摘要
This study analyzes how the meaning of yi(夷,barbarian)was constructed in different historical contexts at the end of the Qing dynasty,which is important for us to reconsider xenophobia and Sino-centrism both in the past and present.Our study combines contextual with intertextual reading methods.It places different materials,including missionaries’works,newspapers,and official documents,in their specific historical contexts and links them to obtain a full picture of this transformation.We argue that yi was invented.Various agents and actors created the connotation of yi to suit their interests.It was transformed by the Qing court from“barbarians”to those who follow Confucianism to justify their rule.Then it was first translated as“foreigners”and later as“barbarians”when Europeans came to China.Our study situates the meaning of yi to help us rethink some of the labels and misconceptions attached to yi and the early missionaries in China.
