“诗意”的历史能动性——论《乾隆英使觐见记》的中国形象

Poetical Historical Motility:on the Image of China in An Embassy to China

《乾隆英使觐见记》为1793年英国访华使团钦使马戛尔尼的访华日记,作为使团来华的见闻实录,该文本是此事件的核心文本,具有重要的文化意义和历史价值。该文本塑造了一个“诗意”的中国形象。但中国形象的“诗意性”,不仅是历史文本中一种客观存在的虚构因素,而且具有能动性,是一种重要的历史推动力量。正是由于这种文学性的存在,才使历史文本得以书写,并被接受而成为历史,并且潜移默化地塑造和改变着中国形象,乃至世界文化和历史进程。

An Embassy to China is a journal kept by Lord Macartney during his embassy to China in 1793.As the core text of the event,it has important cultural significance and historical value.It has created a poetical image of China.However,the poetical nature of China's image is not only an objective fictional factor in historical texts,but also has motility,serving as an powerful historical driving force.It is the existence of literature in this form that enables the historical text to be written as a component of history,subtly shaping and changing the image of China,and even the world culture and history.