鸦片战争前西人对广州的认识

The Westerners’ Knowledge of Guangzhou Prior to the Opium War

鸦片战争前由于特殊的对外政策,“海上丝绸之路”的起点———广州,成为当时中外交流的前沿。西人对广州的认识,也是对中国的认识。西人对广州的自然环境、民俗生活、经济贸易状况都褒扬有加,而对广州的官僚制度则提出批评。从总体看,西人认为广州是他们实现利益和野心的地方。

Before the Opium War, because of China’s special foreign policy, Guangzhou, the starting point of the Marine Silk Route, had been the forefront of China’s external exchanges. As a result, the westerners’ knowledge of Guangzhou was also their knowledge of China. The westerners very much appreciated Guangzhou for its natural surroundings, its folk life and its economic and trade conditions, and meanwhile criticized it for its bureaucratic system. Generally, in the eyes of the westerners, Guangzhou was a place where they could realize their interests and ambitions.