Abstract and Key Words

Abstract:  The Woman Warrior is the first book written by Maxine Hong Kingston, who is regarded as the most distinguished American writer in contemporary Asian American literature. It was a great success when it was published in 1976. By analyzing life styles and behaviors of the five heroines, including No Name Aunt, Moon Orchid, Fa Mulan, Brave Orchid and Ts’ ai Yen in The Woman Warrior, this essay aims to reveal the message that Maxine wants to convey to the reader：The self-realization of a female from a minority group can be achieved only by fighting against racial and sex discrimination.

Key words: The Woman Warrior; Maxine Hong Kingston; self-realization; female

摘要： 小说《女勇士》是当代美国文学中最优秀的美国华裔作家汤亭亭的处女作。该书一出版，就获得巨大成功。本文通过对小说《女勇士》中五位女主人公—无名姑妈、月兰姨妈、木兰、英兰、蔡文姬—的生活方式与行为的分析，意在展现作家马克辛试图传达给读者的信息：从中国移民到美国的少数群体中的女性，唯有通过与性别歧视和种族歧视进行抗争，才能实现自我。

关键词：《女勇士》；汤亭亭；自我实现；女性

1. Introduction
1.1 Introduction to Maxine Hong Kingston the Writer
Maxine Hong Kingston was born to Chinese immigrant parents, Tom Hong and Chew Yinglan, in Stockton, California, on 27 October 1940. Kingston’s father, Tom Hong, was a scholar trained in traditional Chinese classics and a teacher in New Society Village before his immigration. Brave Orchid (or Ying Lan, in Chinese), Kingston’s vocal and practical mother, was a doctor who practiced western medicine and midwifery in China. Kingston is the first child after her mother immigrates to America. She also has a Chinese name, Ting Ting, which comes from a Chinese poem about self-reliance.
During her childhood, despite attending school and helping the family with business, Maxine Hong Kingston read the literary classics her parents had brought from China and attended movies, mostly Chinese operas, at the local Chinese Confucian Church during her free time. Especially influenced by Brave Orchid, who told Chinese myths and family history to her, Maxine Hong Kingston incorporates much of these memories into her novels, and her writing is heavily based on memory and imagination. In Skenazy’s book, Kingston’s words can be found, “In all my books, I take the old myths and I played with them, show how the myths change”. Her major works include The Woman Warrior—Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, China Men, and Tripmaster Monkey—His Fake Book. “All of these books have received high praises in the U.S., and some chapters of her works have been included in required courses for English majors”. Maxine Hong Kingston is regarded as the most distinguished Chinese American writer in contemporary Asian American literature.