The Images of China in American Literature before the Middle 19th Century. (English)

CHINA; UNITED States

Before the middle of the 19th century, American writes had few opportunities to visit China. Nor did they come into touch with or pay dose attention to the Chinese in the United States. They might read same books about China or have a limited knowledge of Chinese history and culture, so their works that mention China probably include some facts. But their images of China particularly demonstrate the "collective, imagination" shared by the society and times in which the writers lived. In the first half of the 19th century, Westernes' notions of China underwent a transition from negation to affirmation. Simultaneously, American literature showed a diversity in subjects, aesthetic aspirations and writing styles. As a result, the presence of China in different literary works of this period became rather unsteady, ambiguous and even self - contradictory. This article therefore selects sone literary works concerned with China and interprets the characteristics and implications of the diversified images of China presented by the writers who possessed different writing motifs and emotional appeals. It aims to explore various factors that possibly influenced the forming and misunderstanding of those images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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