Unexpected Affinities: Reading Across CulturesUniversity of Toronto Press, 2007 - 138 pages East-West comparative literature is a field of study that has seen tremendous growth in recent years. In this pioneering study, renowned scholar Zhang Longxi offers a much-needed reappraisal of the thematic and conceptual similarities that unite literary and cultural traditions in the East and West. An expanded version of the lectures he gave as part of the Alexander Lectures Series at the University of Toronto in 2005, Unexpected Affinities emphasizes affinity over difference and explores the relationship between East and West in terms of cultural homogeneity (with shared literary qualities as its signposts), challenging the traditional boundaries of cross-cultural study and comparative literature as a discipline. Throughout Unexpected Affinities, Zhang emphasizes the validity of East-West studies through concrete examples and a wide range of references not only to literature, but to religious and philosophical texts as well. Zhang insists that certain critical insights come solely from the cross-cultural perspective of East-West studies, and that without going beyond the limited horizon of a single literary tradition, we will not attain the broad vision of human creativity in all its richness and diversity. Clear, concise, and engaging, Unexpected Affinities will appeal to students of comparative literature and Asian studies, as well as to readers interested in the global implications of art and culture. |
From inside the book
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... Western society is ' normally in the state of war , ' while Chinese society is ' normally in the state of peace ' ; thus China can offer remedies for the excessive destruc- tiveness of Western civilization . ' The difference between Western ...
... Western imperialist powers . Such an image was closely connected with the myth of a ' Western materialism ' advanced in technology but devoid of morality , and these images and myths often served to boost Chinese national pride and ...
... Western Nations , ' in Wusi qianhou Dong Xi wenhua wenti lunzhan wenxuan [ Selected Essays in the Debate on Eastern and Western Cul- tures in the May Fourth Period ] , ed . Chen Song ( Beijing : Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Press ...
Contents
The Fallacy of Cultural Incommensurability | 3 |
THREE | 38 |
FOUR | 69 |
Copyright | |
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