“想象中国”何以可能——晚清报刊与民族主义的兴起

The Press in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Rise of Nationalism Reflected in the Idea of "an Imagined China"

晚清时期,新知识群体的崛起,现代印刷业的进步,报刊语言和文体的成型,都为民族主义的产生提供了现实的可能性。从"天下"到"万国"和"世界",由历史循环论到历史进化论,晚清报刊的时空转换和时空想象同时也催生了民族观念和国家观念的形成。在办报办刊理念上,晚清报刊以"通上下内外之情"强国,以培育"国民精神"建立国家认同,以"改良思想"救国,以"正确、适宜"之独立言论报国,其根本目的都是为了建立现代民族国家。晚清报刊不仅为民族主义的产生提供现实基础和观念前提,更为"想象中国"进行舆论造势,成为民族主义思潮勃兴的引擎和载体。

The late Qing dynasty witnessed a surge in nationalism as a result of the boom of new intellectuals,the development of modern press and the shaping of press styles. In those days,the press transformed the image of china from＂a supreme regime under heaven＂to＂a country among the world of nations＂. With the help of the press,modern Chinese came to realize the evolutionary rather than cyclical nature of historical development. The press was expected to facilitate communication within the empire and between china and the world,to establish a national identity by cultivating national spirit,to save the nation by transforming the way of thinking and to serve the country by taking an independent and appropriate stance. All of these endeavors aimed at the construction of a modern nation and the propagation of ＂an imagined China＂,which made the press the engine and vector for the boom of nationalism.