晚清中国驻美公使视阈中的美国形象及对中国内政的省思

The Image of America in the Eyes of Chinese Envoys Dispatched to the USAand Their Reflections on China's Domestic Government

晚清中国驻美公使是东方古老的农业中国孕育的英才,他们在风雷激荡的年代走出封建帝国的大门,置身于繁华的资本主义美国。他们惊羡于美国高度发达的物质文明,惊奇其迥异于中国的制度文明,同时也有些许疑惑;他们思考、判断并对中国内政进行省思,提出了一些兴利除弊的建议,从而对中国现代化进程起到了一定推动作用。晚清中国驻美公使对美国的认识和对中国内政的省思揭示了一个道理:不同文明可以在互动中得到鉴别、扬弃、共生和发展。

The Envoys of the Late Qing Dynasty to U.S. were elites from the Eastern ancient agricultural China. They went out from the weak feudal empire in the era of sweeping changes and placed themselves in the flourishing capitalistic America. They were surprised at the highly developed material civilization and its systematic civilization of U.S. that was different from that of China. At the same time, they also had the slight doubts, and they had made their own ponderousness and judgment. They made an introspection on the Chinese internal affairs and proposed a number of measures for further improvenment. They played a certain role in promoting the process of Chinese modernization. Their understanding of U.S. and introspection to China＇ s internal affairs has revealed such a truth： different civilizations could achieve identification, sublation, symbiosis and development through interaction.