Chen, Chia-Hwan (2007) Images of the other, images of the self : reciprocal representations of the British and the Chinese from the 1750s to the 1840s. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

During the interactions between the Chinese and the English from the 1750s to the 1840s, writers from both countries have created many distinctive images to represent "the Other" in their own discourses. Imagologists like Jean-Marc Moura (1992) and Daniel-Henri Pageaux (1994) indicated that every image of an "Other" de facto corresponds to an image of "Self." Consequently, the reciprocal images of the British and the Chinese may not only reflect individual writer's attitude towards "the Other" but also refract the self-images of each writer's own people and society. As writers are more or less conditioned by their immediate society, their images of "the Other" tend to reflect the collective ideology of a society. A study of reciprocal images in their own historical milieus will enable one to see why both parties were conditioned to produce certain images to represent "the Other" and why certain images may last longer than the others or even become stereotypes in different discourses.

This thesis argues that neither the British nor the Chinese had unanimous images for each other from the 1750s to the 1840s, a century prior to the first Opium War. Instead, writers of both countries had created various negative and positive images of "the Other" to meet their own intentions during this period. By discussing the political, psychological and sociological meanings of the reciprocal images of the British and the Chinese diachronically and synchronically, this thesis suggests that writers might follow certain principles and rules to formulate their own images of other people as "the Other."

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Chinese literature -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912, English literature -- 18th century, English literature -- 19th century, China -- In literature -- History -- 18th century, China -- In literature -- History -- 19th century, Great Britain -- In literature -- History -- 18th century, Great Britain -- In literature -- History -- 19th century
Official Date:	July 2007
Dates:	Date Event July 2007 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Centre for Translation and Comparative Cultural Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Bassnett, Susan
Sponsors:	University of Warwick
Extent:	[ix], 287 leaves
Language:	eng

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