Imagining India in Modern China: Literary Decolonization and the Imperial Unconscious, 1895-1962

Chinese writers and intellectuals looked to India for new literary possibilities and anticolonial solidarity, seeing it as an alternative to Western imperialism. Gal Gvili examines how Chinese writers' images of India shaped the making of a new literature and spurred efforts to achieve literary decolonization. However, the Global North and its authority mediated Chinese visions of Sino-Indian pasts and futures, leaving deep ingrained imperialist knowledge structures. Imagining India in Modern China offers new perspectives on anticolonial movements and South-South solidarity.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 11 October 2022
Publisher: Columbia University Press

In the late Qing era, a surge of Chinese writers and intellectuals turned their gaze toward India, seeking fresh literary possibilities and a shared sense of anticolonial solidarity. They saw a shared history of cultural and religious exchange between India and China and a shared struggle against colonial aggression. These writers envisioned India as a potential alternative to Western imperialism, a Pan-Asian ideal that could offer a way out of the clutches of colonialism and its oppressive control over body and mind.

Gal Gvili delves into the intricate relationship between Chinese writers' perceptions of India and the emergence of a new literature that aimed to decolonize. She argues that these multifaceted visions of Sino-Indian connections empowered Chinese literary figures to challenge Western imperialism and its legacies through innovative forms and genres. However, Gvili also highlights the ways in which the Global North and its authority mediated Chinese interpretations of their shared past and future. Often relying on English translations to access Indian literature and thought, Chinese writers struggled to break free from deeply ingrained imperialist knowledge structures.

Imagining India in Modern China explores one of the earliest South-South literary imaginaries, tracing its hopes, literary rejuvenation, and the enduring shadow of the North. By uncovering Chinese writers' efforts to decolonize literature and thought, as well as the lasting impact of imperialism on their minds, the book offers a fresh perspective on the possibilities and limitations of anticolonial movements and South-South solidarity.

Weight: 488g
Dimension: 159 x 237 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231205702