The Landscape of Chongqing in Robert Payne’s Crosscultural Narratives

Robert Payne has presented the wartime landscape of Chongqing to the Western world through diverse literary forms.As a war observer,Payne integrated the three images of “the bombing”,“the bathhouse” and “opium”,not only portraying the shocking dark landscapes of the war but also constructing a landscape framework distinct from those of other Western writers visiting China.As an urban wanderer,from the urban fringes to the center,from individuals to the crowd,Payne focused on the two symbolic images of “the rivers” and “the falling towers”,as well as the “crowd” and “individuals within the crowd” in specific urban spaces such as banks,clubs,teahouses and buses,presenting a modern urban landscape where tradition and modernity,the East and the West,interacted vigorously.Payne uncovered the eternity,the sacredness and the poetics of Chongqing landscape from the natural mountains and waters,the religious culture and mythologies,and the daily life through the synthesis of senses.“Rocks” were not only the symbol of Chongqing created by Payne but also a metaphor for his urban writings.The multi-dimensional Chongqing landscape transcended temporality and locality,and became a symbol of eternal Chinese landscapes and even human landscapes.