关于清朝乾隆时期中英之间的一次科学交流——1792-1794年英国使团在中国的博物学活动及其幕后策划者

A Sino-British Exchange in Science in the Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty:Natural History Exploration of the British Mission in China from 1792 to 1794 and Its Planner

1792-1794年,马嘎尔尼率英国大使团访问中国,这是世界近代以来两大帝国之间发生的首次大规模外交活动。皇家学会主席班克斯希望借此增进对中国博物学的认识,实现对中国动、植物资源的科学与经济价值使用,以增强大英帝国实力,于是便主动帮助使团制定在中国的博物学活动规划。抵达中国后,以斯当东为首的博物学团体记载下大量博物情报,采集了许多植物标本,并多次与班克斯通讯,报告在中国的博物学见闻。英国使团的博物学活动体现出该时期中英科学文化交流与"西学东渐"十分不同的特点。

From 1792 to 1794, Macartney led the British mission to visit China. It was the first large-scale diplomatic activity between the two countries in modern times. Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society, hoped to take this opportunity to enhance the understanding of Chinese natural history and to take advantage of the scientific and economic values of Chinese animals and plants to consolidate the Great Britain, so he took the initiative to help the mission to plan the activities of natural history in China. After arriving in China, the group of naturalists recorded lots of information of natural history and collected many plant specimens. They communicated many times with Banks, reporting what they had seen and heard about Chinese natural history. The natural history activities of the British mission reflected the characteristics of the scientific and cultural communication between China and Britain at that period, which were quite different from those at the period when Western learning was introduced into China.