the way colonists divided the world: East and West. Of course, in reality, east and west always change depending on where one is located. Similarly, some binary structures of our project, even only in terms of linguistics, are prominent and in some ways echoe the binarism so important to the colonialists: strong/weak, civilized/uncivilized, east/west, and so on. For example, the book is bilingual, in English and Chinese. Chinese is such a profoundly different language from English. Chinese is pictographic, while English uses a phonetic script, so there is no meaning in the way English words look, while Chinese characters are each a work of art. Further, within Chinese, the book is bidialectal, in only Mandarin, which is increasingly the national language of China and the language most youngsters learn at school, and Cantonese, one of many other dialects of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong (however, even in Guangdong, students primarily learn Mandarin at school). Despite the colonialist binaries present, we hope through continuously exploring alternative stories, the multiplicity even within binarism will become evident.

The theoretical orientation of this project is also grounded in postmodernist narrative practice within a social justice framework. From a social constructivist point of departure, we are on a journey of recognizing what preferred stories Chinese Americans would like to tell through music, and how we can amplify and share these preferred stories more visibly to gradually shift the dominant story about Chinese Americans to more closely fit their preferred narratives (Combs & Freedman, 2012). By focusing on stories, we hope to avoid oversimplification of narratives. For example, in individual therapy, narrative practice involves giving special attention to the role of client as expert, the multiplicity of stories, the development of narrative metaphors within the cultural context and language of the client, the recruitment of witnesses and audience members as a system of support, exploring unique outcomes and unique forms of documentation (Johnston-Cook, n.d.). At the senior health care organization where I work, intergenerational practices that involve narrative work take place daily between staff and participants. Further, some intentional, mutual beneficial partnerships involving artmaking and preservation of individual elders’ stories have taken place, such as in 2014 when StoryCorps and California College of the Arts came to our day health center and told the stories of several participants through comic book-style narrative art:

Excerpt from StoryCorps Comics: From the On Lok Powell Center (Bell, A. & Jaworski, T., 2014, p. 9)

The story is by a participant who recently passed away on November 15, 2021. The StoryCorp comic may be the most in-depth story of this participant's life and we are still able to learn from his story even after he has passed away. In my opinion, it is intuitive for an elder to bestow their story upon a younger, eager listener, not only to develop a legacy, but also to impart wisdom as part of working towards a better future. This act of bestowing a story is also a way elders can feel seen during a time when they must stay increasingly invisible, indoors and masked to survive the pandemic. With this project, we encourage participants, whether contributors of a story or song, or just someone that visits the web archive, to engage their personal narratives too, thereby involving third space and hybridity concepts which explore the liminality of culture. This meeting point between alternative preferred stories in narrative practice and alterity and de(con)struction in postcolonialism suggests a third space of liminalities where we hope unique, positive outcomes and sustainable change are both possible.

Reyes and Constantino (2016) explored what factors contribute to resilience amongst AAPI women, including networks of social support, connection to bicultural identity, and resilience as an emancipatory journey. The women in their research study recognized that “resilience is not only a personal endeavor but also a collective effort to resist the structures that perpetuate racial and gender discrimination” (Reyes & Constantino, 2016, pp. 111-112). Incorporating stories of culture and stories of resilience and emancipation seem to pose promising strategies for supporting Chinese elders to regain visibility using the stories and songs which they choose to share. Myerhoff, an author on narrative practice with elders, noticed the everyday ways that members of an elderly immigrant Jewish community ‘made themselves up,’ having no in-culture witnesses to their past lives and culture (1982). Through these observations, definitional ceremonies began as collective self-presentations intended to provide opportunities for being seen on one’s own terms, garnering witnesses to one’s own worth, vitality, and being (Myerhoff, 1982). In the words of Myerhoff (1982), “Such performances are opportunities for appearing, an indispensable ingredient of being itself, for unless we exist in the eyes of others, we may come to doubt even our own existence” (p. 234). The idea of definitional ceremonies incorporated with stories of emancipation and resilience for the sake of cultural preservation holds a special significance for Cantonese elders too because as China moves towards a more nationalized culture in which all speak the same dialect, Mandarin, and with China regaining sovereignty over Hong Kong, Cantoneseness holds a more tenuous, uncertain future.