从《消失的地平线》中西方人的形象建构看西方的东方主义情节

【摘 要】詹姆斯・希尔顿的作品《消失的地平线》在成功塑造了极具神秘色彩的两个东方人喇嘛张和满族公主罗珍的同时，也生动地刻画了性格各异却有形成统一体的各类西方人。他们各自的性格和各具代表性的身份决定了他们看待香格里拉和东方人这个“他者”形象存在天壤之别。本文通过深入研究这些形态各异的西方人，力图揭示作家潜在的东方主义情节和特定的文化动机。

【关键词】《消失的地平线》;东方主义;东方情结;西方人

While successfully portraying the two Chinese Lama Chung and the Manchu princess Lo-Tsen， the novel Lost Horizon also vividly depicts some westerners of all kinds. In commenting the characters in Lost Horizon， Professor Zhou Ning has his original views in his monograph The Fantasy of Dragon. He states that in the fictional paradise of Shangri-La， we can see all kinds of different characters in the history of relationship between China and the West： utopians， missionaries， soldiers， politicians， businessmen， pirates， vagrants and adventurers. Among the four visitors in Lost Horizon， except Conway， there are soldierly Mallison， Conway’s subordinate in consulate; an American runaway criminal Henry Barnard， and the woman missionary Miss Brinklow. We can see in the history of Western expansion that it is these four kinds of people who seek livelihood in the world.[1]Those foreign characters with various personalities and identities decide their various attitude toward the other image of Shangri-la and the Orients. Through deep analysis of these foreign characters， the paper tries to reveal the writer’s hidden Orient Complex and the specific cultural motivation.

Conway， a wise and rational diplomat， well educated and learned， is a perfect man almost everybody likes. What the writer wants to convey to the readers is filtered through this man who is a representation of those who have lived through the First World War， with passions exhausted and spirit purified and comforted in Shangri-La. As the symbol of wisdom and civilization， he is almost a perfect image like a savior， who incorporates all the good virtues such as calmness， bravery， wisdom， patience and erudition. Both Eastern and Western cultures are integrated in this man who has the background of working for the English embassy. He has been to many Chinese cities and had good command of languages of Eastern countries， which help him have an intimate understanding of Eastern and Chinese cultures. After World War One， he worked as a don in Oxford University teaching the History of the East. Conway’s complicated cultural background seems to imply that only by mutual understanding， acceptance and tolerance can human’s civilization exist and develop in good and sustainable harmony. Such a perfect man， after all， is designed as a strong white man with good blood and well-educated cultural background. In the author’s mind， first， as a strong white man， Conway is superior to the Eastern people physically since excellence in gene and blood is the core of racism; second， as an inheritor of Western culture， Conway can appreciate and accept Eastern cultures well which help him to tower head and shoulder above his companions. He is endowed with elegance and rationality deriving from Western culture; third， as a typical postwar intellectual from a Western country， Conway’s exhaustion is the true reflection of the Western people’s overall spiritual status after the First World War. In Shangri-La， he is “physically happy， emotionally satisfied and mentally at ease.” [2]76 He is， of course， the right person to be chosen as the successor of Shangri-La by the High Lama. His wiliness to seek for tranquility and spiritual relaxation from the far-away East implies his potential ability of introspection and revitalization. The West’s construct of such a self image， to a large extent， satisfies their psychological needs to rebuild a self image in adversity. They are innately excellent enough to have the spiritual power to walk out of plight. This construct， however， is completed with the Eastern people as its antithesis and foil.

Miss Brinklow， a pious Christian and evangelist who regards the Bible as the only rule to judge everything， is innately sensitive to heathen. Believing she is sent by God to the heathen place， she sees influencing others by Christ’s teaching as her main duty and feels duty-bound to rescue the degenerate back to God. She concerns about people’s religious belief but is finally conquered by the high spiritual world whose teaching is the principle of moderation.

Mallison， an arrogant and overbearing racist whose mind is filled with the capitalist superiority as a white， always holds strong prejudice and hostility against Shangri-La. Such superiority leads to his arrogant presumption that all the nonwestern is uncivilized. This superiority is not gained by himself but has been engraved deeply in his mind， like writing programs for computers. He describes Shangri-La as a dirty， incomplete and harmful place， and always concerns about when and how to leave Shangri-La so that he can come back to his “civilized world”. In the story， he eggs Conway and Lo-Tsen on escaping from Shangri-La and leads to the final tragedy. The evidence of his racial prejudice and sense of superiority can be frequently found during their short stay in Shangri-La. When their plane is hijacked and when the four survivors’ attention is concentrated on the pilot， Mallison naturally holds that the hijacker is Chinese because he has“the typical Mongol nose and cheekbones， despite his successful impersonation of a British flight-Lieutenant”.[2]39 He thinks， at the bottom of his heart， that the Eastern hijacker is ugly since “his pallid skin and gaping mouth were not pretty”， although Conway believes him “a fairly passable specimen”. He appears so impatient， furious and unfriendly in Shangri-La that when he finds the rescuer， he becomes a complete colonizer and talks to Chang in a commanding tone： “We shall pay for anything we have， and we should like to hire some of your men to help us on our journey back. We want to return to civilization as soon as possible.”[2]44 The self-centered and Eurocentric ideology occupy his thoughts， which becomes his only standard to judge everything， making it difficult for him to get close to and have an understanding of Eastern culture.

Barnard， the most dramatic character， is a runaway swindle found by chance at the end of the story. The enclosed and isolated geographical conditions in Shangri-La provide the right refuge for him to avoid the police’s capture. When he finds the gold mine in the Blue Moon Valley， he takes the initiative to explore the resources and give the local people advice on how to increase the gold output. His avarice reveals his sinister intentions： “Maybe the folks at home won’t be so keen to jail me when they know I can show’em the way to a new gold mine. The only difficulty is ― would they take my word about it？”[2]148 Here， Barnard’s hideous features as an exploiter and marauder are revealed thoroughly. He naturally takes the resources in Shangri-La as his own （下转第234页）（上接第193页）and plunders them as he wishes. There is no doubt that Barnard is the symbol of evil and the product of endless pursuit of material and loose moral standards. He also represents those who are responsible for the decline of Western world in recent centuries. Hilton designs such a character as an American with ulterior motives.

The High Lama， chief executive of Shangri-La， is another special man next to God. His true identity is a Western missionary named Perrauh. In the eighteenth century， he breaks through hardships coming to China with other three Capuchin friars who die on the way. He luckily survives and stumbles into the Blue Moon Valley by accident. With his wisdom and hard work， Perrauh repairs and reconstructs the only ancient lamasery which is “in a state of decay both physical and spiritual” [2]103 into a Christian monastery， where he begins to preach and proselytize， and has considerable success. In Shangri-La， like a hermit of uncanny powers， Perrauh practices the art of self-levitation and cultivates himself through meditation that nobody can guess his exact age. Conway feels highly honored that he is received alone by the High Lama after his short stay of only two weeks in Shangri-La. He tells Conway about the history of Shangri-La and his prophecy that the world is going to be destroyed： “all the loveliest things were transient and perishable， and that war， lust， and brutality might some day crash them until there were no more left in the world.” [2]121 The outbreak of World War Two proves what he predicts is right. Conway feels “he is listening to the voice the God.” At the end of the talk， when the High Lama rises from his chair， “standing upright like the half-embodiment of a ghost， in mere politeness Conway made to assist; but suddenly a deeper impulse seized him， and he did what he had never done to any man before; he knelt， and hardly knew why he did. ”[2]122 Conway’s kneeling to the High Lama is undoubtedly kind of Westerners’ way of bowing down and worshiping for Christianity， not any Oriental religion. It is obvious that the High Lama， like God who works miracles， stands for the symbol of the highest power and wisdom. In contrast to Miss Brinklow who openly tries to find symptoms of heathen everywhere， the High Lama practices Christian teachings under the guise of Buddhism and Confucianism. What most interests the readers is， the High Lama， head of lamasery in Shangri-La， is designed not as a Chinese but a Catholic from Luxemburg.

Emotionally speaking， therefore， the West always imposes its fantasies on the East out of their material， cultural and psychological needs. Thus， the foreign country， especially the Orient usually plays a role as an agency in the Westerners’ mind for curiosity， romanticism and self-criticism when they encounter mixed feelings of anxiety， desire， and loss of self or sense of crisis. As their own wishful thinking， the Oriental images fluctuate between the two extremes of heaven and hell， angel and devil. Such kind of Orient Complex always exists in the Westerners’ memories and dreams which influences and guides their actions and behaviors in contact with the Orient， although it has never been represented as what it really is. This ideology seeks to represent the East as the exotic Other， characterized by particular stereotypes. The supposition of “we-they” dichotomy is an important element in this ideology.

【参考文献】

[1]周宁.龙的幻象[M].北京：学苑出版社，2004.

[2]Hilton， James. Lost Horizon[M]. Shanghai： Shanghai Sanlian Book House， 1997.

[3]Said， Edward. Orientalism[M]. New York： Vintage Books， 2002.