SPD2321 Chinese Civilization and

Modern Consciousness from the West

Lecture 5 Occidentalism and the Questions of “Chineseness”

Instructor: Dr. Terence Leung

Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 “I hope to have shown my reader that the answer to

Orientalism is not Occidentalism. No former ‘Oriental’ will
be comforted by the thought that having been an Oriental
himself he is likely – too likely – to study new ‘Orientals’ – or
‘Occidentals’ of his own making.” (Edward Said,
Orientalism, p328)

 However, Occidentalism ( 西方主义 ) is always a twinned

discourse of Orientalism.

 It is a dualism that hurts both parties. Does it mean that

human world has to be an antagonistic one rather than a
harmonious one?
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 Some anthropologists point out that the anthropological studies

of the West are always essentialist like Orientalism.

 For example, Marcel Mauss’ model on the gift system of tribal

society 部落社会 vs. the commodity system of Western society.

 While the discussion of Occidentalism is often in juxtaposition

with that of Orientalism, it can also amount to a criticism of
the latter.

 Edward Said’s critique of Orientalist writings and studies raised

important questions about the Western hegemonic power in
shaping the imagery of the “Orient.”
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 But like the Orientalists, as Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi

charges, Said, in presenting his thesis on the Western
discursive hegemony, underestimates and overlooks the
intellectual power and contribution of the people in the
Orient.

 In his study of the Persianate writings in history and

travelogue by Iranians and Indians during the 17th and 19th
centuries, Tavakoli-Targhi notes that prior to the spread of
European power, the Asians not only traveled to and wrote
about Europe, contributing to Persianate Europology, but
they also helped the early European Orientalists to acquire a
knowledge of the Orient.
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 In other words, in the exchanges between East and

West, the East was not a passive, silent Other, as
portrayed by the Orientalists (and also, ironically, as
endorsed by Edward Said).

 Rather, argues Tavakoli-Targhi, the Persianate writers

displayed equivalent intellectual capability to engage
in cross-cultural communications with their Western
counterparts.
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 Occidentalism (the representation of the West) in Chinese context

 Originally published in 1995 by Oxford University Press, Chen

Xiaomei’s Occidentalism was the first book to develop the concept of
“Occidentalism,” and the first comprehensive study of Occidentalism
in post-Mao China as a response to post-colonial theories.

 It offers an insightful account of the unremittingly favorable depiction

of Western culture and its negative characterization of Chinese
culture in post-Mao China since 1978.

 Chen examines the cultural and political interrelationship between the

East and West from a vantage point more complex than that
accommodated by most current theories of Western imperialism and
colonialism.
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 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.
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 There are at least two kinds of Occidentalism in China:

 1. the official Occidentalism was always negative

under the Communist regime before 1976: the West is
corrupted, capitalist and imperialist; anyone asking for
democracy is a spy for the West  e.g. Maoism
(neither Western imperialism nor Western Marxism)
 Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

However, during the 1960s, Chairman Mao Zedong’s position was

weakened within the CCP due to the gigantic failure of the Great
Leap Forward ( 大跃进 ).

Meanwhile, the capitalist influences, which were epitomized by

pro-Soviet revisionists ( 蘇修分子 ) and pro-capitalist reactionaries
( 反 動 派 ) like Liu Shaoqi 刘 少 奇 and Deng Xiaoping 邓 小 平 ,
were now growing within the Chinese Communist Party.

In 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, of which many

commentators have branded it a “ten-year disaster” ( 十年浩劫 ),
in an attempt to purge the country of “impure” elements and
revive the revolutionary spirit of the proletariats.
 Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

Mao sanctioned and mobilized millions of the Red Guards

to protect him and his policies.

One-and-a-half million people died and much of the

country’s cultural heritage, including traditional Chinese
values and artifacts, was destroyed.

But on the other hand, the Maoist Cultural Revolution

had exerted an unprecedented revolutionary impact on
the global antiauthoritarian movements of the Sixties.
 Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”
Bombard the Headquarters ( 炮打司令部 )

Revolution is not a Dinner Party ( 革命不是請客吃飯 )

It’s Right to Rebel! ( 造反有理 )

Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”
 Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

In mid-August 1966, a Party Central Committee meeting

formally proclaimed the Cultural Revolution a movement to
overthrow 推 翻 “ those within the party who are in
authority and taking the capitalist road.”

The campaign to destroy the “four olds” (po sì jiù) ( 破四旧 )

—old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits—began
in Beijing on August 19, 1966, shortly after the launch of the
Cultural Revolution by raiding the homes and shops of
members of the “backward” classes.
 Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

These classes (i.e. “five black categories” 黑五类 )

were often referred to as the “black elements,”
and included former landlords, former
merchants, former rich peasants, and persons
perceived to be counterrevolutionaries, rightists
or criminals .
 Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 The provincial party authorities assisted the Red Guards

in finding targets for their raids 袭击 .

 High Red Guardism 紅 衛 兵 運 動 (1966-1968): The

students carried out this assignment with great
enthusiasm, marching through the streets with banners,
singing revolutionary songs, and shouting slogans.
 Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

• During the heyday of Red Guardism, the

location of the former American embassy
was renamed “Anti-imperialism Road”( 反
帝国主义路 ).

• In fact, the Maoist concept of “self-

reliance” 自 力 更 生 has already
contained certain xenophobic 排 外
implications at its very core.
 Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 In Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of its Enemies

(2004), Buruma and Margalit said that:

 “nationalist and nativist resistance to the West

replicates Eastern-world responses against the
socio-economic forces of modernization, which
originated in Western culture, among utopian radicals
and conservative nationalists who viewed capitalism,
liberalism, and secularism as forces destructive of
their societies and cultures.”
 Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 In accounting for the various anti-Western views and attitude,

the two authors use the word Occidentalism to describe the
phenomenon: ””The dehumanizing picture of the West painted
by its enemies is what we have called Occidentalism.”

 Anti-Western bias among European socialists, such as blaming

the West for Islamist terror attacks, or opposing actions by the
West or its allies but supporting or condoning similar actions by
perceived enemies of the West, has been also referred to as
Occidentalism.

  i.e. Occidentalism carries dangerous ideological implications

(e.g. Maoism, anti-Americanism, anti-Zionism)
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 2. The Anti-official Occidentalism: Positive evaluation of all

things Western; the West is politically and culturally superior
to China; the West is the model for China to learn from.

 River Elegy (He shang) 河殇 , a CCTV-made TV documentary

in 1988, offers an anti-official Occidentalism and criticisms all
traditional Chinese symbols (e.g. Yellow River, yellow earth,
dragon, Great Wall etc); it characterizes the West as blue
ocean civilization, and challenges the Chinese traditional
value system and worldview.

 He shang is an allegory 寓言 of criticism against the current

regime, crying for political reforms and cultural rebirth.
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 A Short Summary of Chen Xiaomei’s Occidentalism:

 “Official Occidentalism,” according to Chen Xiaomei, as

pushed by the Chinese government, essentializes the West,
in order to foster domestic nationalism and downplay
differences within China. The purpose of its construction of
the Western ‘Other’ is not to suggest China’s domination of
the West, but to discipline the Chinese self to promote the
domestic unity.

 In contrast, Chen maintains that “anti-official” or “non-official

Occidentalism” glorifies the West for the purpose of fighting
against the government and resisting official ideology.
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”
 Questions to Think About from ‘River Elegy’:

 Is a native self-understanding of China necessarily better, truer

or more accurate than the view constructed by the West?

 Is Occidentalist discourse also tied to power relationships and

strategies of domination, like its Orientalist counterpart?

 However, the leveling of Occidentalism and Orientalism fails to

point out the historical relationship between East and West.
The history of Western imperialism and colonialism has been
totally ignored.

 Why does there exist an Occidentalist discourse? Would the

peoples of the non-Western world misrepresent the West if it is
not the West that first produces all distortions?  ie mutual
ignorance
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 Three Stages of Chinese Learning from the West

(Chinese Occidentalism) according to Li Zihou 李泽厚 :

 1) technological

 2) political

 3) cultural reforms in modern China

Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 Three models of such learning:

 1) wholesale Westernization 全盘西化

 2) Chinese learning as substance and Western learning

for use 中学为体 , 西学为用

 3) Western learning as substance and Chinese learning

for use 西学为体 , 中学为用
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 The old “Chinese learning as substance and Western learning for use”
中学为体 , 西学为用 is a process of domestication or Sinicization 中国化
of foreign elements. Thus no fundamental changes can really happen.
 e.g. sinicization of Marxism; 马克思主义中国化 socialism with Chinese
characteristics 具有中国特色社会主义 , 新儒學思想 (New Confucianism)

 梁漱溟當時被視為“反對歐化”的代表，到 30 年代，郭湛波在其《近五十年中國
思想史》中仍然以梁漱溟為反對西洋文化的代表：”中國自 1919 年起的新文化
運動，是西洋工業資本社會思想輸入時期，同時反抗中國固有的農業宗法封建思
想及風俗、道德、習慣、倫理，此時之代表思想家即上述者陳（獨秀）、胡
（適）、李（大釗）、吳（稚輝）諸人。然在此西洋新思想新文化澎湃潮流中，
忽起反動的思想，反對西洋文化，崇拜中國固有文化，那就是梁漱溟先生了”。
郭湛波甚至認為梁漱溟”反對科學與民主政治“、其思想”仍然是中國農業宗法
封建思想”
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 1918 年，在《東西文化及其哲學》出版的前三年，梁漱溟在《北京大學日
刊》刊登《徵求研究東方學者》之後，就被視為反對歐化者。對此，他表
示：”有以溟為反對歐化者，歐化實世界化，東方亦不能外。然東方亦有其
足為世界化而歐土將弗能外者”。

 他認為，所謂”歐化”其實就是”世界化”，西方近代文化，照他的理解，
並不是一種民族性的文化，而是具有普遍性、可普遍化的文化，也是整個世
界共同發展的必然潮流。 “歐化即世界化”這一提法本身就不可能是“反對
歐化”的，這明確表示，他的立場不是反對歐化。

 從正面來看，他的立場是，在讚成世界化的同時，肯定東方文化也含有具有
普遍性、可普遍化的文化內涵。如果從”反”的方面看其思想，其立場不是
反對西方文化，而是反對反東方文化。他在 1917 年 10 月初到北大時，對蔡
元培、陳獨秀說，他是為釋迦、孔子打抱不平而來，就是反映了他的反反東
方文化論的立場，而決不是反西洋文化的主張。從今天的觀點來看，”東方
亦有其足為世界化而歐土將不能外者”，正是一種多元文化主義的主張。
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 1921 年 10 月，梁漱溟出版《東西文化及其哲學》一書，本書
一開始就對西方文化作了以下描述：

 我們所看見的，幾乎世界上完全是西方化的世界！歐美等國完
全是西方化的領域，固然不須說了。就是東方各國，凡能領受
接納西方化而又能運用的，方能使它的民族、國家站得住；凡
來不及領受接納西方化的即被西方化的強力所佔領。 ……中國
也為西方化所壓迫，差不多西方化撞進門來已竟好幾十年，使
秉受東方化很久的中國人，也不能不改變生活，採用西方化！
幾乎使我們現在的生活，無論精神方面、社會方面和物質方
面，都充滿了西方化，這是無法否認的。
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 梁漱溟所用的“西方化”、“東方化”多指“西方文化”、“東方文
化”。這是要說明的。由上可知，梁漱溟看得很清楚：西方化是當今
世界的趨勢，順其者昌，逆其者亡，世界上任何地方的人，要生存，
就必須採用西方化。而且中國人的生活中已經“充滿了西方化”。

 梁漱溟既然深知“不領納西方文化立就覆亡”，他當然不會“反對西
方文化”了。梁漱溟說，可以把“文化”理解為“一個民族生活的種
種方面”，這種種方面可歸為三：精神生活方面，社會生活方面，物
質生活方面。

 從這三個方面比較東西文化，梁漱溟指出，在精神生活方面，“的確
是西洋人比我們多進了一步”，“中國人比較起來，明明還在未進狀
態的”。在社會生活方面，“西洋比中國進步更為顯然”。在物質生
活方面，”東方之不及西方尤不待言”。
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 The new “Western learning as substance and Chinese

learning for use” 西 学 为 体 , 中 学 为 用 works on the
social structure.

 The modes of production determine people’s ideas and

culture. Substance is everyday life of society, i.e. the
mode of production, the social productive force.
Occidentalism and its Chinese “Uses”

 Traditionally, Chinese intellectuals tend to use the

image of the West to push their political reforms in
China.

 In fact, Occidentalism in China has always been used

for self-questioning, self-renewal, or sometimes
self-affirmation.
Towards the Revival of Chinese Civilization?

 A More Confident China of the 21 st Century in its Relation to the

West: The Case of TV drama “Marching Toward the Republic” 走向共
和 and the documentary “The Rise of the Great Powers” 大国崛起

 A historical drama series (sponsored by the official media organ),

Marching Toward the Republic 走向共和 , was aired on TV in China in
2003, it portrays China in the late 19 th century, the collapse of the
Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republican government.

 The drama series was controversial because it revised and changed

the usual perceptions of many historical figures, like the Dowager
Empress Cixi 慈禧太后 , Li Hongzhang 李鸿章 and Yuan Shikai 袁世凯 .
Towards the Revival of Chinese Civilization?

 Li Hongzhang 李鸿章 , historically seen as a ‘traitor’ 叛徒 by

the rigid and dogmatic version of Chinese history, becomes
a hero to defend Chinese interest against the Western
imperialists even in a losing battle.

 The Rise of the Great Powers, a TV series in 2006, deals

with the rise and fall of (former) world powers from 15 th
century to the present.

 By identifying the factors in the rise and in some cases the

fall of those powerful nations, the programme tries to find
the ‘right path’ for the re-emergence of China as a
superpower.
Towards the Revival of Chinese Civilization?

 The Chinese depiction of the West becomes an

indicator of Chinese measurement of its own strength.

 The title of The Rise of the Great Powers actually

reveals China’s own ambition.

 History is not just about the past, but also about the
present – the way how we look at the past all depends
on our present condition.
Towards the Revival of Chinese Civilization?

 The whole world is witnessing a China with growing

confidence and new assertiveness in the Beijing
Olympics.

 “One hundred years of dream” (bainian xuanmen 百年

圆 夢 ) and seven years of preparation and planning
culminated in a 16-day global extravaganza in Beijing,
putting China on the global center stage for the first
time since the 1989 Tiananmen Student Movement.
Towards the Revival of Chinese Civilization?

 In November of 2012, soon after the conclusion of the

18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China
(CPC), President Xi Jinping 习 近平 put forward, for the first
time, the idea of the Chinese Dream ( 中国梦 ) on a visit to
“The Road towards Renewal” exhibition at the National
Museum of China.

 Primarily modeled on the “American Dream” 美国梦 , the

Chinese Dream has been viewed as a call for China’s
rising international influence  Xi Jinping refers to the
dream as a form of new individuality and national
rejuvenation.
Towards the Revival of Chinese Civilization?

 Young Chinese are envious of America’s cultural

influence and hope that China could one day rival the
US as a cultural exporter.

 Even if it may bear a certain formal ‘difference’ with

the American Dream, it is undeniable that the Chinese
Dream as such still needs this Western counterpart
(i.e. ‘superior’ other) to help rejuvenate 复原 or renew
itself.  i.e. never simply an autonomous 自 主 and
independent project
The Dislocation of the West

 According to Naoki Sakai 酒井直树 , the “West” is no

longer simply a geographical place (referring to
Western Europe and North America).

 The West is an ambiguous and ubiquitous presence of

a certain global domination whose subject is hard to be
identified – a Japanese in India could fashion himself as
a ‘Westerner’ while he becomes a representative of
Asia when he is in France.
The Dislocation of the West

 The so-called unity of the West is only fictional; it is

never an internally coherent substance.

 The West is becoming an imaginary construct.

 The West is what peoples in the non-Western world

have to refer to and rely on so as to construct their
own culture and historical identity.
The Dislocation of the West

 Now the West is used by different ethnic groups to

justify their national and political movements, for
instance, the West is turned into an evil by the Muslim
terrorists to carry out their holy war 圣战 (jihad).

 In contemporary Chinese context, the imaginary West

is probably kept using by the Chinese communist
government to help justify its continuous rejection of
Western liberal democracy 西方自由民主 i.e.
insistence on the unfeasibility of Western democracy in
Chinese reality