近代英美来华人士中国研究著作出版概况(1894 - 1901)

An Overview of the Published Sinology Works by the British and Americans in Modern China(1894-1901)

中日甲午战争至庚子事变期间,英美两国对华政策从摇摆到逐步成形。英美来华人士作为连接中英文世界的群体之一,他们对中国的观察成为英文世界构建中国形象、探讨中国问题的重要信息来源。这一时期英美来华人士以西人视角,带着不同的目的记录着变化中的中国,向英文世界传递着他们对相关中国问题的观察与理解。因此梳理这一群体讨论中国问题的著作,可在政府文件之外,丰富英文世界中的中国形象。根据当时英美两国主流出版业刊物和在中国出版的英文著作目录的不完全统计,这一时期英文世界共出版相关著作约116种。这些著作讨论内容涵盖英美来华人士对中国人性格、宗教、社会风土人情、资源、政治、外交等多方面的观察与评价。这些著作在英文世界产生了一定的影响,成为特定利益群体建构符合自身利益的相关舆论的重要信息来源。通过梳理此类书籍所展现的内容,可以管窥当时英美来华人士所关注的中国问题及英文世界中多元的中国形象。

During the period from the Sino-Japanese War of 1894—1895 to the Boxer Rebellion,the policies of Britain and the United States towards China gradually took shape.As one of the groups connecting the Chinese and English worlds,the British and Americans in China became an important source of information for the English-speaking world in constructing China’s image and discussing China’s problems.During this period,the British and Americans in China recorded the changing China from their perspectives and with different purposes,conveying their observations and understanding of the relevant Chinese issues to the English-speaking world.Therefore,sorting out the works of this group discussing China can enrich the image of China in the English-speaking world beyond government documents.According to incomplete statistics on mainstream books and journals published in the UK and US at that time,as well as the catalogs of English-language works published in China,there were about 116 related works published in the English-speaking world during this period.These works,written by the British and Americans in China,cover the observations and evaluations on various aspects of the Chinese character,religion,social customs,resources,politics,and diplomacy.These works had a certain impact in the English-speaking world and became an important source of information for specific interest groups to construct relevant public opinion that is in line with their own interests.By analyzing the content presented in such books, one can notice the concerns of the British and Americans in China at that time and the diverse images of China in the English-speaking world.