Date of Award
9-12-2025
Thesis Type
PhD
Document Type
Thesis
Divisions
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Department
Department of Chinese Studies
Institution
Universiti Malaya
Abstract
The Japanese invasion of Malaya marked a significant transition in Malayan Chinese literature, particularly within Nanyang prose. Before Japanese Occupation period, writings often positioned China as the sole homeland. However, as survival became the overriding concern, attention shifted towards defending Malaya, fostering a deeper sense of belonging to the land. During World War II, the diaspora contributed resources to China, yet the inability of both China and the British colonial government to protect Malaya compelled the Chinese community to re-evaluate their identity. The 1947 Malayan Chinese Literary Debate underscored the struggle between continuing to write about China and embracing Nanyang as a literary focus, symbolizing the gradual move from an immigrant identity to a local identity. Post-war citizenship policies further reinforced this transition, encouraging identification with Malaya. By comparing The Nanyang Anthology of Prose and The Nanyang Youth Anthology of Prose, this study reveals a generational difference, that older writers emphasised displacement and longing, while younger writers largely avoided discussions of homeland, centrering instead on personal emotions and future aspirations. This suggests that the transformation of homeland consciousness was shaped not only by historical events but also by generational replacement. Malayan Chinese prose between the 1920s and 1960s thus illustrates a unique trajectory from China-centric to Malaya-centric narratives, redefining homeland through local experience and literary expression.
Additional Information
Thesis (PhD) – Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, 2025.
Recommended Citation
Sin Wah, Chong, "The Development of homeland consciousness in Malayan Chinese Prose, 1920s–1960s" (2025). Student Works (2020-2029). 1914.
https://knova.um.edu.my/student_works_2020s/1914
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
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