卫三畏与《中国总论》

Samuel Wells Williams and his The Middle Kingdom

美国传教士卫三畏是19世纪初期来华传教士中的先驱人物之一,他具有传教士、翻译官、外交官等多重身份,是近代中美关系史上的重要人物。同时,他还把中国研究作为一种纯粹的文化来进行综合的研究,成为美国早期汉学研究的先驱者,也是美国第一位汉学教授。他编写的《中国总论》,是美国汉学开端的里程碑。

American missionary Samuel Wells was one of the pioneers of the missionaries who came to China in the early 19th century. He was a Western missionary with multiple identities such as a missionary, a translator, a diplomat and he also played an important role in modern history of Sino-American relations. As a pioneer and the first professor of Sinology in United States, he comprehensively studied Sinology as a kind of pure culture. His book, the Middle Kingdom, was a milestone of the studies on Sinology in the United States.