The Waterfall and the Fountain - Comparative Semiotic Essays on Contemporary Arts in China

361 Pages·2019·12.644 MB·English

by  Massimo Leone, Bruno Surace, Jun Zeng

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34
I SAGGI DI / 34 34
The Waterfall and the Fountain T
h
e

W
Geographically and anthropologically distant cultures inspire awe and fasci-
a
nation: for centuries, Europe and China, the West and the East have fan- te THE WATERFALL
r
tasized about each other, longed for journeying toward each other, mutually fa
projected onto each other their own alter egos. Modern innovation in the tran- ll
a AND THE FOUNTAIN
sport of people, goods, and especially cultural contents in digital form has in- n
d
creasingly narrowed the distance between these two geographic and human po- t
h
les. Today, China is everywhere in the West, and viceversa. Yet, facility of access e

is not always tantamount to in–depth comprehension. Century–long differences, Fo COMPARATIVE SEMIOTIC ESSAYS
u
prejudices, and asymmetries still persist. Comprising the essays of several spe- n ON CONTEMPORARY ARTS IN CHINA
t
cialists in cultural theory and analysis, both from Europe and China, the volume a
in
seeks to uncover the semiotic formula underpinning the encounter, the dialogue,
but also the clash between Western and Eastern aesthetics, especially in the ne- ed edited by
glected field of popular culture and arts. The title hints at the Chinese fascina- it
tion for waterfalls and the natural flowing of the elements, compared with the ed Massimo Leone
b
European attraction to fountains as exploitation of technological mastery over y Bruno Surace
nature: each chapter in the volume focuses on many aesthetic dialectics, span- M
ning from literature to painting, from videogames to food. . L Jun Zeng
e
o
Contributions by Lei Han, Massimo Leone, Gabriele Marino, Jia Peng, Simona Stano, Bruno Surace, ne
Mattia Thibault, Jia–Jun Wang, Gao Yan, Jun Zeng, Kuiying Zhao, Haitian Zhou. , B
Massimo Leone is Full Tenured Professor of Semiotics, Cultural Semiotics and Visual Semioti- . Su
cs at the Department of Philosophy and Educational Sciences, University of Turin (Italy) and ra
Permanent Part–Time Visiting Full Professor of Semiotics in the Department of Chinese Language ce
and Literature, University of Shanghai (China). , J
. Z
Bruno Surace is a member of AISS (Associazione Italiana Studi Semiotici), CUC (Consulta Uni- e
n
versitaria Cinema), and CIRCe (Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca sulla Comunicazione, Tu- g
rin). He has written articles for numerous peer–reviewed journals and given lectures in conferen-
ces and seminars in Italy, various places in Europe and China.
Jun Zeng teaches Theory of Literature and Arts at the College of Liberal Arts, Shanghai Univer-
sity. His interests in scholarship include the theory of literature and the arts and cultural the-
ory and criticism.
In copertina ISBN 978-88-255-2787-2
teamLab, Universe of Water Particles in the Tank. Transcending A
Boundaries, TANK Shanghai, Shanghai 2019. R
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euro 25,00 E
ISAGGIDILEXIA
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Direttori
UgoVolli
UniversitàdegliStudidiTorino
GuidoFerraro
UniversitàdegliStudidiTorino
MassimoLeone
UniversitàdegliStudidiTorino
ISAGGIDILEXIA
Aprireunacollanadilibrispecializzatainunadisciplinachesivuole
scientifica, soprattutto se essa appartiene a quella zona intermedia
della nostra enciclopedia dei saperi — non radicata in teoremi o es-
perimenti,maneppurecostruitaperopinionisoggettive—chesono
lescienzeumane,èungestoambizioso.Vipotrebbecorrispondere
ildebitodiunadefinizionedelladisciplina,delsuooggetto,deisuoi
metodi. Ciò in particolar modo per una disciplina come la nostra:
essainfatti,findalsuonome(semioticaosemiologia)èstataintesain
modiassaidiversisenoncontrappostinelsecolodellasuaesistenza
moderna:piùvicinaallalinguisticaoallafilosofia,allacriticaculturale
oallediversescienzesociali(sociologia,antropologia,psicologia).C’è
chi,comeGreimassullatracciadiHjelmslev,hapretesodidefinirne
in maniera rigorosa e perfino assiomatica (interdefinita) principi e
concetti,seguendorequisitiriservatinormalmentesoloallediscipline
logico–matematiche;chi,comeinfondolostessoSaussure,nehaintu-
itolavocazioneallaricercaempiricasulleleggidifunzionamentodei
diversifenomenidicomunicazioneesignificazionenellavitasociale;
chi, come l’ultimo Eco sulla traccia di Peirce, l’ha pensata piuttosto
comeunaricercafilosoficasulsensoelesuecondizionidipossibilità;
altri,daBarthesinpoi,nehannovalutatolapossibilitàdismaschera-
mentodell’ideologiaedellestrutturedipotere... Noirifiutiamoun
passocosìambizioso.Ciriferiremopiuttostoaunconcettoespressoda
UmbertoEcoall’iniziodelsuolavorodiricerca:il“camposemiotico”,
cioè quel vastissimo ambito culturale, insieme di testi e discorsi, di
attivitàinterpretativeedipratichecodificate,dilinguaggiedigeneri,
difenomenicomunicativiedieVettidisenso,ditecnicheespressive
einventaridicontenuti,dimessaggi,riscrittureedeformazioniche
insieme costituiscono il mondo sensato (e dunque sempre sociale
anche quando è naturale) in cui viviamo, o per dirla nei termini di
Lotman,lanostrasemiosfera.Lasemioticacostituisceiltentativopara-
dossale (perché autoriferito) e sempre parziale, di ritrovare l’ordine
(o gli ordini) che rendono leggibile, sensato, facile, quasi “naturale”
per chi ci vive dentro, questo coacervo di azioni e oggetti. Di fatto,
quando conversiamo, leggiamo un libro, agiamo politicamente, ci
divertiamoaunospettacolo,noisiamoperfettamenteingradonon
solodidecodificarequelcheaccade,maanchediconnetterloavalori,
significati,gusti,altreformeespressive.Insommasiamocompetentie
siamoanchecapacidiconfrontarelanostracompetenzaconquellaal-
trui,interagendoinmodoopportuno.Èquestacompetenzacondivisa
oconfrontabilel’oggettodellasemiotica.
Isuoimetodisonodifattodiversi,certamentenonriducibilioggia
unasterileassiomatica,mainparteanchesviluppatigrazieaitentativi
diformalizzazionedell’ÉcoledeParis.Essifunzionanounpo’secondo
lametaforawittgensteinianadellacassettadegliattrezzi:èbenecheci
sianocacciavite,martello,forbiciecc.:staallacompetenzapragmatica
delricercatoreselezionarecasopercasolostrumentoopportunoper
l’operazionedacompiere.
Questacollanapresenteràsoprattuttoricercheempiriche,analisi
dicasi,lasceràvolentierispazioalnuovo,sianellepersonedegliau-
torichedegliargomentidistudio.Questoèsempreunacondizione
dellosvilupposcientifico,chehacomeprerequisitoilcambiamento
eilrinnovamento.Loèamaggiorragioneperunacollanalegataal
mondouniversitario,irrigiditodatroppotemponelnostroPaeseda
un blocco sostanziale che non dà luogo ai giovani di emergere e di
prendereilpostochemeritano.
UgoVolli
Multimedialcontents
Lapubblicazionedelpresentevolumeèstatarealizzataconilcontributodell’Università
degliStudidiTorino,DipartimentodiFilosofiaScienzedell’Educazione.
The Waterfall and the Fountain
ComparativeSemioticEssaysonContemporaryArtsinChina
editedby
Massimo Leone
Bruno Surace
Jun Zeng
contributionsby
YanGao
LeiHan
MassimoLeone
GabrieleMarino
JiaPeng
SimonaStano
BrunoSurace
MattiaThibault
Jia–junWang
JunZeng
Kui–yingZhao
Hai–tianZhou
Aracneeditrice
www.aracneeditrice.it
[email protected]
Copyright©MMXIX
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www.gioacchinoonoratieditore.it
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[phone]
isbn978-88-255-2787-2
Nopartofthisbookmaybereproduced
byprint,photoprint,microfilm,microfiche,oranyothermeans,
withoutpublisher’sauthorization.
Istedition:October2019
Contents
9 Introduction
Massimo Leone
Part I
Chinese Aesthetics from the Inside
33 A Cultural Analysis of Temporal Signs in Twenty–First Cen-
tury Chinese Literature
Jun Zeng (曾军)
53 Mimetic Desire or Productive Work?
Hai–tian Zhou (周海天)
73 Art as a Presencing Sign
Kui–ying Zhao (赵奎英)
97 O n the Semiotic Model of Objecthood Proposed in Dragon–
Carving and the Literary Mind
Jia Peng (彭佳)
111 N arratology for Art History: Narrativizing Western Influence
and Chinese Response in the Modern Era
Lian Duan
165 A Historical and Semiotic Analysis of Cina’s calling on/rela-
tion to China in the Cultural Revolution
Lei Han (韩蕾)
7
8 Contents
179 The Empty Mirror as Metaphor
Yan Gao (高燕)
193 The Rap of China and Hip–Hop’s Cultural Politics
Jia–jun Wang (王嘉军)
Part II
Chinese Aesthetics from the Outside
223 The Semiotics of the Battle
Massimo Leone
247 The Musical Marco Polo
Gabriele Marino
277 The Aesthetics of Food
Simona Stano
303 E llipses and Amnesias: Poetics and Figures of Time in Con-
temporary Chinese Cinema
Bruno Surace
329 Taming Play: A Map of Play Ideologies in the West and in China
Mattia Thibault
345 Authors
The Waterfall and the Fountain
ISBN 978-88-255-2787-2
DOI 10.4399/97888255278721
pag. 9–29 (October 2019)
Introduction
Otherness, Extraneousness, and Unawareness
in Inter–Cultural Semiotics
Massimo Leone1
A veil of wild mist
hides the tall bridge.
By a rock on the west bank,
I ask a fisher boat:
“The peach petals keep floating
with the water the whole day.
On which side of the clear stream
can I find the cave?”2
Abstract: The essay pinpoints the core mission of cultural semiotics as an
attempt at problematizing aspects of social life that, appear trivial to
most because they have been “naturalized” but that, if read through
the lenses of e discipline, che reveal the deep structures that produce
meaning in a society and its culture. From this point of view, cultural
semiotics is able to perceive otherness and, therefore, meaning, there
where common sense would see just banal familiarity. To this purpose,
the essay emphasizes the pervasiveness of the experience of otherness
(the face of the other, the self as other, but especially otherness that
emerges through media from the creativity of artists); it articulates
three levels of unfamiliarity: otherness, extraneousness, and unawa-
reness. Through examples taken from Chinese literature and China’s
everyday life in comparative perspective with the West, the essay sug-
gests that, whereas otherness can be appropriated through a preexi-
stent code, and whereas extraneousness requires the creation of a new
code of translation, unawareness implies the incapacity to perceive
1. Shanghai University, University of Turin.
2. 桃花溪: “隱隱飛橋隔野煙/石磯西畔問漁船/桃花盡日隨流水/洞在清溪何
處邊”; Zhang Xu (Chinese: 張旭, fl. 8th century), court name Bogao [伯高]; English
trans. by Edward C. Chang.
9