Study On The Nakhilogical Histrory In France(1867-1965)

During the period of ban on missionary affairs which lasts for hundred years in the Qing Dynasty,Paris Foreign Missions?Mission Etrangère de Paris,MEP?conducted secret preaching in southwest China.In order to facilitate missionary activities in the regions where ethnic minorities live,missionaries started by learning the languages of ethnic minorities and then gradually expanded to documenting all aspects of their lives.In 1867,Father Desgodin sent back the11-page Dongba scripture,The Origin of the Ghost,praying the God to France.And this strangewriting immediately aroused the curiosity and attention of Orientalists,and since then,it has unveiled the curtain of the collection and research of Naxi writing,language,and social customs in France and other western countries.After laying solid ground in Indochina,France attempted to penetrate China,and successively sent various types of expeditions into Yunnan along the Mekong-Red River.The natural landscapes along the way,as well as the different conventions of various ethnic groups,including Naxi,have also entered the vision and records of explorers.In the meantime,a series of inequality treaties have been signed between China and France,which prompted France to control and plunder Yunnan in a deeper level,and also provided conditions and protection for explorers,missionaries,and orientalists to conduct in-depth inspections.The use of?knowledge?to understand and deal with Eastern affairs is a precedent pioneered by French Orientalism.The Orientalistes convinced themselves that they would endeavor to undertake the development responsibility of intervening peoples vith a long history,art and religious traditions in an intellectual level.This sense of superiority and mission is also applied to the study of Naxi history and culture.And Les-Mosos,the treatise co-authored by Bacot and Chavannes,became the pinnacle on the study of Naxi history and culture in France between the second half of the 19^thcentury and the middle of the 20^th century.These achievements undoubtedly established France thepioneer in the field of Western Naxi research.Though scholars at home and abroad recognize France as the establisher of Western Naxi history and culture research,and would usually admit this point in their writings,they usually only briefly mention Bacot and his writings.And in recent years,a small number of researches on Naxi studies of France have gradually appeared,but still,they are mainly aimed at Bacot and Les Mo-sos,while French researchers and researches in an earlier than than Bacot‘s time have hardly attracted attention.This status quo presents a sharp contrast with the influence of France on Naxi studies,suggesting that in this field there are still some blanks,which need to be filled.First,this treatise will be based on a comprehensive collection of monographs,articles,documents,and objects from 1867-1965,including travel notes,letters,and church files from exlorers orientalists.New materials will compensate for the insufficient domestic files and expand the scope of ethnology research on literature.Secondly,this article will combine the historical,political,religious,and academic backgrounds of France during this period,including the colonial expansion polices,the relationship between China and France,activities of Paris Foreign Missions in the conjunction of Sichuan,Yunnan and Tibet,and the timeline of development of Orientalism.A comprehensive and systematic review of the research on Naxi history and culture in France is divided into three stages:budding stage?1867-1899?,development?1900-1911?,and prosperity?1912-1965?.In addition,on the basis of fully collecting and correctly interpreting the original materials,the treatise will refer to relevant research at home and aboard,and analyze the research results,characteristics,and significance of each period objectively and deeply.The practice of Marxist historical materialism as the theoretical basis of the treatise,the application of the basic research methods of history,linguistics and other disciplines,principally comparative and inductive methods,will help to integrate historical narrative and historical interpretation,revive the value of French Naxi Studies,explore its far-reaching impact on similar researches in western countries and China,and strive to find new hotspot,promoting the continuous development of historical and cultural research on Naxi.