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

In The First Comprehensive Study Of Occidentalism In Post-mao China, 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 From 1978-1988. She Examines The Cultural And Political Interrelations 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. 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. . 1. Occidentalism As A Counter-discourse : He Shang Controversy -- 2. Occidentalist Theater : Shakespeare, Ibsen, And Brecht As Counter Others -- 3. Misunderstanding Western Modernism : The Menglong Movement -- 4. A Wildman Between The Orient And The Occident : Retro-influence In Comparative Literary Studies -- 5. Wilder, Mei Langfang And Huang Zuolin : A Suggestive Theater Revisited -- 6. Fathers And Daughters In Early Modern Chinese Drama : On The Problematics Of Occidentalism In Cross-cultural/gender Perspective. Xiaomei Chen. Includes Bibliographical References.