Chapter 4 begins with a synopsis of Bound, and then details the research
design and process. The three areas of the research were to: define xenotropism and
explain its features and complications, undertake an analysis of three prominent writers
in China’s history and interrogate the relationship between the memoir genre and
xenotropism and their links to mental health. A qualitative research design was adopted
which employed several techniques: historical research, journaling, interviews and
photography. The 11 expatriates were sourced through a search of literary associations
and the adoption of the “snowball sampling” technique. A variety of literary techniques
were used to design and create the memoir Bound, and the use of Chinese poetry is also
justified. Chapter 4 includes a reflection on the research and writing process. It
concludes that xenotropism through expatriation, is a transformative process which
facilitates artistic and personal development and represents a viable path for the writing
of memoir.
Keywords: Autobiography, Awakening, Biography, Bound, China, Chinese
poetry, Epiphanal, Ethnography, Expatriate, Foreign, Ghost voice, Interviews,
Journalling, Literary Techniques, Memory, Narrative research, Qualitative
research, Shadow, Shanghai, Spirituality, Transnational, Xenotropism.
