A Study of the Images of China from Pearl Buck, Bill Porter to Peter Hessler

Abstract

As time goes by, native American writers learn about China and Chinese through various channels, and portray the images of China in their eyes into their literary works. Among them, some writers learn about China through others’ literature, mass media, etc., while others have had experiences in China, or gone to China in person to explore Chinese culture they long for, and put the images of China in their eyes into words in their works. Given the topic and length of writing, this thesis selects three native American writers who have had a long – term Chinese life experience and their masterpieces to research on: Pearl Buck, Bill Porter and Peter Hessler. In addition, imagologie in comparative literature is selected as the theoretical framework to study on the images of China in their literary works.

The essay aims to make some contributions to the study on the theory and application of imagologie and its practical significance. Through the images of China in Pearl Buck, Bill Porter and Peter Hessler from the perspective of the American, on the one hand, it may be conducive for American readers to have reflection on the themselves and the US. On the other hand, reviewing the changes of the images, it may be helpful for Chinese to reflect on the past, take actions at present and look forward to the future.