An Uncertain Future

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An Uncertain Future

From the moment the Chinese set foot

on American soil, their dreams have been

American dreams, they scrambled for gold

in the dirt of California. They aspired to

own their own land and business, and fought

to have their children educated in

American schools alongside other American

children. Like most immigrant groups, they

came here fleeing war and famine,

persecution and poverty. And like the

descendants of other immigrant groups,

their children have come to call the United

States home.

The American of today would not be the

不确定的未来

从中国人踏上美国国土的那一刻起，

他们的梦想就变成了美国梦。他们在加利

福尼亚的尘土中争夺金子，他们渴望拥有

自己的土地与事业，渴望通过战斗，使自

己的孩子与美国小孩一样，在学校里受教

育。美国华裔们与大部分移民一样，来这

儿是为了逃离战争与饥荒，远离迫害与贫

穷。又与其他移民的后裔一般，他们的子

孙开始称美国为“祖国”。

如果美国除去华裔们为其取得的成

same American without the achievements of 就，那它将不会成为今日之美国。一代又一

its ethnic Chinese. Generation after 代的华裔子孙，为将美国建设成当的空前盛

generation, they worked to build the 况而奋斗。他们为内战而搏，建造的铁路使

American nation to its present level of 整个国家融为一体。华裔们早期的正义之

greatness. Some fought in the Civil War and 战，为随后的民权运动奠定了新的法律基

built the railroad that welded the country 础。他们为美国制成了首个火箭并帮助其赢

together. Their early struggles for 得了冷战。在硅谷和其他地方，他们的贡献

justice created new foundations of law 使美国在信息时代建立并保持其优势地位。

later used by the civil rights movement. 今天这些华裔分散在每个我们可想象的行

They built American’s earliest rockets 业中：有投资者，教师，作者，医生，工程

and helped win the cold war .In Silicon 师，律师，首席执行官，社会工作者，会计，

Valley and elsewhere, their contributions 建筑师，警察，消防员，演员和宇航员。

helped establish and maintain U.S.

supremacy in the information age. Today,

they are dispersed in every profession

imaginable as inventors, teachers,

authors， doctors, engineers, lawyers,

CEOs, social workers, accountants,

architects, police chiefs, firefighters,

actors, and astronauts.

But sadly, despite this long legacy of

可悲的是，尽管这么长时间的贡献，许

contribution, many Chinese Americans 多华裔在美国仍然被当成外国人。大部分新

continue to be regarded as foreigners. 移民者将会遭遇这样的嘲笑：“从哪儿来回

“Go back where you came from” is taunt 哪儿去吧！”就像有人说的，美国华裔们就

most new immigrants have faced at some 像客人一样呆在其他人屋子里，不能将脚放

point. As one put it, “Asian Americans 在桌子上，不能得到真正的放松。中式口音

feel like we’re a guest in someone else’s 与文化传统可能会消失，但我们的皮肤颜色

house, that we can never really relax and 与眼睛形状却无法改变。

put our feet up on the table.” Accents and

cultural traditions may disappear ,but

skin tone and the shape of one’s eyes do

not.

These features have eased the way for

这些特性让一些人理所当然地将美国

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some to regard ethnic Chinese people as 华人视为异类，自然也就称不上是纯正的美

exotic and different——certainly not 国人了。美国大众媒体把美国华人模式化，

“real” Americans. Thus the 把他们描绘成与生俱来就与美国人不同，无

Americanization of Chinese Americans has 法改变。因而美国华人的美国化被这种轻而

been overshadowed by the convenient but 易举但带有欺骗性的模式化蒙上了阴影。

dishonest stereotypes in the mass market,

which portray them as innately and

irreversibly different from their fellow

Americans.

What, in human terms, is the impact of

用人类的观点来看，什么是造成这种不

such divisiveness? It’s a native-born 和的因素呢？一个在加利福尼亚洲，西柯汶

Californian, a West Covina city council 纳的本地委员会成员，有人在电话里对他

member, being told over the phone, 说：“哇，你完全就像一个真正的美国人，

“Funny, you don’t sound like a Wong. You 一点儿都没有中式口音。”医学电视剧中美

sound so American.” It’s the virtual 籍华人医生不多，事实上，美国每六个医生

absence of Chinese American doctors on 中就有一个是亚裔美国人。

medical TV dramas, when in actuality one

in every six medical doctors in the United

States is Asian American.

In June 1999, Ted lieu, a United States

1999年6月，刘云平出生于俄亥俄州，

Air Force captain who grew up in Ohio and 在加利福尼亚读大学，在华盛顿邮报上介绍

attended college in California, wrote the 了他做美国空军上尉时的一个小故事：

following for the Washington Post:

“Are you in the Chinese Air Force?”

“你是中国空军吗？”旁边一位穿着得

the elegantly dressed lady sitting next to 体的女士问道。这个问题让我一时说不出话

me asked. For a moment I was proudly 来。要知道我们是在一个颁奖晚宴上，而我

wearing my blue United States Air Force 正骄傲地穿着美国空军的蓝色制服，佩戴着

uniform, complete with captain’s bars, 上尉军衔以及各种勋章和奖牌。因此她的问

military insignia, and medals. Her 题使我有些恼怒，也让我意识到就算美国空

question jarred me and made me realize that 军的蓝色制服也不足以彻底改变她最初的

even Air Force blue was not enough to 想法，即亚洲上的黄种人从某些方面来说不

reserve her initial presumption that 算是美国人。

people with yellow skin and Asian features

are somehow not Americans.

I wish this was just an isolated

我希望这只是个独立的小插曲。但遗憾

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incident. Unfortunately, too many people 的是，时至今日美国仍然有很多人将美国华

today still view Asian Americans as 裔视作在美国的外国人……身为美国空军

foreigners in America … As an officer in 的一名长官，有一天我或许会被要求将生命

the United States Air Force, one day I may 献给我的国家。如果有人依然对我所说的

be called to give my life to my country. “我的国家”代表着什么抱有疑问的话，那

It would be a shame if some people still 将是我的耻辱。

question what I mean when I say ”my

country ”.

Scratch the surface of every American

只需对每个中国出身的美国名人有浅

celebrity of Chinese heritage and you will 薄的了解，你就会发现，不管他们取得了多

find that, no matter how stellar U.S. 么卓越的成就，对美国社会有着多大的贡

society, virtually all of them have had 献，事实上他们每个人的身份或多或少都受

their identities questioned at one point 到过质疑。

or another.

Connie Chung, the second woman in

宗毓华是美国历史上第二个网络晚间

American history to co-anchor a network 新闻播报的女性联合主持，她在那样一种不

nightly news broadcast, survived an 受欢迎的新闻编辑室的氛围里挺了过来。作

unwelcoming newsroom atmosphere . Being 为极少数的女性之一已经够糟了，然而她

one of the few women was bad enough, but 说：“早期在哥伦比亚广播系统时，71年到

as she adds, ” In those early days at 76年，我被称作‘黄色新闻佬’——有些

CBS, ’ 71 to ’ 76, people were saying 话语已经明显涉及了种族问题。”但是到了

‘Yellow Journalism’——little remarks 后期，1990年，有一个叫做克里夫·金凯

that were clearly racist.” But as late as 德的华盛顿广播主持人直接称她为“宗国

1990, Cliff Kincaid , a radio host in 佬”。

Washington, D.C. , would call her “ Connie

Chink” .

Maya Lin, now the most famous female

林璎现在是美国最负盛名的女性建筑

architect in the United States, was 师，而1980年当她还是一个耶鲁大学没毕

viciously attacked when, as a Yale 业的学生时，她因赢得了在华盛顿举办的全

undergraduate in 1980, she won a 国的越战纪念碑设计方案的征集而被恶意

nationwide contest to design the Vietnam 攻击。“怎么能让一个外国佬来设计越战纪

Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. 念碑？”一些越战老兵质疑道，“为何能容

“ How can you let a gook design this?” 忍一个美籍亚裔女人为在亚洲发生的战争

some veterans asked. “How did it happen 中牺牲的美国人民设计纪念碑？”

that an Asian-American woman was permitted

to make a memorial for American men who

died fighting in Asia?”

At the 1998 Olympics, when U.S. figure

在1998年的奥林匹克运动会上，当美

skater Michelle Kwan finished second after 国花样滑冰选手关颖珊在她的队友塔拉·利

her teammate Tara Lipinski, the headlines 平斯基后面第二个完成比赛时，微软联网新

on MSNBC read,” American beats Kwan.” 闻的头条报道到：“美国人打败了关颖珊”。

Many Chinese Americans were

许多美籍华裔对媒体自动将她归于外

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distressed that the media automatically 国人这一举动十分愤怒，而事实上，关颖珊

considered Kwan a foreigner when in fact 在美国出生，在美国受到教育，也是在美国

she had been born, reared, and trained in 接受溜冰训练。四年过去，这个错误在关颖

the United States. Four years later, this 珊输给萨拉‧休斯与金牌擦肩而过时再一次

error was repeated after Kwan lost the gold 重演，因西雅图时报副标题称“美国人大爆

medal to Sarah Hughes. In a secondary 滑冰冷门，使关颖珊和斯路斯卡娅相形见

headline, the Seattle Times announced, 绌”。

“American outshines Kwan, Slutskaya in

skating surprise.”

In 1998, when Mattt Fong, a

1998年，职为加利福利亚洲的财务长

California state treasurer, ran for for 邝杰灵在竞选联邦议员时，有记者盘问他

the , reporters asked him which 说，如果爆发中美战争，他会支持中国还是

country he would support if China and the 支持美国。邝杰灵是第四代华裔，他的母亲

United States went to war. Fong was a 余江月桂女士，是首位任职加州政府秘书长

fourth-generation American and the son of 的女性美籍华裔。邝杰灵无从回答输赢问

March Fong Eu, the first Asian American and 题，只得回应时代周刊记者，“在美国‘自

the son of March Fong Eu, the first Asian 由平等’的表面下，还是存在着微妙的俗习

American woman to serve as a California 陈见和种族歧视的。”

secretary of state. He lost the race and

later told Time magazine, “There is a

subtle stereotyping and racism below the

surface. “

In May 2001, David Wu, the first

2001年5月，首位被选入美国众议院

Chinese American ever elected to the U. S. 的华裔吴振伟出席一次会议时竟在华盛顿

House of Representatives, was stopped when 特区能源部大楼被保安拒之门外。随后，吴

he tried to enter the Department of Energy 振伟表示：“最令我震愤的是，在我出示国

in Washington, D.C. “Most strikingly I 会议员身份证明，且我的国会助理刘云平出

was asked a couple of times whether I am 示了员工证再次证实后，竟然一再质疑我美

a U.S. Citizen or not,” Wu later said. 国公民的身份！”

“This was both after I showed my

congressional ID and after Ted Liu (Wu’s

congressional aide) showed him his staff

ID.”

In 2001, Elaine Chao, a Harvard

2001年，赵小兰自哈佛商学院毕业，

Business School graduate who had served as 任职联邦海事委员会主席及交通部助理秘

chairman of the Federal Maritime 书。她是乔治‧沃克‧布什总统任命其为劳工

Commission and assistant secretary of 部秘书后，史上被纳入总统顾问团的美籍华

transportation , made history as the first 裔第一人。当她的批判者们以她的中国血统

Chinese American to accept a Cabinet 为由刁难，赵小兰的丈夫参议员米奇‧麦康

position when President George W. Bush 奈尔站出来指责了这些“一定程度的种族

named her secretary of labor. When her 诋毁”， “黄热病佬”云云言论以及媒体

critics attacked her business ties with 界所持的排外态度。

China, her husband, Senator Mitch

McConnell saw “subtle racism,” “yellow

fever,” and xenophobic attitudes in the

media.

Time and again, the question is posed

此类事件屡次三番发生，而后一个问题

within the Chinese American community: How 被抛出，在美国华人社区呼声高涨：到底还

many hoops do we have to jump through to 要几般俯首屈从才能成为“真正”的美国公

be consider “real”Americans?

These episodes of racism do not occur

民？

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这些种族主义事件并非偶然发生，凭

by accident ,in a vacuum. Nor do they arise 空捏造的。这也不完全是在物理差异的基础

solely on the basis of physical 上产生的。纵观美国历史，的确，在大多数

differences. Throughout American history, 社会形式中，统治阶级像操控机制一样肆意

and indeed the history of most societies, 剥削异民族劳动力——作为一个方便的借

the ruling class has carefully exploited 口来让自己的控制更容易为接受。种族主义

differences in race and ethnicity as a 经常分裂和减少美国劳工--通过阻止白联

mechanism of control –as a convenient 盟和彩色工人来帮助他们赢得那些影响他

smokescreen to make their own control more 们的问题--使得政府在紧急情况下扩大其

palatable . Racism has often divided and 权力范围，如在经济萧条和战争这种时候，

diminished American labor –by thwarting 整个民族可以被牺牲的替罪羊集会领袖的

the union of white and colored workers to 解决方案背后的人。这是在美国的华人在排

help them win on issues that affect them 除时代前夕的命运。

all –and has enabled the government to

expand its scope of authority during

emergencies, such as economic depression

or war. At such times, entire ethnic

groups can be vilified and sacrificed as

scapegoats to rally other people behind a

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leader’s solution. Such was the fate of

the Chinese in America on the eve of the

exclusion era.