“中国”的多重面相——卡夫卡作品中的“中国”空间

Images of China:The China-Space in Kafka's Works

1900年前后欧洲现代化进程和末世情结的语境中,以中国为代表的东方文化再次引起了欧洲知识界的关注。卡夫卡在其书信日记中对中国的叙述,与他在文学作品中塑造的中国形象之间,存在着巨大的反差。福柯的乌托邦和异托邦概念,为阐释卡夫卡的中国形象提供了新的可能性:一方面,中国作为美好幻想的载体,呈现出乌托邦性质;另一方面,中国被建构成一个杂糅无序的空间,折射出在秩序被抽空、真理被消解的现代社会中,人的恐惧和无所适从。

Around the year 1900, in the context of modernization in Europe and an atmosphere of apocalypse, the oriental culture, represented by China, once again attracted attention from European intellectuals, including Kafka. However, there is a big gap between Kafka＇s narrative about China in letters/diaries and the image of China presented in his literary works. Foucault＇s elaboration on the two concepts Utopia and Heterotopia provides new possibility to interpret images of China presented by Kafka. On the one hand, China embodies enchanting fantasy, hence assuming a utopian nature. And on the other hand, China was constructed into a space out Of order, reflecting a modem society where order only exists in vacuum and truth is blurred, and a society where people live in fear and haziness.