European Eleven Countries Travelogue

Author: Kang Youwei, edited by Li Bingtao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: This book was written by the renowned modern Chinese thinker and statesman Kang Youwei during his exile abroad after the failure of the 1898 Wuxu Reform. Following the Hundred Days' Reform, Kang Nanhai embarked on a 16-year journey of exploration abroad, traveling across three continents, visiting four continents, passing through 31 countries, and covering 600,000 miles, never holding official office and developing a passion for travel. His explorations focused primarily on the political customs and historical changes and successes of various countries, as well as their cultural relics and historical sites. His travels in Italy and France left a deep impression on him, and upon returning to China, he wrote "Italian Travel Notes" and "French Travel Notes," which are the main chapters included in this book. These travel writings contain observations and records on many aspects, holding great value for readers today. The series "Notes on Western Impressions" primarily aims to collect and publish diaries of some Qing dynasty officials and intellectuals who visited or traveled abroad. These diaries are their representative works and caused significant when first published. They chose and understood foreign cultures according to their own cultural traditions and ways of thinking, reflecting from multiple perspectives and angles the reactions and changes of traditional concepts under the impact of Western thought. Under the guise of travel writings, they discussed China's issues, elaborated on their ideas for political reform, and sought to find in the West the ideal path for China's future development, thereby creating a new China that surpassed the West in both system and wealth. This book is based on the annotated first edition of "Travel Notes of Eleven European Countries" published by Guangzhi Bookstore from the 31st to the 33rd year of the Guangxu reign.