Citation:
Date Published:
2 Jan, 2020Abstract:
This paper is concerned with the intersection between ideological influence, epistemology, and Orientalism. In 1913, an American named William Francis Mannix claimed to have edited a memoir based on the diary of the famous Chinese statesman, Li Hongzhang. The Memoirs of Li Hung Chang was a success in America and Britain, with expert sinologists praising its contributions. When the memoir was exposed as a forgery, some readers struggled to explain its success by the perceived verisimilitude of the work. By taking a closer look at Mannix’s book, this paper considers the concept of truth, knowledge construction and dissemination, as well as the role of cultural and ideological presuppositions that shape our understandings.
October 2020: Amy Matthewson is Senior Teaching Fellow and Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Her research explores race relations through visual and material culture, specifically China’s relationship with the global community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She has a special interest in British and Chinese contact as well as the processes of ideology and epistemology. She can be followed on Twitter @Visual_Cultures or on her webpage (amymatthewson.com).