| Lost Horizon, which is written by James Hilton, has been very hot in the West. He presents a Chinese utopia to the western world. Whether they are oriental or occidental, they all go after Shangri-La. Tibet located in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China instantly is turned into a magical place full of fantasy which all the people want to visit. This article attempts to interpret the text by Orientalism and explore the Chinese images made by the West. Through analyzing the Chinese images in the text, the thesis expounds that some of the western understanding about China are closely associated with its special historical background. Either beautification or uglification, it more or less shows the mystification and appetency of the West to China.The thesis consists of five parts as follows.The first part gives a brief introduction of James Hilton and his main works and describes the background of the novel. The western people were deeply affected or marked by mental or physical pain, during the First World War and the Economic Crisis in 1933. The western civilization was on the edge of collapse at that moment, and the people were desperate of the reality and confused about the future. They were eager to find an exit as redemption. Shangri-La was a panacea that cured spiritual wounds of the western people. Therefore, the Chinese images described in the Lost Horizon meet the needs of Europeans in this particular period which are not the objective description of the reality.The second part introduces Said's theory of Orientalism and points out there are three prominent features of Orientalism. As the most importent part of critical theory of the Post-colonialism, Orientalism has opened out the machination of the cultural imperialism coverted in the orient study. However, it is an ideology that the west excludes, depreciates and restricts the Orient, which has obviously trend of negativity. Said's Orientalism has neglected to criticise these utopian images. When we trace back to some western writers'works, it is easy for us to find that these works about Chinese utopian images are common then in western society, which had aroused widespread concern. The images described by them are either beautification or uglification. This part also analyses the historical origin of Chinese utopian images by introducing the works of these famous western writers, who worship and admire Chinese culture, and the underlying causes of adoration by Orientalism. It points out that the essence of the utopian images is alike with minor differences."the East"is not the East, which is a creation to satisfy the western desire no matter what kinds of images they have made.The third part interprets the Shangri-La's image in the text. Through depicting what Conway has seen, it is unfolded a perfect utopian image before the reader's eyes, which has amid beautiful surroundings, pleasantly climate, mysterious geographic position and rich mineral resources flaunting the wealth of Shangri-La to the readers. Hilton introduces the high civilization in Shangri-La, images of Chinese people and Chinese philosophy and religions. However, the purpose of Hilton to depict deliberately is to create a paradise, which may save the western world. In essence, Shangri-La is the last and perfect colony that the western people try hard to look forward.The fourth part clarifies the reasons for formation of Shangri-La's image and the profound effect on the later generations, then points out that the Chinese images depicted in Lost Horizon are related closely with the social and historical condition and the creation motivation of the author. Although Hilton had never set foot on China and even had very little knowledge on Chinese culture, he was able to obtain success of this masterpiece on Chinese theme. Nowadays, the western people have accepted the fact that Shangri-La's image is imaginary. However, she has a far-reaching effect on the western world by detailed analyzing the impact of Shangri-La's image and the attitude of the West towards Tibet.The fifth part summarizes and analyzes the Chinese utopian images on the basis of the Orientalism, which is between ideology and utopia, and reflects admiration, infatuation and beautification to China in a certain degree. It is not difficult for us to find that the author does not worship and respect China and Chinese culture indeed, but last their illusion of desire on China for centuries. |
