The "Other" - source of fear and fascination; emblem of difference demonised and romanticised. Theories of alterity and cultural diversity abound in the contemporary academic landscape. Victor Segalen's early attempt to theorise the exotic is a crucial reference point for all discussions of alterity[...]
In this entrancing story of spiritual adventure, a Westerner in Peking seeks the mystery at the heart of the Forbidden City. He takes as a tutor in Chinese the young Belgian Rene Leys, who claims to be in the know about strange goings-on in the Imperial Palace: love affairs, family quarrels, conspir[...]