从“灯塔”到“暴君”——马嘎尔尼访华事件的文学再现

From“Beacon”to“Despot”:Literary Representations of Lord Macartney’s Embassy to China

18世纪的英国对中国的认知带有不少异国想象,耶稣会士以及西方在华商人的“中国叙事”更为这种想象增加了浪漫色彩。中国的陶瓷和园艺在英国被匠人模仿,盛行一时,形成了所谓的“中国风”。直到1792年英国政府派代表团来华,企图建立与中国的经贸往来,他们才对中国有了更深入和第一手的了解。作为当时西方最强大国家和海上世界霸主,英国在与中国清政府的交往中显示了更多强硬、更少迁就,所引发的文化和认知上的冲突,也在英国被大肆炒作,以至于英国公众对中国的看法逐渐发生改变。本文将通过解读1792年前后的英国文学作品和文化现象,说明这个转变的发生和发展的过程。

The 18^(th)-century British knowledge of China carries much romantic exoticism,which is reinforced by“China narratives”from Jesuit missionaries and western merchants in China.“Chinoiserie,”the Chinese-style pottery and gardens created by British artisans,becomes a vogue with the British public.In 1792,the British government sent a mission to China in an attempt to establish trade relations and for the first time acquired indepth and first-hand information about China.As the greatest power of the Western world,Britain’s dealings with China were uncompromising and the clash of world-views and of diplomatic protocols which arose in the process were highlighted and exaggerated by the British media,leading to a gradual change in British perception of China.This essay will try to clarify the cause and the development of this change through a close reading of literary works published in this period.