自我东方主义?丽江旅游形象的想象与建构

Self-orientalism? Imagination and Construction of Lijiang's Tourism Image

研究援引"东方主义"与地理想象的相关理论,以云南丽江为案例地,运用国内外主流媒体与旅游宣传片《丽江欢迎你》等文本,深入剖析西方与中国内部等"他者"如何建构丽江的旅游形象以及"我者"丽江如何回应这种旅游想象。研究结论有:(1)西方社会对丽江的旅游想象基于东方主义话语;中国内部对丽江的地方建构基于国家政治符号与自我东方主义的视角。(2)"我者"丽江通过《丽江欢迎你》的宣传片,在响应与抵制的矛盾中尝试揭开丽江神秘化、女性化、现代化的面纱,建构中西融合、独具民族特色的"自我"形象。研究在理论上补充了自我东方主义中"自我"与"东方主义"的边界及其动态演化过程,也为丽江旅游形象的宣传与重构提供了实践指导。

This paper provides a critical examination of ＂Orientalism＂ theory and imaginative geographies through a case study of Lijiang, Yunnan Province. By analyzing tourism promotional film ＂Welcome to Lijiang＂ and its related texts,this paper investigates how the western media and the oriental ＂others＂ in China cooperatively construct and represent the tourism image of Lijiang and how the ＂self＂,local cultural elites in Lijiang,responds to such discursive representation. Two conclusions are summarized as follows. First, the western imaginations of Lijiang in media reports draw mainly on an orientalist epistemology, whereas China＇s internal constructions of Lijiang＇s tourism image are based on national political symbols and the reception of orientalist gazes, which can be theorized as politicalized self-orientalism. China＇s self-orientalism emphasizes modern images, urbanity and the improvement of indigenous people＇ s quality of life, while the western gaze highlights exotic imagination of Lijiang, such as the tradition of matriarchal society, the dismantling Dongba culture and the backward and pre-modern lifestyles. This different representation of Lijiang can be ascribed to the long-tern mutual interaction between the orient and west. It is noteworthy that the western discursive construction of Lijiang as ＂uncivilized＂, ＂backward＂, ＂underdeveloped＂ is a part of the ideological campaign of western imperialism, which aims to reinforce the western superiority over the orient.Furthermore, exotic and feminized construction of the orient is often utilized as an ideological propaganda to represent the less developed countries. On the contrary, China＇s internal construction of Lijiang as an image of modern and national-unity conforms to state-led tourism developmental strategies,in tandem with the state＇s political discourses of ＂national unity＂ and ＂autonomy＂. Second,the promotional film ＂Welcome to Lijiang＂ has echoed with ＂othering＂ constructions of Lijiang as an orientalist, mysterious and feminized space, yet simultaneously refuting geographical imaginations of Lijiang as a form of orthodox orientalist image, one that is ＂fantastic, poor and backward＂. Moreover,the promotion film tries to reformulate the self-image of Lijiang by exhibiting a dynamic and multiple place but rather simply catering to the Western discourses and geographical imaginations. Interestingly,this film reconciles the authentic ＂self＂ with ＂orientalism＂ by selectively adopting the western gazes in order to elevate the image of Lijiang to international standard. In other words, this reconciliation is a result of the multi-sensory practices of consumption and interaction between tourists and destination imagination. As a place-based tourism promotional film, ＂Welcome to Lijiang＂ can be interpreted as a self-narrative of ethnic minority groups from below and a social construction of tourism image, which portrays a dynamic, multi-cultural and complex scenario in comparison to the Western geographical imaginations. The discourse of ＂oriental ism＂ loses its grounds as China regains its cultural confidence and reshapes its self-subjectivities. This paper furthers an understanding of self-orientalism and offers policy implicati on to destination marketing in China.