The Eurocentrism of Comparative Literature has meant that non-European literary texts have been studied through either vague universalism or imperialist exoticism.What can correct,or complement,such orientalist knowle...The Eurocentrism of Comparative Literature has meant that non-European literary texts have been studied through either vague universalism or imperialist exoticism.What can correct,or complement,such orientalist knowledge is contrapuntal reading with local knowledge,to tackle cultural difference notasan anomaly butafacttobe analytically accommodated.Engaging previous theoretical work in literary studies and anthropology that have struggled with the Eurocentric foundations of scholarly disciplines,this paper presents a sample of contrapuntal reading by examining the 1976 English translation of Kalidasa's Meghaduta rendered by Leonard Nathan,in the light of the 9th-century scholar Anandavardhana's Dhvanyaloka and the extended commentary written by his follower Abhinavagupta.This comparativesample clarifies how contrapuntal reading with local knowledge can balance Eurocentric and orientalist readings of non-Western literary traditions.展开更多
文摘The Eurocentrism of Comparative Literature has meant that non-European literary texts have been studied through either vague universalism or imperialist exoticism.What can correct,or complement,such orientalist knowledge is contrapuntal reading with local knowledge,to tackle cultural difference notasan anomaly butafacttobe analytically accommodated.Engaging previous theoretical work in literary studies and anthropology that have struggled with the Eurocentric foundations of scholarly disciplines,this paper presents a sample of contrapuntal reading by examining the 1976 English translation of Kalidasa's Meghaduta rendered by Leonard Nathan,in the light of the 9th-century scholar Anandavardhana's Dhvanyaloka and the extended commentary written by his follower Abhinavagupta.This comparativesample clarifies how contrapuntal reading with local knowledge can balance Eurocentric and orientalist readings of non-Western literary traditions.
