The Distance to China: Twentieth-Century Italian Travel Narratives of Patriotism, Commitment and Disillusion (1898-1985)

ISBN-13: 9781789975109 / Angielski / Miękka / 2022 / 320 str.

Robert S. C. Gordon; Pierpaolo Antonello; Linetto Basilone

Opis

China was the destination of choice for hundreds of prominent Italian authors during the twentieth century, and their travel narratives helped to shape Italian representations of the country. This study sheds new light on how China was viewed in relation to Italian culture and how this influenced the Italian readership.

Spis treści

Contents: The Politics of Textuality: A Theoretical Framework - Italian Travel Narratives of War, Modernity, and Patriotism in Late Imperial and Early Republican China (1898-1916) - The Chinese Alterity: Italianità and Ideology in the Italian Travel Literature on China during the Fascist Ventennio (1922-1943) - Italian Leftist Intellectuals in the People's Republic of China: A Matter of Spiritual Affinity (1949-1960) - In Search of Chinese Purity: Italian Leftist Intellectuals in Maoist China during and after the Cultural Revolution (1966-1975) - On the Nonexistence of a Chinese Utopia: Italian Narratives of Disbelief, Disenchantment, and Nostalgia (1978-1985).

O autorze

Linetto Basilone holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Auckland and an MA in Comparative Literature from the University of Naples «L'Orientale». He teaches Global Studies at the University of Auckland and is affiliated with the Centro Studi Fortini-Masi. He specializes in the study of cross-cultural encounters, identity construction, and political discourse in literature.