A Concocted History in R. F. Kuang's Babel

Abstract

The paper examines the evolution and theoretical underpinnings of historiography, focusing on the approaches of constructionism and deconstructionism. It argues that humanity's innate desire to document and preserve the past has led to sophisticated methods of historical inquiry, moving from an initial perception of history as empirical to a critical understanding of its subjective and constructed nature. The study analyses R.F. Kuang's novel, Babel or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translator's Revolution, as a case study in alternate history. The paper explores how Babel exemplifies Hayden White's concept of the "linguistic turn" by demonstrating history as a literary narrative to highlight the role of language, rhetoric, and colonisation in shaping historical events and power dynamics. Through the novel's quasi-fictional setting and its narrative of Britain's colonial expansion fuelled by "silver workings," the paper will analyse how biases, cultural products, and the construction of historical accounts influence collective consciousness and societal development.