Diary of a Mission to Four Countries

Author: Xue Fucheng, annotated by Bao Hai
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: The Diary of a Mission to Four Foreign Countries is a diary written by Xue Fucheng, a renowned diplomat of the late Qing Dynasty, during his mission to Europe to four countries from January 1890 to February 1891. Xue Fucheng was a famous modern Chinese reformist thinker and a master of prose with deep literary talent. His diary is extremely rich in content, combining intellectual depth and artistic brilliance, vividly recreating the social, cultural, and historical landscape of the late Qing Dynasty from the perspective of scholars, as well as the mindset of scholars in the face of cultural clashes between China and the West. The observations recorded in the diary hold significant value for modern readers. Western Reflections: Notes from a Journey is a series that compiles and publishes diaries of officials and intellectuals from the Qing Dynasty who traveled abroad for visits and travels. These diaries are their representative works and caused great upon publication at the time. They selected and understood foreign culture according to their own cultural traditions and ways of thinking, reflecting from multiple perspectives the reactions and changes of traditional concepts under the impact of Western thought. Under the guise of travelogues, they discussed issues in China, elaborated on their ideas for political reform, sought in the West the ideal for China's future development, and aimed to create a new China that surpassed the West in both system and wealth. This book is based on the annotations of the first edition of A Journey to Eleven European Countries published by Guangzhi Bookstore between 1905 and 1907.