Power And Discourse

This dissertation uses Edward W. Said's "Orientalism" paradigm which has wide influence in American academy for reference to analyze the changing process of the images of China in the westerners' view and concludes the western Images of China don't reproduce the Chinese actuality on the real meaning but construct a mode of China the western culture itself needed. When Edward W. Said defined the concept of the Oriental Study, he emphasized the relations between empty imagination and realistic power, regarding that in the special times "the relations among power, control and hegemony" existing in the east and the west determined "the discourse mode of the west to speak of the east."When we recall the exchange history of culture between China and foreign countries, see through the different versions of the images of China molded by the west and trace the heart road course by which the westerns treated China, we can briefly delineate the changing track of the images of China in the view of the western culture and learn that the perception process of the western images of China was from apotheosis to idealization and then to smear.Traversing the history and predicting the future, China emphasizes that in the times of globalization the core of the Orientalism lies not in the extent to reflect the reality of China, but in uncovering how the west in the history or today's United . States recognizes themselves by Orientalism's 'other' image. The fact indicates that it is significant in theory and reality to investigate how the western explains the images of China.This dissertation is divided into five parts.The first part is the introduction. By means of introducing Edward W. Said's identity background, his works, the contents and the most basic characteristic of Orientalism, and the substance of Orientalism as a kind of thinking and discourse mode, the author points out how the west and the east are divided into the duality opposition of civilization and barbarism.In the second part, the author explores from history the creation process and creation rules of the western myth and analyzes its social and mental background as well as its deep culture meanings. By means of text analysis and microcosmic observation on discourse and the pattern of thinking, the author points out that theEurope has strengthened its culture dominant status in the course of yielding the east, from which we can see the diversion from Utopia to ideology.In the third part, the author analyzes the representation and substance of 'the Yellow Peril' and refutes its inclement intention, regarding that it's both the bandit theory of colonialist and the white paramount theory of racialist.In the fourth part, the author mainly discusses two prototypes of images of China repeating in the minds of the west after the building of the People's Republic of China, which are called 'Shangri-La' and 'the Terrestrial Hell'.Then the author induces that 'the theory of China threat' resulted from pride and prejudice of the westerners.The last part is the conclusion. The author questions closely the inevitability and strategy of transcending the Orientalism at present: on one hand, we should animadvert the hegemony structure in the old relationship of culture; on the other hand, we should pay attention to build the realistic multi-cultural relationship and breed our ethos in order to combine negation with affirmation, animadversion with construct. Only by rectifying the wrorig and correcting the deflection can we finally dispel the discourse hegemony, win the harmonious cultures and obtain mutual benefits.