灣生‧怪胎‧國族──《惑鄉之人》的男男情欲與台日情結

Wansei, Queer, and the Nation: Male-male Desire and Taiwan-Japan Complex in People of Confusing Homeland

台灣同志文學向來著重「小我」的認同探索，而與國族、歷史等「大敘事」保持一定的疏離或批判態度。而郭強生（1964-）所創作的長篇小說《惑鄉之人》（2012）以幾段日、台男同性情欲關係為主要情節，將怪胎情欲結合台灣被殖民及戰後的歷史，使得在國族現代化進程中被排除的同性愛欲重新納入歷史視野與國族想像之中。本文將分析小說如何藉由灣生主角在二戰前後的同性情欲關係，彰顯其對台日關係的想像與情結，同時也指出灣生認同的複雜性與政治性。文中認為《惑鄉之人》以灣生酷兒等男男情欲結合台灣歷史的縱深，交織出多重的寓言圖像，透過從戰前到戰後日台男男情欲與權力關係的轉變，細膩地捕捉台灣的後殖民癥狀，並側重階級面向的書寫，與種族、歷史、移民及同性情欲形成多音交響的認同迴路，打破日漸僵化的國族寓言書寫模式，開拓了多元並存的異質空間，形成一則跨越陰陽、亦正亦邪、混雜多變的「怪胎台灣」寓言。然而本文也要對《惑鄉之人》以男同志情欲「從自戀到戀他」的愛欲模式，作為國族寓言立論的基礎提出反思。因為以男同志自戀欲望為中心所主導的台灣寓言，固然將國族書寫怪胎情欲化，卻也存在著將非主流女性與陰性化特質再度邊緣化與污名化之虞。因而這則收攏灣生、同志等怪胎的台灣寓言仍有其性別政治上的侷限，這也是未來國族與同志書寫須謹慎以對的課題。

Taiwan’s homosexual literature has always focused on the exploration of individualidentity, but maintains a certain degree of alienation or critical attitude towards the historicalor national “grand narrative.” Depicting homoerotic relationships between Japaneseand Taiwanese men, the central plot of his novel─People of Confusing Homeland,Kuo Chiang-Sheng (1964- ) combined the queer sexuality with Taiwan’s colonial andpostwar history. Thus, the once exclusion of homosexual desire in the process of nationalmodernization has been reintroduced into the historical vision and national imagination.This paper analyzes how the homosexual relationship of the “wansei” (Japanesewho were born in Taiwan during the period of Japanese Rule) character in People ofConfusing Homeland manifests the imagination and complexes of Taiwan-Japan relationsbefore and after World War II, and highlights the complicity and politics of wansei’sidentity.The paper suggests that by incorporating male-male desire with the depth of Taiwan’shistory, People of Confusing Homeland intertwines with multiple allegorical images.The changes of Taiwan-Japan’s male-male desire and the power relations from theprewar to postwar periods in People of Confusing Homeland has delicately captured thepostcolonial symptom of Taiwan. Kuo also focuses on the class-oriented writing. Withthe race, history, immigration and homosexuality, the writing mode forms an identityloop of multi-toned symphony. It gradually breaks the rigid writing mode of national allegory, opens up a multi-coexisting heterogeneous space, and forms a “Queer Taiwan”fable containing yin and yang, good and evil, and mixed and changeable elements.Moreover, this paper also questions People of Confusing Homeland’s exploitation ofthe formula of gay desire, “from loving himself to loving the other,” on which its nationalallegory is constructed. It is true that the narcissism of male homosexuals helps queerthe writing of its national allegory, but the price goes to the further marginalization offemales and femininity. Consequently, its national allegory of “Queer Taiwan” whichembraces the wansei and gay is also the one that keeps marginal females silent. Its limitationon gender politics needs to be treated with caution for the good of future nationaland homosexual writing.