Italian Literary Representations of China

Narrating cultural identities

Authors

• Iside Carbone Royal Anthropological Institute

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30676/jfas.156829

Abstract

Focusing on the case of Italian literary representations of China, this article explores the mechanisms at work in the process of getting to know and describing a cultural Other. Literary materials from medieval and modern times are analysed and compared with an emphasis on the constructive role of narrative in the synaesthetic experience of realities around us. The texts presented reveal an interplay between cultural identities: while guiding and inspiring people’s imagery of Chinese territories, inhabitants and culture, they reflect and define Italian cultural traits.

Keywords: China, Italy, Self, Other, perception and representation, experience, literature