The West as the Other: A Genealogy of Chinese Occidentalism
Long before the Europeans reached the east, the ancient Chinese had advanced their perspectives of the west. In this groundbreaking book, Wang explores a fascinating perspective of the Other. He locates the Other in the alternating directionologies of classical and imperial China, leading the reader into a long history of Chinese geo-cosmologies and world-scapes. In his analysis, Wang also delves into the historical records of Chinese "world activities," or the journeys from being the Central Kingdom to reaching to the "outer regions," separating the construction of illusory from realistic geographies while drawing attention to their interconnected natures. Wang challenges an extensive number of critical studies of Orientalist narratives (chiefly including Edward Said's Orientalism), and reframes such studies from the directionological perspectives of an "Oriental" civilization. He challenges the assumption that the Other must be understood in the sense that has been explained in general anthropology, crucially underlining the European foundations that have shaped its traditional interpretations.
1110910575
The West as the Other: A Genealogy of Chinese Occidentalism
Long before the Europeans reached the east, the ancient Chinese had advanced their perspectives of the west. In this groundbreaking book, Wang explores a fascinating perspective of the Other. He locates the Other in the alternating directionologies of classical and imperial China, leading the reader into a long history of Chinese geo-cosmologies and world-scapes. In his analysis, Wang also delves into the historical records of Chinese "world activities," or the journeys from being the Central Kingdom to reaching to the "outer regions," separating the construction of illusory from realistic geographies while drawing attention to their interconnected natures. Wang challenges an extensive number of critical studies of Orientalist narratives (chiefly including Edward Said's Orientalism), and reframes such studies from the directionological perspectives of an "Oriental" civilization. He challenges the assumption that the Other must be understood in the sense that has been explained in general anthropology, crucially underlining the European foundations that have shaped its traditional interpretations.
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The West as the Other: A Genealogy of Chinese Occidentalism

The West as the Other: A Genealogy of Chinese Occidentalism

by Mingming Wang
The West as the Other: A Genealogy of Chinese Occidentalism

The West as the Other: A Genealogy of Chinese Occidentalism

by Mingming Wang

Overview

Long before the Europeans reached the east, the ancient Chinese had advanced their perspectives of the west. In this groundbreaking book, Wang explores a fascinating perspective of the Other. He locates the Other in the alternating directionologies of classical and imperial China, leading the reader into a long history of Chinese geo-cosmologies and world-scapes. In his analysis, Wang also delves into the historical records of Chinese "world activities," or the journeys from being the Central Kingdom to reaching to the "outer regions," separating the construction of illusory from realistic geographies while drawing attention to their interconnected natures. Wang challenges an extensive number of critical studies of Orientalist narratives (chiefly including Edward Said's Orientalism), and reframes such studies from the directionological perspectives of an "Oriental" civilization. He challenges the assumption that the Other must be understood in the sense that has been explained in general anthropology, crucially underlining the European foundations that have shaped its traditional interpretations.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9789629964894
Publisher: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
Publication date: 03/15/2013
Pages: 350
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Mingming Wang is a leading human scientist in post-Mao China and Professor of Anthropology at Peking University. He was trained in archaeology, ethno-history, and anthropology, and has a PhD from the University of London. He is the author of numerous works (in both Chinese and English) on Chinese anthropology, history, and sociology, including Grassroots Charisma.

Table of Contents

List of Figures vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgements xiii

Notes on Transliteration and Bibliography xvii

1 Introduction: Rethinking "the West" 1

2 King Mu (Mu Tianzi) and the Journey to the West 27

3 "Illusionary" and "Realistic" Geographies 49

4 Easternizing the West, Westernizing the East 87

5 Chaos and the West 117

6 "Western Territories" (Xiyu), India, and "South Sea" (Nanhai) 153

7 Beyond the Seas: Other Kingdoms and Other Materials 179

8 Islands, Intermediaries, and "Europeanization" 213

9 Conclusion: Towards Other Perspectives of the Other 253

Postscript 277

Notes 291

Glossary 331

Bibliography 347

Index 367

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