异国形象的文化误读

异国形象是形象学研究的基本对象。这种形象并非异国现实的复呈,而是形象塑造者根据自己的理解和欲求创造出来的。不同文化之间在交流的时候经常存在误读现象,比如中国形象在欧洲的不同时期就呈现出多样化的图像,既有真实的记录,亦有想象、虚构和误读。由于民族情绪的存在和历史上不同文化之间冲突的影响,使人们把误读等同为误解、误会。而从比较文学形象学的角度出发,揭示不同文化之间的先天性差异才是文化误读的根源。因此,正视误读的必然存在,认真探求误读形成的原因和动机,将误读看成是了解自身、了解他者、推动民族交流的工具。

Cultural Misreading of Alien Images

Alien image is a basic definition in imagologic study; however, such an image is not a reappearing in alien reality, but is created by image constructors based on their comprehension and curiosity. Generally speaking, cultural misreading is very common in cultural communications. Due to the influence of national patriotism and historical conflicts between different cultures, people often confuse cultural misreading with misunderstanding. Based on the theory of image studies, this paper discards the above attitude as biased and reveals that the real cause for cultural misreading is the distinction between different cultures. Therefore, the right attitude toward cultural misreading is to face the legality of the existence of cultural misreading, to explore the authentic reason and motivation behind a misreading, treat it as a way of understanding the cultural self and the cultural other, and use it as a tool to promote cultural communications.