Vortrag von Michael Keevak: "The Western Invention of "Saving Face"

Die HSG lädt alle Interessierten zu einem Vortrag von Michael Keevak (Department of Foreign Languages, National Taiwan University) mit dem Titel "The Western Invention of 'Saving Face'" ein:  

On Saving Face traces the Western reception of the Chinese concept of “face” during the past two hundred years, arguing that it has always been linked to nineteenth-century Western colonialism. “Lose face” and “save face” have become so normalized in modern European languages that most users do not even realize that they are of Chinese origin. “Face” is an extremely complex and varied notion in all East Asian cultures. It involves proper behavior and the avoidance of conflict, encompassing every aspect of one’s place in society as well as one’s relationships with other people. One can “give face,” “get face,” “fight for face,” “tear up face,” and a host of other expressions. But when it began to become known to Western trading communities in China beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, it was distorted and reduced to two phrases only, “lose face” and “save face,” both of which were used to suggest distinctly Western ideas of humiliation, embarrassment, honor, and reputation. The Chinese were judged as a race obsessed with a fear of “losing (their) face,” and they were constantly resorting to vain attempts to “save” it in the face of Western correction. “Lose face” may be an authentic Chinese expression but “save face” is different. “Save face” was actually a Western invention.

Donnerstag, 28. November 2024, 18.00 Uhr

Asien-Afrika-Institut, Raum 123
Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, Flügel Ost