China Being Led and Leading A Literary and Cultural Interpretation

This book unearths a forgotten history of exchange and enlightenment between China and the West, told through vivid examples drawn from the world of poetry, the philosophy of culture and religion, and the realm of international communication. Across chapters that cover an extraordinary range of cultural terrain, from an examination of the parallel expatriate experiences of the British critic and poet William Empson and the Chinese writer Xu Zhimo, to a study of the influence of Christian thought on the evolution of Confucianism, authors Li Zhimin and Daniel Braun rethink the contemporary paradigm of western hegemony and international division that shapes our senses and studies of the East and the West alike, in order to present an image of modern China that is richly hybrid in its blend of cultures, histories, and traditions. This book is immersed in the cultures and literary traditions of China and the West, and written for specialists of the regions and general interest readers alike.