文化交流中的异变:清朝苏努家族案的欧洲之旅

Distortion of Information in Cultural Exchanges:An Interpretation of the European Tour of Sonus Case

在18世纪的中西文化交流中,苏努家族案值得一书。该案借耶稣会士之手,漂洋过海,传播到欧洲,并成为欧洲思想家塑造中国形象的素材,可为考察跨文化交流提供样本。通过考察中西文本中苏努家族案表述的异同,以及欧洲思想家对该案解读的差异,可以揭示中西文化交流过程中信息的变异,提醒信息传播者重视信息接受者的认知和心理需求与传播期待的匹配度。这一研究不仅有助于丰富中西文化交流史的内容,亦可为当今的文化交流提供启示。

In the cultural exchange between China and the west in the 18 th century,Sonus Family Case is worthy of a study. This case,through the hands of Jesuits,traveled across the sea,spread to Europe and became the material for European thinkers to shape the image of China,which can provide a good sample for the investigation of intercultural communication. This paper aims to reveal the distortion of information in the cultural communication between China and the west and remind the communicator of paying attention to the matching between the cognitive and psychological needs of the information recipient and the communicator ’s expectation by examining the similarities and differences between the statements of the Sonus family case in Chinese and western texts and the interpretation of the case by European thinkers. This research can not only enrich the study of cultural exchange between China and the west,but also provide inspiration for today’s cultural exchange.