Memory and Identity in Contemporary Chinese-Australian Novels

CHAPTER 5

Political Memory, Amnesia and Identity in Lau Siew Mei’s Playing Madame Mao

Following the discussion of the previous two chapters, this chapter continues to discuss the denotative meaning of memory in general and of political memory in particular. Playing Madame Mao, a novel based on political remembering, was selected due to its focus on the role of political memory in determining or influencing identity in the diaspora. This chapter pays considerable attention to how political memory is contextualized in postcolonial Singapore and Australia.

Judy Giles comments that “memories play a role in the individual’s struggle to construct a social and personal identity in a world in which subjectivity is both fragmented and fractured” (2002: 21). Amnesia, on the other hand, refers to “the general loss of memory” and is usually “not to be explained solely psychologically … Rather it is social amnesia – memory driven out of mind by the social and economic dynamic of this society” (Jacoby 1996: 4). It can be experienced both personally and nationally in literary texts. In Playing Madame Mao, Lau Siew Mei skilfully illustrates her views on these issues and situates them in the postcolonial society of Singapore, highlighting political and sociological influences on the definition of national identity and personal belonging.

This novel interweaves Chinese mythologies and histories with contemporary issues in Singaporean society and encourages reflection on the relations between the Chinese diaspora, political amnesia and Singaporean national identity. Besides addressing the significance of memory to one’s personal identity, it enquires how collective social amnesia affects identity disorientation. It represents identity not only at an individual level, but at a national level as well. In addition, owing to its complicated representation of diaspora, memory, amnesia and identity, this novel adds new insight to existing Chinese-Australian literature and its innovations in ←103 | 104→style, narrative, voice and story all contribute to a new reading of Chinese-Australian writing. Born in Singapore with Chinese heritage, Lau Siew Mei went to Australia in 1994 and became a writer whose stories have been published in international literary journals in Britain, America and Australia and broadcast on BBC radio. Published in 2000, Playing Madame Mao was Lau’s first novel and has enjoyed success. It was shortlisted for the 2001 NSW Premier’s Literary Award and the 1999 Queensland Premier’s Prize. The protagonist is a Singaporean actress named Chiang Ching who has the same name as Mao Zedong’s last wife. As an actress, she plays Madame Mao very successfully on stage, but she experiences traumatic family turmoil in her personal life. After the suicide of her husband Tang and betrayal by her best friend Roxanne, Chiang Ching migrates to Brisbane, Australia. Having become disillusioned by her search for a stable identity in the city state Singapore, she goes into exile, thereby joining the global Chinese diaspora.