PORTRAIT DE L’ARTISTE EN SINOLOGUE CAMILO PESSANHA (1867–1926) ET LA CHINE

Abstract

This essay analyzes the image of China in the work of the Portuguese poet C. Pessanha. Not only it focuses on Pessanha’s place in the history of Portuguese literature but also analyzes such comparativist aspect as the image of East Asia in the Western culture and European orientalism. The image of China in Pessanha’s work is ambivalent and was developed under the influence of the “myths” invented by Studia Litterarum. Vol. 1, no 3–4 Gérard М. М. Siary 175 the turn-of-the-century decadent writers, essayists, and orientalists whose insights peeped into the hitherto impenetrable and closed Chinese culture. Pessanha does not like and even despises China but is fascinated by the vital energy of this country and its people. He pays special attention to Macau that becomes for him the symbol of Portuguese Empire. Through the image of Macau, he talks about the past, the present, and the future of Portugal, a country that he believed could be reborn if regained its energy.

Keywords

• Pessanha
• China
• Portugal
• Macao
• sinophobia
• decadence