文化碰撞:鸦片战争前后的中德文化交流

鸦片战争前后正是中国近代社会的转型时期,即从闭关锁国到被洋枪洋炮打开国门,被迫对外开放.其间,各种文化和思想交流异常活跃,出现了新旧思想和观念的猛烈碰撞,并由此引发了"质”的变化.在德国人眼里,中国的"图像”已从鸦片战争前的文明古国演变为战后积贫积弱、怪诞不经的蒙昧落后的形象.因此,他们认为,必须把欧洲的文明和进步强加到中国人的身上;相反,中国的有识之士也开始"睁眼看世界”,虚心学习和借鉴西方的文明成果,主动打破两千年来传统的禁锢和枷锁,开始直面神秘的西方世界.

China|Germany Cultural Exchanges Before and After the Opium War

The Opium War is a Chinese transition period of forced opening up to the outside world, a period full of vehement encoun-ters of different cultures and ideas. The Germans, who regarded China as a sick and backward country rather than an old glorious civi-lization, wanted to impose European civilization and progress upon this country. The Chinese elite, however, came to realize the im-portance of opening up and learning from the West. This essay presents a study of the cultural encounters between China and Germany of this period.