Cannibalism as Pathology: Chinaâs Modernity in Crisis

Tiffany Yun-Chu Tsai

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Chapter 8 Cannibalism as Pathology: Chinaâs Modernity in Crisis

In: New Vocabularies of May Fourth Studies

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Tiffany Yun-Chu Tsai

Tiffany Yun-Chu Tsai
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 191â215

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004697904_010

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Abstract

This chapter chronologizes and thematizes the trope of cannibalism in modern Chinese literature from the May Fourth era until the present and argues that the trope pathologize Chinaâs modern experience under the threat of and desire for colonialism. The tropeâs trajectory comprises four phases: an ahistorical view disseminated in the May Fourth literature; the rise and fall of historical progressivism during Maoâs high-socialist era; the collapse of socialist ideals in the post-1989 era; and the predicament of Chinaâs ethnic minority under Chinaâs colonial endeavor since the 1990s.

The discourse of colonialism at the turn of the twentieth century gave birth to the discourse of cannibalism in modern China. Relatedly, the May Fourth ahistorical mode of understanding Chinaâs modernity perceived traditional Chinese culture and society to be a cannibalistic entity that should be eradicated so that China would not be colonized and cannibalized. This colonial and cannibalistic discourse thus cultivated a âconsuming identity,â intended to cure Chinaâs crisis of modernity, yet paradoxically developed a pathology of self-consuming modernity. Tracing the trope of cannibalismâs development illuminates Chinaâs cannibalistic modernity within the context of Western (cultural) colonialism and Chinese cultural politics.

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New Vocabularies of May Fourth Studies

Series:Â Ideas, History, and Modern China, Volume: 33

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004697904

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 16 Oct 2024

Subjects
- Asian Studies
  - China
  - History
- History
  - Intellectual History
  - Chinese History

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Chapter 8 Cannibalism as Pathology: Chinaâs Modernity in Crisis

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New Vocabularies of May Fourth Studies

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Chapter 8 Cannibalism as Pathology: Chinaâs Modernity in Crisis