The historical significance of the spread of Western Books in the Late Qing Dynasty

Wang Dewei put forward in the introduction of the "New Theory of the Late Qing Novels", "There is no late Qing Dynasty, how can the May 4th", saying that the value of the late Qing Dynasty in the history of the late Qing Dynasty, and its impact on the May 4th New Culture Movement. In the late Qing Dynasty, society has faced a long -term change in thousands of years. It is an important turning point for Chinese society to move towards modernity. The change and excitement of the late Qing Dynasty became the starting point of China's modernity. Whether it is Hua Zhi'an "From the East of the West", or the difficulty of counting the name "West", it is all about the power of "West" in the late Qing Dynasty. Western learning books are an important medium for spreading Western knowledge. The late Qing scholars use this medium to recognize the West, learn Western learning, and reshape their knowledge structure. What is more important is to seek the way to save death.

The publication of the Western Book of the Qing Dynasty began to translate from the missionary. In 1811, Mar and Morrison published the first Chinese Western Book in Guangzhou, which kicked off the prelude to the publication of modern western books. The publishing of the early Western science books and newspapers was a solution that missionaries seemed to break through the Qing government's mission restrictions. From Morrison, Mi Lian to Metus, Guo Shili, and Richmond, these early missionary translations are mostly religious books. Marity and others translated the first "Bible" and compiled The first "Dictionary" laid the foundation for the spread of modern western books. According to Xiong Yue's statistics, before the Opium War, there were 148 types of Chinese western books and periodicals before the Opium War, of which 114 were religious books. Science, history, and museums have also begun to appear, but the emergence of these non -religious knowledge is to some extent, as Guo Shili said to show the Chinese people that are not inferior to the East civilization to the Chinese people. During this period, the spread of Western books was mainly unidirectional, and it was the approach of missionary. At the acceptance level, it showed a very scarce situation. Influenced by the Qing government's ban, missionaries cannot publicly preach, and often use other identities as a cover mission. For example, Mariezon's public identity is a translator of East India Company. On the surrounding, the middle and lower levels are mainly Chinese. During this period, the translation of Western books also presented the characteristics of China: quoting the Chinese sages' quotes to meet the needs of Chinese readers, adopting popular language to meet the reading needs of the lower society, and interpret the content of the Western book with traditional Chinese concepts and language.

After the Opium War, with the opening of the five -portal business, the number of Western Publishing not only increased sharply, but also changed significantly. A large number of scientific books have emerged, which is directly related to the Chinese cognitive needs after the Opium War. Whether it is the master of the teacher's long skills or the source of the Western learning, it shows the changes in the cognition of the Chinese people's knowledge system during this period. In modern times, the earliest introduction of Western astronomy "Answers and Answers" and "Astronomy Strategy". represent. Shanghai became a heavy town of Western Book Translation during this period. Mohai Library was a representative of Shanghai Western Book Translation. Not only did a large number of Western studies translated and published in the museum, but also trained the first batch of Western book translation talents. Wait, they have had an important impact on modern China.

From the perspective of the communicator, scientific knowledge is also the main content of the translation of Western books during this period. The thirty -one categories such as Gezhi, Calculation, and Medicine showed the prosperity of Western scientific books in China after the Opium War. Correspondingly, the propagation of Western learning books has also shifted from the lower society to the knowledge class. After Li Timori presided over the Guangzhou Society, he positioned the working objects as a middle and upper -level officials and intellectuals. He had given books from officials at all levels and candidates who participated in the township test and trials. These measures have expanded the publication of scientific books and their influence in Chinese knowledge.

At the acceptance level, the Chinese knowledge class has also begun to contact Western books. Lin Zexu, who opened his eyes to see the world, not only organized the translation of the Western Book and Western News, but also began to learn and accept Western Book knowledge. Wei Yuan's "The State of the United States" is the first book that Chinese people compiled in detail to introduce Western geography and scientific knowledge. The editors of the book use the various types of Western books that are easy to get at that time. At the same time, the Chinese people at that time. The needs and cognition of knowledge have caused great response after publishing. "Adult East and West Learning Books" set up "Chinese Collection of Books", which are all the results of Chinese people accepting and systematically introducing Western books. Li Shanlan, Wang Tao, and others were intervened and published as translators as translators, and they could see the influence of Western studies in them. The remarks of Wang Tao's "Cycling Daily", and the cultivation of Western -academia talents created by the Shanghai Gezhi Academy, all benefited from the early translation of Western Books and Western Xue Xiu. At the same time, the Qing government at that time also began to actively embrace the Western Book. Not only did a group of official -office translation agencies appeared, such as the Jingshi Tongwen Museum and the Translation Museum of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. Western books were once the beginning of the Chinese Zhizheng and Western studies ("Persuasion · Cantonese Translation").

Western missionaries used scientific knowledge as a communication tool, and the Chinese knowledge class opened the door to exploring the West. Although the goal is different, the path is similar, and the two -way changes in the east and western directions have enabled Western learning represented by science to reshape the knowledge of Chinese scholars. structure.

After the Reform Movement of the Wuxi, a huge change in Western Xue spread, showing new characteristics. The first is that the number of Western learning books has increased unprecedentedly, the Sino -Japanese War of the Sino -Japanese War is lost, and the national shock has become an important way for the knowledge group to seek rescue. This realistic demand has stimulated the spread of Western books. According to incomplete statistics, there were 1599 types of various Western books in 1900 to 1911 (Xiong Yuezhi's "Western School" East and Late Qing Society "), exceeding the total number of translations in the past 90 years. The rise of Japan in the Sino -Japanese War of the Sino -Japanese War also attracted much attention, causing the tide of Japan. The largest number of students in Japan reached 12,000 in 1906 (Li Xi's "Small Test of the Student Student Student in the late Qing Dynasty"). The rise of the tide of studying in Japan has brought a new situation from the east, and a large number of Western learning books are translated from Japan. During this period, the content of the translation of Western studies was from the chase of science, skills and other material levels, and turned to the cultural level of the system, ideas, and thought. After the Gui Yan academic system, Western studies have entered various new schools, and they are accepted by more widely used textbooks. Students in Japan have also become an important group of Western translation. According to statistics, from 1880 to 1904, there were about 2204 types of Japanese books and articles in the translation group of students in Japan. The trend of the tide of studying abroad and the surging of the new school, making the rise of the new knowledge class become an important recipient and disseminator of Western books and Western learning. The newspapers and magazines have provided convenience for the acquisition of Western Books, and the reporting institutes, speeches, lectures, etc. have contributed to the penetration of Western studies from top to bottom. The spread of modern Western books is also the process of Chinese scholars from scholars to intellectuals. Readers from refusal to hugs are the choice of tendency, and they also depend on the booming media of the Western Xue. The decline since the Opium War made Chinese see that only Western Xue was the way to save. With the abolition of the imperial examination system in 1905, the new education system has caused the relationship between the educational experience of the scholars and the government's public office to be more alienated, and professional knowledge training has prompted to turn to professional knowledge people. The intellectuals have always guarded the responsibility of "scholars", so Western studies are not only the medium of their intellectuals, but also the strategy of saving the country they are seeking. Regardless of whether it is the late Qing Dynasty, or the May 4th Mr. Dedai Er, all of them are pursuit of the way to save death in modern Chinese knowledge.

Without the late Qing Dynasty, why not come to the May Fourth, not only the cultural reasons, but also the ideological continuity of thought, allowing the ancient ship in China to cross five thousand years, and continue to drive to the long future of history.

(Author Unit: School of Journalism and Communication, Guangzhou University)

Source: China Social Science Network-Journal of Social Sciences of China

Author: Li Ni

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