Arab seafarers mastered the sea route to China, sailing from ports in the Persian Gulf and passing through the Strait of Malacca before reaching Canton (Goldstein, Israel & Conroy, 1991). Studies on historical relations between China and the Islamic world are innumerable. Adrian Hsia protests “There is not yet a single book examining the image or vision of China in English literature, although monographs on the reception of China in French and German literatures have been in existence ever since the beginning of this century” (Hsia, 1998). This is equally true for the Arabic literature. This essay is a preliminary attempt on an investigation of one dimension of international relations between the Arabs as an ethnic group and China as an imaginary realm. This paper focuses on the nature of the Arab imagery in the context of the initial image of China found in Arabic literature, the historical background as a contextual base for historicity determinations, and the function of such depiction in historical-literary discourse, in view of the close and intricate connection between such images in literary and expository prose.
Contextualizing the Arab’s image of China
Al-Qazwini (1203-1283 AD) wrote, “a vast country in the orient, its breadth larger than its length. They say: [it has] about three hundred cities in the distance of a month, and abundant [amount] of water, many trees and plentiful of goods and fruits. It is one of God’s finest and most magnificent lands, and its inhabitants have the most beautiful appearance, and the most skilled in complex industries. But their heights are short, and their heads are giant. Their dresses are made of silk, and their jewels are made of rhino and elephant bones. Their religion is based on ido...
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...It touches on the thing that are most intrinsic and most fundamental to any society or culture. However, we can also say that this perspective is also multi-faceted, because it changes with the mores and issues of concern of every age. Therefore, a society’s view of foreigners may at times be one of disinterest, or curiosity, or rapturous approval, or unjust condescension or hatred. But the reasons for this infatuation or repulsion are in themselves always enlightening” (Gernet, 1994). A more ambitious task not attempted here would be to assimilate early Arab literary imagery of China with nonliterary input. The findings of this introductory research should pave the way for the other researchers to investigate the Arabs imagery further in more systematic manner in order to constitute a cross genres discourse that can be a base for in-depth Arab imagology studies.
...ome to us at an interesting time, before the Revolution, 40 percent of Tehran movie theaters were showing pornography. The function of this office is purification as well as promotion for the arts.” The first part notions the Western stereotype of the Orient since the same as the time when it was discovered, but now the people of the Orient realize the stereotypes and are changing the way they see themselves because of these stereotypes. It is only by correcting these assumptions, stereotypes, and misconceptions of the Orient at the heart of society today, the media can Orientalism be fixed. The Eastern people must be allowed to sympathize in movies and films to humanize them and have intimate interactions. Otherwise, the Orient will be continued to be known incorrectly as a place with people who are without reason, screaming, protesting, and in swarming mobs.
Joyce, James. “Araby”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Eds. R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch. Shorter Sixth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2000. 427 - 431.
During the interval of time between the years 1000 A.D. and 1400 A.D., a multitude of events referring to cultural exchange transpired. In the given documents, In the sense that the Silk Road was brought under the rule of the Mongols, people felt that is was now safe to travel through the Asian continent. Most people would sometimes come all the way from Europe. A multitude of these people were merchants, missionaries, or travelers. They carried along with them goods, news, or cultures from the corners of the then ‘known’ world. These are people who contemplated a multitude of sights on their journeys, which usually ended in China or Cathay. These given documents state the many dissimilarities in politics, social status, religion, and economics which all affected the cultural exchange.
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From the beginning of their establishment, the bilateral relations between the United States of America and China have changed throughout the time. The bilateral relations of the two countries emerged from 1970’s with the ‘Ping-Pong’ diplomacy and there have been many pauses in their mutual relations. The US and China enjoyed cooperation in economic and military spheres and the mutual relations grew massively during until the end of 1990’s. The heads of the two states began visiting each other’s countries and the economic ties were tightening year by year. However, the issues of human rights and free speech declined mutual Sino-American relations. The American principle of democracy promotion and human rights protection minimized the Sino- American relations after the Tiananmen Square events in 1989, the US Presidents-George Bush and Bill Clinton- playing a key role in determining the further American foreign policy towards China.
Said, Edward. ?Orientalism.? Literary Theory: An Anthology. Edited by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers Inc. 1998.
In “The Arab World” (1966), Edward T.Hall the American anthropologist explains the difference in behavior between Westerners and Arabs and the miscommunication between the two great cultures; he says that “Americans in the Middle East are immediately struck by two conflicting sensations. In public they are compressed and overwhelmed by smells, crowding, and high noise levels; in Arab homes Americans are apt to rattle around, feeling exposed and somewhat inadequate because of too much space”(Hall, 1966, p.94). Hall used ethos, logos, and pathos to describe clearly the behavior in public between the two cultures, and how Arabs are being pushy and rude, then he described the concept of the privacy and Arab personal distances, he also mentioned how Arabs talk to each other and how they feel about enclosed places, finally he talked about boundaries . Although Hall does not seem to persuade the reader to a certain point of view, it appears that he unintentionally made some of the Arabs beliefs and actions seem impractical and in some cases he was quite exaggerating. Moreover; I disagree w...
Culture is consciousness, principally, a fair understanding of one's own civilization. This is just conceivable when we have some thought of its connection to different cultures shows resemblances and contrasts. A limit for making unobtrusive refinements must be developed energetically. Current thoughts regarding the Orient are still unreasonably rough, that is, either sentimental, or bigoted; this i...