Orientalism versus Occidentalism? (1997)

Orientalism versus Occidentalism? Wang Ning (bio) Postcolonialism, an original theoretical concept in Western critical discourse, actually contains two aspects: postcolonial literature and postcolonial theory. But although generated in Western cultural soil, it has come to have more and more appeal to Third-World intellectuals both within and outside of the Western empire. In recent years, it has been frequently discussed among Chinese scholars and cultural critics in the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan as well as in overseas Chinese critical circles. Writings counter to this concept are called "Post-Orientalism" (hou dongfangzhuyi). 1 Inside China, some scholars or critics attack film directors Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige whose successes in various international film festivals depend largely upon their being recognized by Western scholars and critics because their films are regarded as a version of Orientalism, or more exactly, as images made exclusively for a Western audience. 2 Meanwhile, overseas Chinese scholars view this attack on Zhang and Chen as a kind of Occidentalism. But to advocate an opposition between Orientalism and Occidentalism at the present time seems inappropriate. It is no easy job, however, to refute these ideas. I would like first of all to reexamine the construction and interpretation of the concept of Orientalism described by Edward Said, then question the so-called "Occidentalism," and finally, try to prove that in the current era, the main tendency is cultural dialogue rather than cultural opposition. Questioning Said's "Orientalism" Obviously, postcolonialism as a theoretical concept is not monolithic, but pluralistic. It takes at least three forms: the one constructed by Gayatri C. Spivak and characterized by Third-World feminism and deconstructive thought and writing; the one practiced by Homi Bhabha and marked by strong Third-Worldist cultural critique and postmodern parody always producing ambiguity; and the one constructed and theorized by Edward Said and characterized by his description and construction of Orientalism. In the current debate on East-West cultural relations, his writings are most influential and even most quoted or [End Page 57] discussed in the Oriental or Third-World countries. Since the publication of his Orientalism, the concept has been one of the major theoretical issues attracting the attention of both Eastern and Western scholars. According to Said, "Orientalism is not a mere political subject matter or field that is reflected passively by culture, scholarship, or institutions; nor is it a large and diffuse collection of texts about the Orient; nor is it representative and expressive of some nefarious 'Western' imperialist plot to hold down the 'Oriental' world. . . . Indeed, my real argument is that Orientalism is—and does not simply represent—a considerable dimension of modern political-intellectual culture, and as such has less to do with the Orient than it does with 'our' world." 3 Said here clearly illustrates that the logical theorizing perspective from which to construct Orientalism is not that of the "Orient" but that of its opposite side—the "Occident." That is, the "Orient" is merely what exists in the eyes of certain Western people. It is constructed as an "other" opposed to the Occident. If the Occident is both geographically and culturally speaking at the very center of the world, the Orient is undoubtedly at its periphery, subject to the power of this center. According to Said, Orientalism contains at least the following connotations: First, it refers to a mode of thinking based on the difference in ontology and epistemology between the Orient and the Occident. The Orient and Occident are in separate hemispheres on earth, opposing each other in many respects due to their striking differences, politically, economically, and even linguistically. Second, it refers to a way of dominance of the powerful West over the weak East and its oppression of the latter. On the basis of such an unequal relationship, "Orientalism" has become a kind of "Oriental myth" invented and appreciated by Westerners who have little actual knowledge of the Orient and the Third World, but have some prejudice against and curiosity about the latter. As far as the connotation of Orientalism is concerned, Said further points out that it overlaps three fields: the history of cultural relations between the East and the West which has lasted for over four thousand...