Chinese Chameleon (Analysis of the European Perception of Chinese Civilization)

Author: (English) Raymond Dawson, translated by Chang Shaomin, Mingyi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-07-01
Features: China is considered rich and poor, developed and backward, intelligent and foolish, beautiful and ugly, strong and weak, honest and cunning in different contexts—Westerners have assigned to her countless opposing characteristics, which are difficult to list entirely here. This book aims to analyze these changing perceptions of China and clarify which accurately reflect the actual situation of China and which are merely fabricated or imagined out of European needs. The European perception of China has undergone earth-shattering changes over time. Interestingly, these changes reflect more the progress of European intellectual history than the transformation of Chinese society. China is more like a chameleon than a dragon.