《万国公报》与近代中国国民性话语的兴起

Globe Magazine and the Rise of the National Discourse in Modern China

20世纪80年代以降,学界对《万国公报》的研究日趋升温,但关于《万国公报》与近代中国国民性话语的关系,却鲜有人问津。事实上,近代中国国民性话语的兴起与传教士中国观的生成及传播不无关系,而《万国公报》则是林乐知、李佳白、李提摩太等在华传教士散播此类观点的重要媒介。他们延续并强化了1840年代之前传教士群体对中华帝国的种种观感,并在此基础上发表了大量论及中国国民性问题的文章。考察梁启超等早期国民性话语实践者与《万国公报》之关系,不得不说,以《万国公报》为媒介的传教士对中国国民性的相关认知,某种意义上构成了近代中国国民性话语理论不可或缺的思想资源。

From the 1980 s,researches on Globe Magazine have increased but few researchers paid attention to the relationship between Globe Magazine and national discourse of modern China. In fact,the rise of national discourse of modern China is closely related to the formation and transmission of Chinese perspective by preachers.The Globe Magazine is an important medium for preachers such as Lin Lezhi,Li Jiabai,Li Timotai to spread their ideas. They continued and reinforced the preachers' opinions to Chinese imperalism since 1840 s and wrote many articles on Chinese national characters. Through examining the relationship between the early practitioners of national discourse represented by Liang Qichao,we can say that the priests' knowledge of Chinese national characters with the Globe Magazine as their medium has constituted an indispensable ideological resources for the theory of modern Chinese national discourse.