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Occidentalism Xiaomei Chen

Occidentalism By Xiaomei Chen

Occidentalism by Xiaomei Chen


$15.49
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Summary

An account of the favourable depiction of Western culture and its negative characterization of Chinese culture in post-Mao China since 1978. This revised and expanded edition of Occidentalism in post-Mao China includes a new preface, foreword, and chapter on Chinese diaspora writings.

Occidentalism Summary

Occidentalism: A Theory of Counter-Discourse in Post-Mao China by Xiaomei Chen

This revised and expanded edition of the first comprehensive study of Occidentalism in post-Mao China includes a new preface, foreword, and chapter on Chinese diaspora writings in the Chinese language. Xiaomei Chen offers an insightful account of the unremittingly favorable depiction of Western culture and its negative characterization of Chinese culture in post-Mao China since 1978. She examines the cultural and political interrelationship between the East and West from a vantage point more complex than that accommodated by most current theories of Western imperialism and colonialism. Going beyond Edward Said's construction in Orientalism of cross-cultural appropriations as a defining facet of Western imperialism, Chen argues that the appropriation of Western discourse-what she calls Occidentalism-can actually have a politically and ideologically liberating effect on contemporary non-Western culture. She maintains that simplistic allegations of Orientalism frequently found in current critical discourses seriously underestimate the complexities of intercultural and multicultural relationships. Using China as the focus of her analysis, Chen examines a variety of cultural media, from Shakespearean drama, to modernist poetry, to contemporary Chinese television and popular fiction. She thus places sinology in the general context of Western theoretical discourses, such as Eurocentrism, postcolonialism, nationalism, modernism, feminism, and literary hermeneutics, showing that it has a vital role to play in the study of Orient and Occident and their now unavoidable symbiotic relationship. Occidentalism presents a new model of comparative literary and cultural studies that reenvisions cross-cultural appropriation. It will be indispensable to future discussions of Orientalism, Occidentalism, and postcolonialism, as well as subaltern studies, Asian studies, comparative literature, cultural studies, and non-Western drama.

Occidentalism Reviews

Excellent. . . . An innovative 'deconstruction' or reversal of Said's view of Orientalism as the hegemonic construction of a silenced Other, Chen's study shows that Chinese Occidentalism is a pluralistic reading of the West. . . . Chen's examples are compelling and wide-ranging. . . . Lucidly argued, convincing, and elegantly written, Chen's study is a major contribution to East-West studies, comparative literature, and cultural hermeneutics. * The Comparatist *
Chen's sagacious analysis of the deliberate and productive misreading of Western cultural texts by the Chinese public shows how the Western Other also engages in the invention of the West for internal political purposes. . . . Occidentalism has the virtue of providing a more polyphonic history of cultural relations as its author weaves into her study voices representing different social, political and gender groups. * Research in African Literatures *
Praise for the first edition: Occidentalism is required reading for anyone who likes talking about literature as a phenomenon that exists and can be recognized in many countries and cultures, that has a certain cultural value, and that can be enjoyed and discussed on a different level than politics.... * China Review International *
Praise for the first edition: A stimulating contribution to the debate, not only because she offers an insider's perspective, but also because she is aware of the limitations of oppositional modes of thought..... * World Literature Today *
Through a superb account of select developments in post-Mao poetry and spoken drama, the book provides a model for a study of exchanges between cultures that does not rely on essential categories such as 'East' and 'West.' Chen suggests that this is an error to which even those enlightened by Said are prone as they dismantle Orientalist fantasies and lament foreign influences in China. Occidentalism makes clear the limitations of Said's book for one who works, so to speak, from the inside out. * Journal Of Modern Literature In Chinese *
Praise for the first edition: Occidentalism is required reading for anyone who likes talking about literature as a phenomenon that exists and can be recognized in many countries and cultures, that has a certain cultural value, and that can be enjoyed and discussed on a different level than politics. * China Review International *
Praise for the first edition: A stimulating contribution to the debate, not only because she offers an insider's perspective, but also because she is aware of the limitations of oppositional modes of thought. * World Literature Today *

About Xiaomei Chen

Xiaomei Chen is associate professor of Chinese and comparative literature at The Ohio State University. She is the author of Acting the Right Part: Political Theater and Popular Drama in Contemporary China (2002) and editor of Reading the Right Texts: An Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Drama with a Critical Introduction (2003).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 Occidentalism as a Counter-Discourse: The He shang Controversy Chapter 4 Occidentalist Theater: Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Brecht as Counter Others Chapter 5 Misunderstanding Western Modernism: The Menglong Movement Chapter 6 A Wildman between the Orient and the Occident: Retro-Influence in Comparative Literary Studies Chapter 7 Wilder, Mei Lanfang, and Huang Zoulin: A Suggestive Theater Revisited Chapter 8 Fathers and Daughters in Early Modern Chinese Drama: On the Problematics of Occidentalism in Cross-Cultural/Gender Perspectives Chapter 9 China Writes Back: Reading Stories of the Chinese Diaspora Chapter 10 Glossary

Additional information

GOR009719662
9780847698752
0847698750
Occidentalism: A Theory of Counter-Discourse in Post-Mao China by Xiaomei Chen
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Rowman & Littlefield
2003-01-11
304
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Occidentalism