Occidentalism A Theory of Counter-Discourse in Post-Mao China XIAOMEI CHEN New York Oxford 19985CONTENTS 2. Occidental Tester: Sharpen, nen and Brecht a Counter Others 8. “Minundertanding” Western Modernism: ‘The Menon Mocenent 4. A Wilden Between the Oreo and the Ocidet Reo Inunce Compara Literary Studie 5. Wilder, Mei Lanfing, and Huang Zoli A"Sugpestee That” Reised 6, Fathers and Daughters in Barly Modern Chinese Dams: ‘On the Problenats of Oceli Croy-Crl (Gender Pore PonserpeIntroduction Inthe years since its ioducton, Edward Sud’ colbrated study, ‘Orientals, bas sequed a neat paraigmatic stats inthe Westra ‘cademic wot a model ofthe rlationships between Western and ‘non-Western cultures, Sad seks t0 show how Western pera mages of is colonial others—images that, of coun, are inevitably land sharply a¢ ods withthe seltunderstanding ofthe ladgenous ‘bon-Wester cultures they purport to epreseat—not only govern he ‘Wests hegemonic poles, but were imported ito tbe Wess pol cal and cultural colonies, where they aflected native points of view fad thus themselves served instruments of domination. Sal's fo. ‘us ison the Near East, but bis cities and sopporters alike have ‘extended bis model far beyond the confines ofthat pat ofthe word Despite the popularity of Said's model, however, comperaiss and Sinologints have not made extensive ase of i in ther atempts to ” cet ‘Tous, Moth implies, itis dificult, if not impossible, to totally and compitey separate ny reflected in pan'smalitary felons during, World War Hand anthimperialism—as_ demon ‘rated wheh lapan was subjected to Russian imperialism atthe ura ofthis century, ot the Chinese imperial empie long before mod- fr times, Mijonh ths argues that any attempt to represeat dif. fereatreates between the Fist World and the Third Word i “Treacher,” since the yery term “Third World” may imply “a ‘cit eafimation ofthe Fst Worl with ts esentiaized character ints; ican kewize celebrate placement ofthe First World ata ‘more advanced stage ona supposed sealeof progress and moderiza- ton. Converety, t ean sigely 2 reactive atv valorization of ‘Tied World communalty of spsiuaity, it can also congratulate ‘Third, World teaionalsm, proposing permanence as an abso. tate" Arguing egainst an essentialist aim of binarism in cra tscourse that este Fat Word snd the Thitd Word s “homoge- neows” entities, Mioshl ultimately believes that one should not jus {alk about “white and black, eh and poor, men and women; but rich men sod poor nomen, or rich blk women and poor white ‘men, or even poot yellow women ving in the Fist Word and rich ‘ite men inbabiting the Third World” It is only with sich ‘iticaland crucialpostoning that Miyoshi was finally able to point to the “internal colonization” witia th dscourse of clonal Ein with which the "poor and poweress of the Fast Word are toblzed to serve as the actual agents of colnialism—often tthe ‘expense of their compalsiots in poverty” whe al the same ime the fame practice of colonization produced native elites who speak the ‘lee ofthe colonizers fo suppress their compatriots Current cul {ural stl such as Mijosh's have grealy eabance our awareness tnd understandings of (post}olonal and (semi)olonial societies, ‘that need oe frther explored ithe internal discourse Operating Seainet imperial power ihn the indigenous culture, using ant Colonist dacoure fo dis the politcal and ideological demands ‘ofthe people both in Western and non-Western societies From yet another cultural and hiltorcal perspective, Chungoo ‘choi discusses the problematic ofthe (poston South Kore, ‘where the end of lapanse colonialist rule in 1945 only began forthe South Korean people a new ern of colonisation of consciousness in hich Hberation wat acknowledged in the official history of South Korea af°a if ofthe alld foes, especial ofthe US.A. .."#1t ‘ra this patina narrative andthe subsequent American imperialists Ardroacton % contest with the former Soviet Union that made Korean people a ept "Cold War ideslogy atthe ruling ideology of oth Koreas. (Ghoti comes in plating out that modernization and decolonization imcontemporary South Korean society meant a prvleging of Western Engi language, wold histor, and fay “an admission of ‘one's wn ealtalinfristy" It created a “subaltera clio” ia stich "ie postcolonla Korean ele distinguish themaclves as mem bers ofthe prvleged ds by metculousyarquiting Western, thats, ‘American, cre." While Cha’ forceful argument certainly fall inwith and fortes the discussion about the complenity and the problematic of postcolonial discourse that staking place in Ameri {an scademis, one wonders, however, fa diferent or at lest add- ‘onal factor oot relevant to the ular rene that she desrbes: cla and politcal aren of North Korea, where anti-American Imperialist discourse applied bythe ofa ideology ts employed fora biden agenda of the “roils” regime of Kim I Sung. As anal of the former Soviet Union and an od frend of Chin's octogenarian Jeaders, with whom he had fought a common enemy in an ant “apancre imperialist war, Kim Il Song mote often than ot joined bis ‘ils brother intel anti-American and antimperais rhetoric, ‘nile playing with a delicate balance between the tro socials- Inperaist ruperpowers—China and the former Soviet Usion—in thal Ideologieal snd terior putes. Here, aa ofiial Ociden- talism was employed in Maoist Chins for the sake of sobjugain tocialt brother, which paradoxically shared its masterounty’ at- tempt to promote a global dacoure agaist Western inperiism a the expente of the ineres ofthe lel communities bot in China snd North Korea. By so ding, a eocoloniaism in socialist China tfietvely recovered the long-ost Chinese iperal aim on Korean subjects by employing aa anti-Western peat satgy. The m= pera China, intra, alo had its share in making use of 20 ant Imperialist Korean War inthe early 1950s to carry out "mass cam- pigs to extend the ethos of the [Korea] wa ino pasionate hunt for domestic spies and alleged or el enemy agents, "expecially thse ‘iho had contact “with the Guomingdog or bad worked in foreign ‘inns, universes, or church organizations” before 1988." ‘Seca inthis light, one might point to a historical parallel between 2 ‘Chinese Oceldetilm and « North Korean Oocidentalism: a both the image ofthe modern West is used as eatural and symbole capital {or diferent deologial agenda. File recognize hs ndigenous ‘te of Western diacoures and the reat varie) of conditions thatecient might provide the focus for is wtterance can lend to fundamental problems ia erosecultural studies, aT hope thi sted wil demon trate is one thing or cltural ris writing nthe West inthe aren (of Korea studies to condemn Ocidentaist icoure, Sich wriogs ae only to be expected inthe current academic tradition that un ‘svervigly sets itself agninst coloniatism and neocolnialism. But it oes ota all follow that those in Korea for whom they presume 0 speak would necessarily agree with their claims. And certainly iis the ease, a8 Choi has shown, tht the discourse of classical Marais Ins been employed in South Korea by dissenting intelectual as 3 form of protest against a regime that has ben repeatedly Haked with “American impenalism,"© But if or focus ion tha use of scours, ater than on the “uth” of “lsty” of a particular ideologies Poston, i should be clear tht underground Oscideatalistsenment {North Korea also has a potentially berating function viv the ‘reentng orthodoxy of local Maras indoctrination “This i also clary the ease inthe curret relationship between ‘Chiese studies inthe West and lived experiene in contemporary ‘Cie. The leftist aims that are so frequently vozed nthe West, 20 ‘mater how positive a role they have or might playin the Westin bringing about social changes, donot necessary appeal 0 the con temporary Chinese generation oppressed by the lft ideology. The ‘widespread rejection of this dacourse in Chinn iat pervasive today 1s wa ts widespread aceptance when it inspired previows genery- ‘ion to patipate inthe Communist revolutionary movement, The siruton could hardly be otherwise bd Orientals inthe West who fait see this are doomed to an unending and historically ieelevant repetition of “the” that are now widely regarded in the East 6 thopwom and outmoded. Shit the historical perspective jot a bit ‘nd the same hols tre for many repons a the end of the twentieth feotur, where Oxcidetalis discourse can and employed as stat: 4 of iberaton. From tis perspective, we can further problematize Sd enrich the debate on what Choi terms “colonia double de ‘coare," a discourse that "has created for colonized peopl a iuson oflivingia the same socal and extra phere a that ofthe meropo- ls, while it rahlessly exercises a discriminatory polities of hierar chy" Justa sich oppression i the product of Doth captain socialist strategies of domination, so both Orientals and Oxsiden- talist discourses can serve, under fering local condos, as dis courses of liberation. THs this strategie we of discourse that the present study seks 0 employ. Situated within the critical debate of postcolonial and cultural Studies and oclly focused on Chinese Ocidentaism, ic undertakesto txpore the “semi cofonized” Self that ane the dacouse of he col alist Other forts ovmpolicl agenda within ts own cultural iu Understood from local contest, Osidentalit discourse in contempo- rary China is nelther merely tbe product ofan declogiall canting lmportation from the West, nor an expression of« masochist Wish on the part of the Chinese poople that the more unfortuaate aspects of ‘pitas system be established in thee country. et at rad fem ‘st doesnot necessary speak for br subatern Other, who had 20 tice in the debate about polieal“coreciness" among the elist, ‘eoretcans, the often student claims of iberaltheoretieans ual ‘operating inthe West cannot automatically be taken a dential with {he hopes abd wishes ofthe non-Western Other for whom she, ually ‘thou prior consultation, pupoms to speak. Though such there (al pronouncements often do address in some mannct the subaltera subject, lke al other uteraces, they are certainly not fee ofthe Personal interests oftheir speakers. On must candidly ada, though ich admisions ae seldom fund in Fist Wold academic daours, that there is always the danger of theoretically recolniiag the Tied ‘World with Westerniavented and theoretically motivated languages of “ant-coloniaism" As [hope the remainder ofthis book will make flea, such a assertion i not made order to deny the uefulnes of Wester theory, or even its potential fr strategies of Uberation. BY reinterpreting non-Western elites manly through the looking ae of Wester theory, one might invents aew center with which & non ‘Wester phenomenon can only be meaningfally explained by Western terminology and ftom a Western point of vew. The natives” voces in non-Western countries should nat hate been "ediacovered” 10 pro- tote the agendas of poical "correcaes” in the West. Western ‘heoreiians—especaly those “Third World-born” cites residing in the West—who speak forthe need of Hberating the “Third Word” from the Wess economic and palical power-—acedto be much more ‘nutowsin ther aims, lst thy anwitnly and usntetionaly then selves become neocolonaers who explo the cultural capital ofthe ‘colonized ins process in which those voices are appropited for fe- Jnvesentin those banks ofthe West that curently oer the highest ‘ats of return to speculators in tendy academic markets. For one who Iivesin the West and speaks from the center about marpnacltres, it isextemely dificult tnd problematic to represent the Other. As one such ede myself, have elt the need to constantly ak my "Whoo vce are we?” “Whote voice ist when we speak?” “Are we als the bene ‘Gares of the very system we are decrying? One needs to persistently [Sk the question "does my study mean anything to people back at home?” Clary these are ponderous question with no easy answers, ‘or pethaps no answers at al. But responsible erica needs fo ask them, and one cannot but lamest that one doesnot ad them more {oregiounded inthe exeing and simslating wads that have Dees ‘roducedinthe West in rece years Inany ete, my study of Chinese ‘Occidental atempts to adress, or at east o be informed by such ‘questions ast explores such phenomena asthe television series He the other subjects discussed the Sninfuence thet ect orincirety resulted inthe politcal event of the lune 4 Tananmen demonstrations ‘OF course, not everyone is ikely to apr with the argument ad ‘anced ere But Thope that by these remarks have sows tha fully aware ofthe problematic of my owa voice inthis study, which in varying meanire distances lf rom the ofa voice of contempo- ‘ary China, fom diverse qroups of Chinese intellectuals whose wales 1 deseribe as anf, from the Wester theoreticians who dwell fn the center while speaking forthe margial, snd last but nat least, {tom iolationste who think that Western theory as no value fr rom Wester enlures howe traditions are varyngly deemed ier 4: superior or inferior to their Wester counterparts. As a Chinese Jelleetual educated inthe Wes, {cannot realiscally shake off the Usvoidabe infuence of Wester clture—be it eocalonial, osteo: Joni, of neotraditionl—since the very English lngusge 1 use in wring abou the voices ofthe “Other” predetermine the temporal Fry of my own historia vantage point. By the same token, being 2 ative Chinese does not neces ive me an uncontested “native” ‘oie since {cannot claim to speak sbsoluey for the fterests of he majority ofthe Chinese people ofboth genders, all classes, all ces, Sand different social spectrums, So log ss we continu to wse Chi= ‘ese sources to write in the West, we shoold always be eically svar of what Rey Chow has insightful termed the unequal “ela: oasip between Us as Intellectuals overseas and them at home,” ‘which "wil Increasingly take onthe coloration of a kind of master ‘eed the very at of pubic writing tet a form of ant-ofcil Oct ‘ental and thus rq of Mao's entirbani, which as weave fecen, is eta reat of, and a reaction to, Chinese Orientalism. Yet the ration of en anti-ofial Oesdentalsm bythe Chinese inteligen- tsa for diverse and complicated reason is more than a concent product of its iteacy It was preconditioned by the parameters of Mai polities course, which categorized anything opposed to its pola dominance as “Westra” or" Westeroized." Tb prevent China from being "Westerized” or “capitalized,” for instance, was com ‘monly advanced asthe easoa for tating the Caltural Revolution, and for persecuting numerous intellectuals tn thissiteation, the adoption ofan Ocsidentlitcscorse war atratepie move by disenting nel lectuls Accused of being “Wester” both by ve ofthe cultural* cient statusand their poiel sympathies, they hadlite choice but asert thatthe Western Other war infact superior the Chines sll By thus accepting the jeviabe oil ertguerised again! them, whether ‘or not it was “factually” always the case, they strengthened thei ant oficial status. By suggesting thatthe Wests polly spd cluraly Superior 10 China, they defended thir oppotion to established "uth" and insdeatons. Inthe proses, thre urban intelectual xe ated a form of an-offiial Ocldetalism tha stan inthe sharpest Contrast 10 the oficial Occidental pervasive In government 2nd ary propaganda in contemporary Chins ‘Nowhere this nto Ocldentalsm more evident than in the controversial 1985 lesion serien He shang (River Elegy); indeed, 15 we shall ee, the erical debate that this series engendered can Serve as an especially revealing example of the character and function ‘of ant-offiial Occidental discourse. He shang was widely noted tren in the West for is postive image of saute and modern Wiest, indeed its alos embarasingly poiive evaluation of al ings Western Given this apparent celebration i would be e8— though facile and mistakeo-to dismiss the series at an expecially ‘overt example of Western “caltural imperil,” a hat term is 10% ‘efinedin postcolonial and Third Word dicoures, Seen from such a limited and mistaken perspective, He shang appears ae bt another potent example ofthe keclogial power wielded bythe Westin Ed- ‘ward Sais acount of Oren Yr if considered within the cul {ural and historical contest of post Mao society, He shong ca be sen ‘more profitably as product of anol Ocidentaliam. From tis perspective it can be best understood neither as an example of Chie nae naiveté nor of Wester imperialism, but as potent anf scours employed by the Chinese itligensnt express what was ‘otherwise politically imposible and ideological inconceivable Tope to make clear by this study of He shang tat des or deol calconceps, whether they tem fom a polely dominant or fom a ‘obordinate culture, are never inunsizally oppreave or liberating. (Certainly the appropriation ofthe image of the West, when pu into sritcl use against the domestic hegemony of the ruling ideology, as the case with He shan, can rightly be viewed as postive, liberat- ing, and even desirable. Seen trom this perspective, He shang wat ove al els an ant-ofial dsoure that employed he Occidental Other, nits eatural and ideological absence, fo critique the oppres- ‘sve pesence of elicialidology. Its depiction of th West wae not ‘offered as mimes, but ss an oppositions! and supplementary Other “Occidental” a «Counter Dare » and a8 a counter-discouse that sought 1o be subversive of the domi ‘ant and offical Orientalism and Occigentalsm prevalent through ‘ut Chinese cult! Ths the account of He shang tat follows argues ‘against he esseniaizing ofan cltral discourse, Western or Eas tm; toffersa prime example of ow supercaly sila sgn systems an be manpulted for very dtferent ideological ends. Iniily broadest in June 11, 1988, the sxpart TV documentary series He shang roused perhaps he grestet national semtion i the story ofthe PRC television industry. He shang wns produced by Xin Jun, 226 year-old TV director and journals. The principal seiprrit- te were Su Xisokang, a wellknown reporter and & lecturer tthe Journalist Department of Beijing Broadcasting College, and Wang Lunxang, a lecturer atthe Chinese Department of Beijing Normal Universiy. Others who ao contributed to the wring of the nat tive seript were Zhang Gang, Xie Xuanjun, and Yaan Zhiming? Immediately ater its premiere, He shang writes recsived thousands of eters from audiences in ll walks of ile unanimously expressing their "dep pratt” for an excellent TV program and requesting ‘writen copy of Fe shang serpin oder to study ts profound mes. Sages: Sa result, He shang was unprecedented rebroadcast 0 months later in prime tine, ia spite of ofa efforts to ban i a8 ‘iieation of Chinese culture ‘One af tose profound messages canbe found, surprisingly, in He shang’ tal rejecson of tain Chinese callurl fess. Con- rary tits conventional image a the cradle ofthe Chines evan ton the Yellow Rivers here porayed at sure of poverty and sate. Infact, its depicted almost asi it were a wal uspan being, violent, brutal, tyranial, periodically sweeping aay milions people and thee eloods a free wil It sce ikely that such a image ofthe river could not but remind many Chinese people of thei ‘taumatc experiences during the Cultral Revolution. Inthe tlevi- sion series, the river is personified asa dying old man, “alone and etolat, stubbornly wang to die in his devastated homeland." ‘This characterization certainly defamilarzes the common presents tion ofthe Yellow River at a Fevolutionry symbol of national ress tance, such a we find it, for example, in Xan Xinghai's “The Yellow River Chorus" Composed in 1939 during the Sino-apaneee Wa, his musical piece ha been interpreted a elopzing the “gna image ‘tthe Chinese nation, whose gory, ligene, andeourageousness are ‘epiced inthe Datefieldson eter side ofthe Yellow River aguas» Octet Japanese invaders.”* Repeated performances ofthe pice after the war terial hsteiel moments, such a he on ater the atest of {he “Gang of Four,” preserved its function as an inspiration fr the ‘Chinese people's commitment to scilsm, especialy in times of > verity. In addition to deviating from this eater astocation of the ‘Yellow River with China's revolutionary tradition, He shang also re jected an erie 1988 television depiction of the viver in a series of documentary programs on Chinese landspes; here the river Wat ‘idealized for its "beauty" "grander," and its pesonifaton ofthe “resourcefulness” of the motherland? "Asif sch blasphemy of Chinas “cultural roots" were not enough, ‘esha lo deconstruct other quintessential nations symbols. The dragon andthe yellow earth are interpreted as representing cicsm, parochial, conservatism, confnemeat, and land and ancestry Wer: Ship in Chinese culture. The Great Wal, China's mos famous tours ‘traction and historical ste, isl singled out forridicule asa defense ‘mechanism that secluded China from the rest ofthe word. "Ifthe ‘Great Wall could speak for ise” the narrator in Heshang assures us, “twould have honestly told Chinese offspring tha itis a huge mont sent of tragedy constructed by the fate of story.” no symbol of strength, gory, and enterprising spit ofthe Chinese peopl.* As a ‘kindof culmination, al ofthe negtve aspects of Chinese culture are ‘nally traced to Confucian ieolgy, whose monolithic socal sytem ‘esis plurality and change. He shang thus concludes thatthe yellow ‘arth andthe Yellow River cannot teach contemporary Chinese people much about the sprit of sence and democracy, both of which are ‘cea for life atthe end of the twentieth century Simla, hove {tadionsl ultural monuments, ts suggested, wil not provide the Chinese people with "nourishment and energy they are 0 longer capable of producing anew calar."” "The most eral abd adversarial comment made by the television series aboot Chinese clare, however, is preseated in its very te “The word he (river) refers to the Yellow River svilzation and, by extension, to other primitive agricultural evlizations sucha those in India and Egypt. The word shang means “dying before one comes ‘of age.” According to Su Xiaokang, on of the mai creates of “Re shang, the tem suggest the stagnation of the characteristic "AG fae mode of production," which chad matured too carly, thus res ing in an early stagnane.” The word shang also sugess a survivors ‘mourning for the martyrs ‘ho ad serieed thet ives for thei ‘ounty, evidenced in Qu Yan's (c. 3403 2788) poem “Guo “Oecd” ae Counter Diane a shang” (Hymn to the Falls) in his Chuciuge (Elegies of Cau— [Nine Songs). Thus the word shang “erytalize the ambiguous fel ings of Chinese inielecuals in more than a ceatury"—the more deeply they love thelr country, the more eagety they long for is rebirth. Using the elegy ofthe Yellow River as acetal image, He ‘shang “meditats, nal aspects, onthe history, ciation, andes tiny ofthe Chinese nation.” fregrounding the imperative of "eo. nomic aad polite! reforms.” To the inhabitants ofthe PRC, who te necesnly accustomed to reading between the Hines i 8 sity ‘easored media, such statements were dear cies of protest aginst the current regime, which le fundamentally oppdeed to polite re om, As Wang Sing has correctly pointed out, the message from He ‘shang seemed “loud” and “lear” "Only by berating beman intel ‘ence from the sing sense of history wil the Chinese people exe ‘tively confroat the problems of the preset. Te pst conceived ss ‘such viewed a the antithesis rather than asthe bai of wha Chi ‘ese intellectuals came fo revere and value ia their own present." Th addition to unsettling its Chines viewers with is depiction of ying and decining “Orion,” He shang further shocked ts audienes ‘wth pasionate account ofan Occidental Othe, whic, i mggerts ‘epresents youthfulness, adventure, energy, power, technology, and ‘modernity ® The Wes characterized at “be ocean ciation ‘openly embracing the ouside world and"simoltneousy transporting the hope of iene and democracy” across the oceans." The ironies and paradores of such x depiction of the imag ofthe West, however, ‘were insight crigued by Wang Jing "the new fetih forthe ‘Chinese people” What “empowers the colo ‘arue blue is exactly ‘what used wo empower the national symbol ofthe Great Wall andthe ‘ragon-ramely, power inthe rense of expansion glory abd aggre son." Even the major succeies of the West were attributed to it “righ” atude toward theses, Te ise of Athen ae & marine power was viewed as having paved the way for “a democratic revolution” “in ancient Grecce."* Columbus's dicover of the New World and ‘Magellan's Journey in 1S19 across the ooean, the progam claims, stablshed among other higs the foundations fora bourgeois revo luton. Even the history of slence and technology in he West was tlosly related to mand’ fate onthe ocean The egent need for bling bigger and better occangoing ships for world trade and ‘colonaiom, for example, “demanded s further development of mathemati, physi, technology, and scloce” This ws the feton ‘why, according to He shang, “Calle publshed bis Disloguer Com: