Between 1799 and 1840, the West in the eyes of Chinese and China in the eyes of Westerners

During this period, China was under the reign of Jiaqing and Daoguang. Until the Opium War in 1840, the Qing Dynasty regarded itself as the "Celestial Kingdom", and "the Celestial Kingdom benefited people from afar and nurtured foreigners". Basically, China's foreign relations only have the concept of monarch and ministers from above to below, but there is no equal diplomatic treatment. Until the first half of the 19th century, almost all Chinese people believed that China was "the world" and that other places were uncivilized barbarian lands.

Relatively speaking, Europeans still know more about China than the Chinese know about Europeans. At that time, the number of Chinese who had been to Europe was much smaller than the number of Europeans who had been to China.

In Europe, Voltaire praised China's political system as "the best government that the human spirit can imagine."

Defoe described the Chinese as a "pathetic nation".

The Reverend Gray, Archdeacon of Guangzhou, "History of the Laws, Fashions and Customs of the Chinese People": "Their religion is composed of various superstitions. Their form of government is perhaps the most prone to abuse of power - Irresponsible - autocratic regime."

Barrow's "Travels in China": "The general characteristics of this nation are arrogance and selfishness, pretended seriousness and real frivolity, and elegant etiquette and vulgarity. A strong combination of words and deeds. On the surface, they are extremely simple and straightforward in their conversations, but in fact they are practicing a political art."

Maihua Tuo's "Foreigners in Distant China": " Although in terms of promoting the highest interests of the people, the overall achievements of the official government are not commendable. Although the meager salary given by the government has led to a large amount of misappropriation of public funds and plunder, the Chinese official class still lives a very happy and hard-working life. , and there is no shortage of precedents for individuals to gain respect and even support from the people."

Bill "Buddhism in China": "We summarize the moral and social impact of Buddhism on the character of the Chinese people as follows: Although It does little to exalt the religious sentiments of the masses, but it does attempt to promote a taste for morality, to promote a healthy state of society, to guard against the influence of evil and shameless menstruation, and it helps to increase love The beautiful and natural state is conducive to the progress of art and literature."

Ed's "Feng Shui": "China, in general, seems to be just an overgrown child."

< p>Tang Ning's "Fan Gui in China": "Judging from the Chinese gentlemen I have seen, they almost all have disgusting and sick images. The faces of the upper class residents of the Celestial Dynasty reveal more than just one kind of woman. The smell; many strangers feel disgusted and disgusted even when they see them."

Gu Bocha's "Chinese Empire": "The situation of Chinese women is the worst. They suffer, suffer, and are discriminated against. This misery and humiliation followed her mercilessly from the cradle to the grave. From the moment she was born she was recognized as a disgrace to the family...if she had not been drowned immediately...she would have been regarded as a lowly creature and hardly looked upon as such. "She is as unnoticed as vegetation." "A young girl is just a commodity, a commodity to be sold." "A dressed-up bride is nothing more than a sacrifice." "Sacrifice."

Depishi's "On Chinese Poetry": "We have no reason to be shocked that Chinese poetry has so many admirers in the long history from Confucius to Qianlong."

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Xun He's "North China War of 1860" (Burning the Old Summer Palace): "Our hearts can't help but lament the fate of this ancient empire: its future and destiny were destroyed in the war between the same kind. , it forces countries that may be friends to destroy itself in turn, and when attacked, it is left alone and helpless. It finally spits out its remaining vitality and disappears into its own ashes."

Ji Libei's "China and Chinese Ethical Ethics": "Conservative principles are deeply engraved in the hearts of the Chinese people. For them, change is disgusting and disgusting. They believe that it is impossible to be smarter than our ancestors thousands of years ago. Therefore, the first task of a Chinese is to learn and worship the mottos of the saints and follow the habits left by the ancestors. As a result, the Chinese mind is in a state of stagnation. "

Gray's "China": "The moral characteristics of the Chinese people are a book written in strange words. “They are a law unto themselves, and they always speak better than they do. “The shamelessness of their actions and the filthiness of their language reached an astonishing degree.

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Wei Sanwei's "General Theory of China": "Lies and dishonest transactions are generally prevalent. Young and old alike are trapped in shameless sexual immorality. The cruel treatment of prisoners by officials, the tyranny of masters over slaves—all these constitute the whole unstoppable stream of human depravity, and illustrate the extreme degrees of moral degeneration in one type. "

Bird's "Boards of the Yangtze River": "The Chinese are perhaps the most practical nation in the world. ”