Contemporary Western Critical Discourse on Chinese Images

Author: Zhu Yaowei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The Contemporary Western Critical Discourse on Chinese Imagery follows the critical lineage since postmodernism, introducing the theories of contemporary Western critics and overseas Chinese critics writing in the West, aiming to collage tangible and intangible images of China. Contemporary critics often mention "China" directly or indirectly, while other discourses on the "other" have long been regarded as closely related to "China." In such a critical landscape, what cultural significance do Chinese images hold? The author attempts to reveal the subtle entanglement between Chinese imagery and dominant discourses, thereby highlighting the issue of Chinese identity in the postcolonial context. This offers readers timely and profound insights into understanding contemporary Chinese postmodernism. Professor Zhu Yaowei's discourse on "Chinese imagery" enables us to further contemplate: how to analyze contemporary culture using postcolonial theory without becoming a mere appropriation or imitation of Western discourse, but rather to expand one's contemporary discourse theory by recognizing the mutual constraint, permeation, and complementarity between Eastern and Western cultures. It emphasizes the diversity and uniqueness of one's national culture in the context of global integration, reinterpreting misunderstood national images and re-establishing suppressed Chinese imagery.