The Kafkaesque Wall

In his short story “Beim Bau der chinesischen Mauer” Franz Kafka creates a highly distinctive, Kafkaesque image of China and the Great Wall. Although Kafka never visited China, he referred to the distant country multiple times in his letters and writings, even once describing himself as “a Chinese” in a postcard. This allegorical self-identification reflects his use of the country as a cultural Other. In “Beim Bau der chinesischen Mauer,” Kafka deliberately constructs a fictional image of China, using the Great Wall as a means to explore themes of Zionism and Judaism. This study aims to examine how Kafka’s imagined China functions as an allegory, reflecting his complex and nuanced reflections on Jewish identity and Zionist concerns.