Tourism in its modern garb is very new to China. Not until 1978 when the bamboo curtain was parted and the Open Door policies introduced was international tourism welcomed. It is only 21 years ago, in 1984, that was tourism approved by the Chinese Government as an appropriate form of economic development that could contribute to the modernization of the country. The form that tourism takes in contemporary China, especially the development and presentation of natural sights and sites, demonstrates qualities that immediately set it apart from western forms of tourism development. While there are similar aspects all part of the ubiquitous spread of globalization there is much that retains a unique Chineseness that is immediately distinctive. In analyzing the specific qualities of contemporary Chinese tourism it is argued that 4000 years of continuous culture, which has produced a body of understanding known as Chinese common knowledge, has been fundamental in directing and determining the way in which natural landscapes are utilized for contemporary tourism. The values inherent in this enduring cultural heritage are an amalgamation of Confucian thought, Doaist and Buddhist theology, folklore and an extraordinarily rich literary heritage in which the poem and calligraphy are regarded as the highest art forms. They imbue every natural landscape with a cultural overlay, drawing upon the immense strength of Chinese common knowledge in ways which make many such sights and sites incomprehensible to non-Chinese visitors because no interpretation is provided - since none is needed for their Chinese viewers. One outcome of this research is the identification of a Chinese tourist gaze that has many elements which distinguish it from the western tourist gaze. It is highly structured through sociolinguistic parameters which feature correlative and relational thinking (in which no individual entity exists in isolation but is connected to all things around it in dynamic relationships), and this has produced what I have termed the relational tourist gaze. The Chinese value system also includes a degree of anthropocentrism and anthropomorphism that stands in opposition to the western biocentric approach to conservation and maintenance of naturalness and wilderness. There is a pervasive view that nature is imperfect and man has a responsibility to improve on nature to forge a symbiotic relationship, these sentiments summed up in the phrase known to all Chinese: man and nature in harmony. A significant component of a Chinese tourist gaze is thus what I have termed the harmony gaze that contrast strongly with current western notions about wilderness and pristine nature. This thesis defines Chineseness and Chinese common knowledge, examines the particularities of the sociolinguistics of Chinese to illustrate the way in which this cultural heritage has been transmitted down through the centuries to the present day, and then analyses the manifestation of this knowledge and its attendant values in incorporating natural landscapes - mountains, caves, rivers in contemporary tourism in China. The result is - Bie you tian di an altogether different world.
目次
Table of Contents Declaration i Abstract ii Table of Contents iv Acknowledgements vii CHAPTER ONE THE JOURNEY 1 Introduction 1 Methodology 8 Other Concepts and Issues 17 CHAPTER TWO SOCIOLINGUSTICS AND CHINESE COMMON KNOWLEDGE 30 Definition of Culture 30 Sociolinguistics and the Chinese Language 32 A Brief History of Chinese Language 33 Wenyan - Classical Literary Language Style 37 Baihua - Vernacular Literary Style 41 Putonghua - Standardized Pronunciation 49 Wenji and Shufa: Chinese Script and Calligraphy 50 Wenji: Chinese script 50 Shufa: Calligraphy 54 a) The art of calligraphy 55 b) Famous calligraphers 56 c) The content of famous examples of calligraphy 65 Calligraphy in Modern China 70 CHAPTER THREE THE NATURE OF THE NATURAL 76 Fundamental Paradigms of the Chinese World View 77 Confucius and Confucianism 84 Daoism and Feng Shui 89 Daoism 89 Feng shui 97 Buddhism in China 109 Anthropocentrism and Anthropomorphism 113 CHAPTER FOUR MOUNTAINS - DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE AGES 127 Stage One: Mountains as Objects of Nature Worship 131 Stage Two: The Development of Famous Mountains 139 1. Transitional Period 140 2. Heyday 149 Stage Three: the Decline of Famous Mountains 157 Stage Four: the Renaissance of Famous Mountains 159 CHAPTER FIVE CONTEMPORARY TOURISM PLANNING FOR NATURAL AREAS 163 Planning Principles 163 Application of Tezhi 165 Application of Jingjie 172 Function of Mountain Paths 176 Case 1 Shishi Shan 189 Case 2 Long Jun Xi Valley 194 Case 3 Huangdi Yuan Valley 202 Case 4 Tengchong Volcano Reserve and Moli Scenic Reserve 211 Tengchong Volcano Reserve 211 Moli Scenic Reserve 214 Case 5 Huangshan World Heritage Scenic Beauty and Historic Nature Reserve 220 CHAPTER SIX THE WORLD OF CHINA'S CAVES.. 230 Introduction............ 230 Western Biocentric Cave Development 232 Chinese Cave Tourism Development - 'An Altogether Different World' 236 Vignette One Yaolin Cave 237 Vignette Two Ruijing Cave 258 Vignette Three Ling Shan Huanjing (Spirit Mountain Dreamland) 262 Vignette Four Double Dragons' Cave Complex 264 Vignette Five Crown Cave 266 Vignette Six White Dragon Cave 270 Vignette Seven Dixia Changhe (Underground River Cave) 274 Vignette Eight Alu Cave 277 Vignette Nine Putuo Shan 282 Summary 286 CHAPTER SEVEN THE MYTHOLOGIZING OF A NATURAL PHENOMENON FOR TOURISM 291 Introduction 291 Defining 'Myth' 294 Fact and Myth of 'Watching the Tidal Bore' (Guan Chao) 296 Fact 296 Myth-Making 296 Literary Heritage 303 De-Mythologizing the Tidal Bore 305 The 'New Culture' - Tourism and the Re-Mythologizing of the Tidal Bore 306 Commoditization of the Tidal Bore Festival and Associated Commercial Development 316 Xiaoshan - 'To Grip the Tide' 318 Selective De-Mythologizing of the Guan Chao 320 Discussion 329 CHAPTER EIGHT A CHINESE TOURIST GAZE 337 Chapter Summaries 338 Globalization and Localization 342 A Chinese Tourist Gaze 348 At the Summit 377
