| At the end of the 19th century,with the signing of a series of treaties between Qing government and Western powers and the opening of trade ports,many Western businessmen,missionaries,travelers arrived in China,bringing a new wave of Sino-Western exchanges.Louise Jordan Miln(1864-1933),an actress of a theater company,was quite different from other Western visitors.Arriving in China at the end of the 19th century,she visited cities including Shanghai,Guangzhou,and Hong Kong,and noted down what she had seen in a travelogue,which also encouraged her to write more about China.From 1894 to 1933,Miln published no less than 20 novels about China,and were quite popular among Western readers at that time.Today,however,Miln is ignored as a novelist of China widely praised in the 1920s and 1930s.Despite the rapid development of comparative literature studies in recent years,little attention has been paid to Miln and her works.So far,no complete review has been conducted on her works,not to mention a systematic research.Therefore,this thesis will first make a complete survey of Miln’s life and works,and then choose her masterpiece The Feast of Lanterns(1920)for in-depth analysis,from the perspective of "Otherness" in the light of "Chinoiserie" tradition in European and American cultures.The thesis will focus on the construction of China image in The Feast of Lanterns by analyzing the description of Chinese characters,life-style,environment,culture,etc.through close reading and comparative study.It is found out that Miln’s appreciation and admiration of China is not only in line with the "Chinoiserie" tradition in Western cultures,but also related to her personal experience,education background,and career development.The thesis includes six parts.Firstly,the Introduction clarifies the significance of the study,the current scholarship,Chinese and foreign,on Miln,the "Otherness" theory,and the innovation of the thesis.Chapter One exams Miln’s life in four periods,which are childhood,career as an actress,travel in the East,and career as a novelist,giving a systematical review of Miln’s life.Chapter Two explores the "Chinoiserie" tradition in European and American cultures in the early 20th century by analyzing British sinology represented by Herbert Allen Giles and his son Lionel Giles,the "Chinoiserie" elements in poetry,and the theme of mixed marriage and relationship in the Western writings,unveiling the historical background of Miln’s creation.Chapter Three analyzes the construction of China’s image in The Feast of Lanterns from two aspects,namely the description of Chinese characters,environment and culture.The image of traditional Chinese women,the practice of Chinese patriotism and religion are discussed in the first section.The creation of China’s "utopian"environment,and attractive culture are analyzed in the second one.Chapter Four explores Miln’s fanatical appreciation for China,points out Miln’s special impression of opium and foot-binding based on her travelogue,and further analyzes her writing motivations and the cultural relativism reflected in her works,revealing the practical significance of Miln’s works for the current cross-cultural communication.Based on the four chapters,the image of China constructed by Miln is summarized in the Conclusion,putting forward that the feminist,humanitarian,and positive cultural relativism thoughts in Miln’s works can provide guidance to current cross-cultural and inter-civilization exchanges.As a Western female novelist who wrote about China in quite an early time,Miln’s criticism of Western aggressors,strong empathy for China,and respect of the differences between Chinese and Western cultures are quite precious and commendable.The themes and connotations of Miln’s works are unique and even avant-garde,thus have high research value even to this day.Therefore,the thesis believes that Miln and her works deserve more recognition and attention from the academic circles around the world. |
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