Life writing, as an obituary or memorial talk, overwrites people’s own biography and memoirs. Concerning public figures of note, it patronizes as it purports to memorialize people as a first draft of history for the consumption of the general public. The memorial talk or obituary fixes the subjects image in the public mind in a condensed and highly selective way isolating and individualizing the subject to an extreme degree. It oversimplifies and controls the image. Writers employ life writing to serve their own ends, and a life writing is always written by another person a friend or colleague, it is a bibliographical article. A person is being appropriated for the next generation who protects a memory by creating it. The paper investigates the well-known Orientalist Armin Vámbéry’s obituary by the very famous orientalist Ignac Goldziher positioning of the former in relation to Hungarology that was quintessential in arguing Jewish loyalties to Hungary. In this way Goldziher put forward the notion that they are both Hungarian who pursue Oriental Studies out of love for their home, Hungary. At the turn of the twentieth century the Orient was employed as a metaphor to underscore the unique identity of Hungarians, positioning them as both Eastern and Western, distinguishing them from other Europeans. This nationalist-driven discourse formed the backdrop for Hungarian Oriental Studies. Like their Hungarian counterparts, Jewish scholars sought to trace the history of the Magyars in Asia, and the mixing of various peoples in the Orient before the Magyars migrated to Europe. In doing so, Hungarian Jews aimed to present themselves as authentic Hungarians and what patter place than in obituaries and memorial talks.

This paper delves into the distinct yet interconnected themes of adventure and spirituality in travel narratives. It examines and explores how cultural, historical, and religious contexts influence the portrayal of travel experiences from the west and the east by examining Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard and Karna Shakya's Dolpo. The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the narrative styles, thematic elements, and cultural reflections in the west and the east. The methodology involves a qualitative analysis of the selected texts, focusing on recurring themes, narrative techniques, and cultural references. The study employs a comparative approach to draw meaningful conclusions about the similarities and differences between these two travel narratives. For this, I utilize Joseph Campbell's concept of the hero's journey to examine the protagonists' quests for self-discovery and transformation; Mircea Eliade's theory of the sacred and the profane to explore the spiritual dimensions of the journeys; and Edward Said's concept of Orientalism to analyze the portrayal and perception of Western and Eastern perspectives on travel and spirituality for the textual analysis and interpretation. Both narratives, however, share a common thread of self-discovery and personal growth through travel. This comparative analysis offers unique insights into their respective cultures and worldviews. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how travel writing can serve as a bridge between different cultures, fostering greater appreciation and empathy among readers.

Le bianwen (變文), forme singulière de la littérature populaire chinoise qui s'est épanouie sous la dynastie Tang, trouve son origine dans les manuscrits découverts en 1907 dans les grottes de Dunhuang. Ces textes, rédigés dans une version vulgarisée du chinois classique, constituent un corpus remarquable dont l'étude permet d'appréhender les modalités de transmission du bouddhisme en Chine médiévale. Selon André Lévy, ces textes s'apparentent aux « chantefables », caractérisées par une alternance rythmique entre vers et prose, dont la vocation première était la vulgarisation de la doctrine bouddhiste et sa diffusion auprès d'un public élargi. Cette transformation verbale s'accompagnait parfois d'une transposition générique du texte en représentation picturale, le bianxiang (變相), renforçant davantage la fonction narrative.

Dans ce contexte, l'œuvre de Lucien Bodard, ancien grand reporter et écrivain né en Chine, mérite une attention particulière. À l'âge de soixante ans, il publie sa première autofiction, Monsieur le consul, dans laquelle il recompose son enfance vécue comme « petit seigneur » au Sichuan. À travers une narration empreinte à la fois de satire et de nostalgie, il dépeint une époque marquée par le désordre, les intrigues, la violence et l'arrogance, où Seigneurs de la Guerre et colonisateurs occidentaux se disputaient la Chine. S'appropriant partiellement les codes du bianwen et du bianxiang, Bodard transforme et métamorphose des représentations issues des mythes et des canons bouddhiques pour les intégrer à son univers imaginaire, faisant ainsi émerger un orientalisme mystique qui, paradoxalement, met en lumière tout en le déconstruisant un colonialisme désormais condamné.

Notre analyse se concentrera sur l'étude de ces transformations et métamorphoses, ainsi que sur leur portée significative dans ce roman autobiographique.