Victor Segalen's 1914 archaeological mission in Sichuan: The untold story. (August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bai, Yunfei
• Is Part Of: French cultural studies. Volume 31:Number 3(2020)
• Page Start: 210
• Page End: 229
• Publication Date: 2020-08
• Subjects: archaeology -- inverted exoticism -- Orientalism -- Victor Segalen -- Sino-French cultural encounters -- steles; France -- Civilization -- 1945- -- Periodicals; 306.094405
• DOI: 10.1177/0957155820911568
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0957-1558

Abstract

This essay challenges the French poet, naval doctor, archaeologist and sinologist Victor Segalen's established image as a literary modernist who broke with colonial exoticism. I use a set of previously understudied primary sources, including Segalen's own travel journals, archaeological accounts, letters and photo albums, as well as Chinese gazetteers and a stele inscription documenting his excavation of a tomb associated with Bao San Niang 鮑三娘 – the supposed daughter-in-law of the famous Chinese general Guan Yu 關羽. Through a study combining both textual and field investigations, this article not only points out the disjuncture between Segalen's progressive theory and his actual practice, but also questions the tendency among critics – both Western and Chinese – to overstate Segalen's contribution to East–West cross-cultural representation, while intentionally omitting his exploitative deeds.