Mapping identity and place in Yongping Li's The End of the River

This article offers to postcolonial literary studies a case study of Borneo grappling with its colonial legacy and cultural identity by exploring the dynamic interplay between place and identity in Yongping Li's two-volume novel, Da He Jin Tou (The End of the River). Using a theoretical framework rooted in postcolonial geo-humanities, including the concept of place in postcolonialism, Yi-Fu Tuan's notion of topophilia, and Robert Tally's literary cartography, the article argues that Li's mapping of Borneo as a dynamic interactive space offers entry into a process of affective identification that transcends national borders and ethnicity. To achieve this, the article first contextualizes Li's Borneo writing within a postcolonial spatial framework, and then proceeds to analyse the novel, highlighting a meeting between Tuan's humanistic geography as related to place and affective bond, and Tally's literary mapping of spatiality to demonstrate Li's identification with the textured and affectively charged Borneo.

Automated summary

This article presents a case study of Borneo in Yongping Li's novel, "The End of the River," to examine its colonial legacy and cultural identity within the context of postcolonial literary studies. The article argues that Li's portrayal of Borneo as a dynamic interactive space goes beyond national borders and ethnicity, offering a process of affective identification. By analyzing the novel using postcolonial geo-humanities and literary cartography, the article highlights the author's identification with the textured and affectively charged Borneo.