earticle

영어

This article analyzes Ha Jin’s novel War Trash through the lens of historiographic metafiction, drawing on Linda Hutcheon’s theories such as ‘intertextuality,’ ‘paratextuality,’ and ‘self-reflexivity’. Historiographic metafiction challenges the notion of a singular, objective history by embracing a multiplicity of truths. It argues that history is no longer a monolithic narrative, but rather a collection of fragmented and individual histories. This perspective also applies to literary historiography. Hutcheon destabilizes the distinction between history and fiction, contending that historiographic metafiction creates a new form of historicity through “the textual incorporation of intertextual past(s) as a constitutive structural element” (“Historiographical Metafiction” 4). This article examines how War Trash functions as both a work of historical fiction and a fictionalized account of history. To support this analysis, the article explores the techniques of historiographic metafiction employed by Jin, such as paratextuality, intertextuality, and self-reflexivity. Lastly, it argues that historiographic metafiction holds significant potential for amplifying the voices of POWs in modern Chinese history, a group whose narratives have often been marginalized or silenced.