British Women Travel Research In China In 1840-1911

1840-1911is an important phase from First Opium War to the Revolution of1911in China. During this period, Western Women were allowed to enter China. Under the circumstance, this thesis intends to analyze travel writings of four English women in China who are Isabella Bird, Alicia Little, Constance Cumming and Emily Kemp.This thesis contains three chapters. The first chapter introduces the background of the four English women travelers, and then discusses the new features of western women travel at this time on two aspects:travel patterns and imperial encounters.The second chapter focuses on social practice of western women in China, combining with Timothy Richard’s discourse about them. Alicia Little and Natural Feet Society are specially introduced in the second part of this chapter.Though tracing back from China’s image in England in the17th and18th, the third chapter inspects China’s image in travel writings of these four English women in1840-1911, the pre-existing context and changes of instruments are discussed. In the third part of this chapter, relations of power are indicated from the perspective of women travelers in other’s view. The last part examines these travel writers’prediction about China in their travel writings.