本文運用敘事學和文學倫理學相結合的方法,研究新生代華裔美國作家伍慧明的成名作和代表作《骨》,分析作品倫理線所反映的時間意識,探究當代華裔在面對倫理困境時的倫理選擇,以此審視當代華裔美國作家的倫理取向。筆者認為,獨特的敘事設計指涉復雜的倫理意義:《骨》繼承了華裔美國女作家慣用的非線性敘事方法,再現有關華人生活的隱匿歷史。倫理結的反復呈現指向家庭成員的創傷和華人移民的集體記憶。伍慧明用小說記錄華人移民的艱辛歷史和倫理困境,強調銘記歷史的意義。

Through the lens of ethical literary criticism, this article studies the temporal consciousness constructed by the narrative line of Fae Myenne Ng’s Bone in order to analyze both the ethical choices contemporary Chinese Americans make when they face ethical dilemmas and the underlying ethical intentionalities of contemporary Chinese American writers. The novel’s nonlinear narrative reflects its author’s ethical commission to retell the hidden history of Chinese immigrant families. Reiterated ethical complexities expose the traumatic past of family members and the collective consciousness of Chinese immigrants. Ng recovers, records and remembers the hardship and ethical dilemmas that Chinese Americans experienced in the past.