The imagination of China in Chinese American children’s literature: reasons, forms, and implications

The imagination of China is an inescapable theme in diasporic Chinese literature. This study views Chinese American children’s literature as a coherent body of work, centering on its literary imagination of China. It seeks to uncover the reasons, forms, and implications behind the imagination. Anchored in the concept of the “nation,” the study argues that Chinese American identity emerges as stratified, diversified, and historicized. Identity formation is driven by a complex interplay among the concepts of the nation, identity, and crisis. In Chinese American children’s literature, the imagination of China materializes through various literary strategies: the reproduction of cultural symbols such as mooncakes, lanterns, and copper coins; the introduction of Chinese linguistic practices as cultural metaphors and semiotic codes; the appropriation of Chinese philosophical thought; and the adaptation of Chinese myths and folklore. These literary devices provide a framework through which Chinese American children’s literature addresses broader issues related to childhood and development in a world shaped by cultural hybridity, ethnic coexistence, and the pervasive threats of war and terrorism. Drawing on Paul Hazard’s concept of the “World Republic of Childhood,” this paper further proposes the idea of a global community of children’s literature, characterized by pluralistic coexistence. This perspective highlights how Chinese American children’s literature offers valuable discursive resources for engaging with a world increasingly defined by interconnected and diverse cultural landscapes.