In Rey Chow’s view of Harvard Professor Stephen Owen, what is the cause of his mistaken judgement of contemporary Chinese poet Bei Dao’s work?

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Question restatement: In Rey Chow’s view of Harvard Professor Stephen Owen, what is the cause of his mistaken judgement of contemporary Chinese poet Bei Dao’s work?

Option a: He is an orientalist. This suggests a colonial or Western interpretive framework that exoticizes or reduces non-Western texts. While Orientalism is a common critique in postcolonial studies, Chow’s specific claim about Owen points to a more intimate or personal problem rather than a broad scholarly stance.

Option b: He is an intellectual Maoist. Labeling Owen as Maoist would imply a political or ideological lens that colors interpretation. Chow’s critique targets personal neurotic tendencies that distort judgment more than a straightforward political alignment, making this option misaligned with the nuanced psychological angle Chow emphasizes.

Option c: He is a typical Western liberal. Describing Owen as a generic liberal would attribute his errors to mainstream liberal presumptions about liberty, openness, or pluralism. However, Chow’s analysis centers on internal psychological dynamics rather than a blanket liberal worldview, so this option misses the core mechanism Chow identifies.

Option d: He is a neurotic who fears losing something precious. This option points to a personal, psychological motivation—fear of loss shaping perception—that can bias interpretation of Bei Dao’s work. Chow’s reading highlights how inner anxieties and attachments can distort critical judgment, making this the plausible explanation for the mistaken reading.

Why the incorrect options fail in detail: 
- A misses the emphasis on personal psychology and turns Owen into a broader ideological caricature, whereas the critique focuses on psychological motivation more than methodological stance. 
- B overemphasizes a political label, but Chow’s argument is less about a declared Maoist stance and more about neurotic processes that skew interpretation. 
- C reduces the issue to a conventional Western liberal bias, ignoring the specific psychological mechanism Chow attributes to Owen’s misreading.

Why option d stands out: The core claim is that personal neurosis and fear of losing something valued can cloud critical judgment, leading to a distorted appraisal of Bei Dao’s poetry. This explanation integrates a psychological dimension with literary interpretation, aligning with Chow’s focus on the intimate, subjective forces shaping textual reading.

In Rey Chow’s view of Harvard Professor Stephen Owen, what is the cause of his mistaken judgement of contemporary Chinese poet Bei Dao’s work?

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