The Objective Shaping of Chinese Image in the Work of Kazuo Ishiguro: A Case Study of When We Were Orphans

Abstract

Kazuo Ishiguro’s When We Were Orphans takes the 1930s Shanghai Concession as its spatial and temporal coordinates and breaks through the logic of traditional colonial narratives through the suspense structure of a detective novel, providing a unique perspective for deconstructing the stereotypical perception of Chinese image. The focuses on two core issues: Firstly, how writers can dissolve the cognitive mechanism of othering and achieve de-othering through narrative strategies. Secondly, how literary writing can reconstruct historical objectivity through the historical restoration of spatial images. Although the novel contains elements of imagination, Kazuo Ishiguro has successfully constructed a relatively objective image of China in his artistic practice by virtue of his self-awareness of de-othering and the historical restoration of the spatial image of Shanghai. His strategies of constructing Chinese image is highly effective and the objective and realistic image of China provides a valuable example for cross-cultural literary creation.