形象学视野下西方传教士眼中的中国政治形象——从晚清的刑罚和监狱说起

The Political Images of China in the Eyes of Western Missionaries in the Context of Imagology: From the Perspectives of Penalty and Prison of the Late Qing Dynasty

晚清传教士笔下的中国形象,是在他们自己的价值观和视野下对中国形象的塑造和描写,有着写实的一面,也有着西方语境下想象的一面。这些描写不仅仅是传教士对于中国形象的简单独白,更多的是注视者文化对被注视者文化的一种观照。中国形象通过他们之手进入西方,成为了西方人了解中国、想象中国的绝佳材料,这些形象对于中国来说可能是不正确,也是不公平的,是会造成误解的。

The political images of China in the eyes of western missionaries are the images described by themselves with their own values and perspectives. The images can be true to some degree, but they are also with western imagination. Those descriptions are not only the simple depictions but also a kind of cultural contrast between observer and object. The images of China were introduced by the western missionaries, which is good way for the westerners to know more about China. But sometimes those images being introduced are not true and correct, which will cause some misleading as well.