清教徒笛福笔下的中国

China in the Works of Daniel Defoe the Puritan

在17、18世纪欧洲流行"中国风"的社会语境里,英国小说先驱丹尼尔·笛福却迥异于当时的文化潮流,在其作品中大肆攻击中国政治腐败、军事无能、经济文化落后、民众愚昧,体现出对中国文化的仇视。从未到过中国的笛福如此憎恶中国,其缘由值得探究。综合考察其经历、思想以及当时的英国社会文化语境,可以发现,笛福的严苛清教信仰以及与此相关的重商主义思想与民族主义情绪是其仇视中国文化的主要原因。

Against the China Craze in the whole Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, Daniel Defoe, the pioneer in English realistic novel, depicted in his works a purely negative image of China characteristic of corrupt government, weak military forces, economic and cultural backwardness, and ignorant and superstitious people. Since Defoe had never been to China, it is necessary to ex- plore into the causes of his dislike of China. With careful analysis of his experiences, thoughts and the social and cultural contexts of his time, this paper reveals that Defoe＇s strict Puritan thoughts, his Mercantile ideas and nationalistic mood together contributed to his negative attitude toward China.