Chinese Writing Of British Literature In The Middle Of The 19th Century

This article focuses on the writing of the Chinese theme of British literature in the mid-nineteenth century.It takes the British writer Thomas Henry Sealy's The Porcelain Tower;or,Nine Stories of China as the main object of discussion,studies the author's use and rewriting of the Chinese theme.In the mid-19 th century,with the end of the British Industrial Revolution and the opening of the Victorian era,China gradually became the coveted object of Britain.The failure of two British missions to China and the work of members who were full of criticism influenced the British's perception of China,and the ensuing Opium War made China the focus of more writers,therefore,the Chinese writing of English literature changed accordingly,which The Porcelain Tower;or,Nine Stories of China was the representative.The work contains nine independent Chinese stories,in the genre of poems and novels,involving Chinese tea,porcelain,emperor,criminal law,marriage,festivals and other topics,including all aspects of Chinese social life in the Qing Dynasty.The Chinese writing of this work is closely related to the development of British periodicals in the mid-19 th century.Several stories in the work has been published in the British magazine Bentley's Miscellany,which together with Chinese writing works in contemporary periodicals construct Chinese narrative and Chinese image during the transition period.By analyzing these works,we can find that British writers' preference for Chinese customs and culture in the mid-19 th century not only focused on the social life of Qing Dynasty China,but also on Western translation of Chinese classical literature.The characters portrayed are flat images,but show some concern for the fate of Chinese women.And the author relied on the medium of literature and art to create a large number of stories about China,which promoted the transformation of Chinese writing in English literature.The first chapter of this article introduces the era background of The Porcelain Tower;or,Nine Stories of China and its book,outlines the life and creation of Sealy and the trajectory of the work's circulation,and analyzes the “Chinoiserie” in Victorian newspapers and periodicals.The second chapter traces the origin of materials in The Porcelain Tower;or,Nine Stories of China,explains its reference of Chinese literature narrative and inheritance of Romantic literature.The third chapter studies the different character images presented in the works from the perspective of imagology and interprets the writer's focus on the theme of Chinese society and customs according to the theme of the work.In the end,it summarizes the spread and influence of The Porcelain Tower;or,Nine Stories of China,analyzes the Chinese themed works published in British newspapers in the middle of 19 th century,and then explores the significance and value of British writers writing on China.