Transculturalism and Modernism in Leung Ping-kwan ́s writing

Abstract: More than 45 million ethnic Chinese are settled outside China and about 20 % among them live in America. The aim of this study is to investigate how a Hong Kong writer in the diaspora has been influenced in his writing in a transcultural and modernist direction and in what way translation can be a part of transculturalism. In this study, the author 梁秉鈞 Leung Ping-kwan (1949-2013) has been selected as an example of this. The study is based on prose and lyrical texts by him. Studies of Chinese in the diaspora have long been neglected, but in recent years, Chinese American academics have begun research into Chinese diaspora literature from a transcultural perspective. This study aims to contribute to transcultural literary studies. In the study of Leung Ping-kwan ́s texts, a comparative literary analysis is used which is based on theories of identity and transculturalism. I argue that Leung Ping-kwan's writing is characterized by transcultural and modernist features.