“中国热”的背后——以钱锺书《十七、十八世纪英国文学中的中国》为中心

The Underlying Aspects of Sinophilism——A Comment on Qian Zhong-shu in the English Literature of the Senventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

钱锺书先生在英国牛津大学期间完成的学位论文《十七、十八世纪英国文学中的中国》,学界一直很少有人论及。该论文重点探讨了17至18世纪英国的各式文献中对于"中国"的特定解读与想像性塑造,以此清晰地描画出了"中国形象"在17、18世纪英国文学中的"演进"历程。此项研究不仅深刻地揭示出了这个时期英国的"中国热"背后所隐含的意识形态意味,而且也开创了中国学者在"异国形象"研究范畴的先河,其在钱锺书先生的学术历程中有着极为特殊的价值和意义。

Chinese in the English Literature of the Senventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries is Qian Zhong - shu＇s Dissertation in Oxford University. It has rarely been mentioned by scholars. This dissertation concentrates on the understanding and imaginational descriptions about China in various English literatures, and also presents the historical changes of ＂attitudes towards China＂ in the English literature of the 17th and 18th centuries. This research not only reveals the underlying ideological aspects of English sinophilism during that period of time, but also initiates the research on ＂imaginations on foreign countries＂ among Chinese scholars. In addition, it plays an important and specific role in Qian Zhong- shu＇s academic career.