Deterritorializing Hegemonic Globalization Progressively in Xiaolu Guo's Experimental Writing: A Comparative Reading of A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers and A Lover's Discourse

The narrative patterns of family saga, international romance, and hyphenated identity are popular with overseas Chinese authors who wish to enter the Anglophone market. In fact, they are implicated in the homogenization and marginalization of the ethnic minorities' cultural discourse under asymmetrical globalization. This article argues that Xiaolu Guo's A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers and its sequel, A Lover's Discourse, are a continuous literary experiment in writing about the Chinese diaspora and pushing against those stereotypes. By shaping her protagonists not as recollectors but as observers via a documentary approach, Guo includes their international love within criticism of Western masculinity and links their diasporic experience to a cosmopolitan journey. The analysis of her experimental style of challenging Anglophone cultural imperialism and seeking global justice reveals the innovation and diversity of the Chinese diaspora's translingual writing. Thus, Guo's counter-hegemonic literary practice not only distinguishes itself from literature categorized as ethnic but also contributes to the discursive equality of international English-language literature by minority writers.

Automated summary

Overseas Chinese authors often use family saga, international romance, and hyphenated identity narratives to enter the Anglophone market, but these patterns actually contribute to the homogenization and marginalization of ethnic minority cultures under asymmetric globalization. This article argues that Xiaolu Guo's novels, A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers and its sequel, A Lover's Discourse, are a continuous experiment in writing about the Chinese diaspora and challenging stereotypes. By presenting her characters as observers rather than mere recollectors, Guo critiques Western masculinity and connects diasporic experiences to a cosmopolitan journey, thereby challenging Anglophone cultural imperialism and promoting global justice.