《贡格廷》:亚欧之旅中殖民主义话语的流变

Gunga Din:The Evolution of Colonial Discourse in the Eurasian Journey

英国诗人吉卜林在诗歌《贡格廷》中塑造了一个正面的印度人形象,其目的并非肯定印度人的优秀品质,而是赞美大英帝国的忠诚奴仆,其殖民主义思想在诗人与印度的复杂感情关系中得以隐晦地表达。好莱坞电影《贡格廷》与诗歌《贡格廷》相比更加强化了殖民主义的思维,印度被塑造为迷信、落后、野蛮、暴力的反面形象,而殖民地统治者却是正面的形象,他们珍视爱情、友情,为印度带去文明。电影《贡格廷》在民国时期引进中国,报刊上的读者来信和影评反映出当时的中国人在借用西方人视角看待东方的过程中所产生的局限性,对东西方文化和艺术的政治话语的认识有偏差。作为东方读者,如何在当下的环境中反思西方文化的影响,建构认识世界的本土视角,依然是值得思考的问题。

Since the colonial times,western writers have more or less reflected the theme of imperial expansion.Kipling created a positive Indian image in his poem Gunga Din,which praised the loyal servants of the British Empire.His colonialism thought was implicitly expressed in the complex emotional relationship between the poet and India.The idea of colonialism in Kipling’s poems has been carried forward in films.Compared with the poem,the Hollywood film Gunga Din further strengthened the colonialist thinking.India was portrayed as a negative image,while the colonial officers and soldiers were positively portrayed.After the film Gunga Din was introduced into China in the Republic of China period,it received full publicity and reports.Letters from readers and film reviews in newspapers and periodicals reflect the limitations of the Chinese people in the process of looking at the East through the eyes of Westerners.As an Oriental reader,how to construct a local perspective to understand the world is still a problem worth thinking about.