早期美国来华传教士笔下的“中国形象”

美国对华传教工作始于1829年。美国来华传教士雅裨理和卫三畏分别于1830年与1833年来华。鸦片战争之前，由于清政府严格限制对外交往，来华传教士的活动范围受到限制，因此他们对中国的理解是比较肤浅的。在他们眼中，中国是个奇风异俗盛行的异教国度，是个等待西方“先进”文明与宗教拯救的民族。他们用文字记录了来华美国人对中国的最初印象，这些印象也成为此后美国人中国观的最初依据。

Early American Missionaries and Their Images of China

The American missionary enterprise in China was initiated in 1829. David Abeel and Samuel Williams Wells came to China respectively in 1830 and 1833. Before the Opium War, due to stringent Qing policy prohibiting foreign contacts, the activities of missionaries were restricted. As a result, their knowledge of China remained superficial. In their eyes, China was an exotic country with strange customs and the Chinese are a nation in need of salvation by advanced westem civilization and religion. They recorded their first impressions of China in various writings and their impressions became the initial background of the American image of China.