World Scientific
Skip main navigation

Cookies Notification

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. By continuing to browse the site, you consent to the use of our cookies. Learn More
×

System Upgrade on Tue, May 28th, 2024 at 2am (EDT)

Existing users will be able to log into the site and access content. However, E-commerce and registration of new users may not be available for up to 12 hours.
For online purchase, please visit us again. Contact us at customercare@wspc.com for any enquiries.
China Under Western Gaze cover
Also available at Amazon and Kobo

This book presents a critical analysis of the images of China portrayed in British television documentaries between 1980 and 2000. The examination is contextualized within the profound transformations of the post-reform China and global political structures in the last two decades of the 20th century. Using an innovative analytical framework based on Vladimir Propp, the book focuses on how different images of China are constructed through an effective use of TV narrative strategies. In particular it details how various strands of (Western) modernity underpin major discourses about China. The book will be valuable to the understanding of how China was perceived in the West during one of the most dramatic moments in modern history.

Sample Chapter(s)
Chapter 1: China as an Image: History, Structure and Perspectives* (421 KB)


Contents:
  • China as an Image: History, Structure and Perspectives
  • Television Narrative as Discourse: Poetics of Representation
  • Legitimate Controversy: China as a Civilisation
  • A Struggle Without Heroes: Representing Republic of China, 1911–1949
  • Consensus and Deviance: China as the Communist ‘Other ’, 1949–1989
  • Road to Xanadu: A Case Study
  • Behind Representation: Discursive Strategies and Relations of Power
  • Conclusions

Readership: Researchers and students who are interested to understand how China was perceived in the West during the 1980–2000 period.