A Study Of The Image Of China Before 1949 In The Three Editions Of American History Textbooks

Since the modern era,most countries have paid more and more attention to shaping their own images.In this context,national image becomes a part of soft power.With the rise of China,the world has paid more and more attention to this ancient Oriental country.Some foreign scholars even predicted that the 21 st century would be the "Chinese century".Among the numerous media to recognize the images of China,textbooks,as a kind of teaching resources,not only have the dual functions of "teaching-based" and "learing-based",but also reflect the will of the country,influencing students’ world outlook,outlook on life and values.Therefore,the image of China in textbooks of various countries largely represents the country’s attitude towards China.As the only superpower today,the attitude of the United States has a significant impact on China’s development.If students have a wrong perception of China in the future,it will definitely affect the future relations between China and the United States.Therefore,to understand the image of China in American textbooks and analyze its attitude towards China is conducive to the friendly exchanges between these two countries on the one hand,and to broaden the horizon of Chinese students from the perspective of other countries on the other hand,which is conducive to the cultivation of students’ globalized values and in line with the direction of China’s education reform.This dissertation takes the content of Chinese history in the three editions of American textbook "world history" as the starting point to explore what kind of Chinese image it has constructed,and the formation mechanism of this image and its impact on social practice.It is divided into five parts.The introduction points out the significance of the research,reviews the relevant literature,clarifies the research samples and research ideas,and defines the relevant concepts.The first chapter analyzes the characteristics of Chinese history in textbooks,sorts out the contents of Chinese history,and summarizes the image of China in textbooks.In the second chapter,through sorting out the events of historical figures in the textbooks,we get the editors’ evaluation of the images of China in different periods,some of which are familiar to us,some of which are different from what we are familiar with.By analyzing this difference,it reveals the influence of position and interest on the attitude of editors and the content of textbooks.The third chapter discusses the construction and production of Chinese image in textbooks,the values embodied and its social significance from three aspects: text analysis,discourse practice analysis and social practice analysis.Conclusion summarizes the whole paper,and simply discusses the Enlightenment of the Chinese image created by American textbooks to China.