Records And Understanding Of Egyptian Pyramids By Chinese In The Late Qing Dynasty And The Republic Of China

The historical stage of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China generally refers to the history from the Opium War to the eve of the founding of the People’s Republic of China,that is,from 1840 to 1949.Over the past hundred years,the Chinese people’s understanding and understanding of the pyramids of Egypt has undergone a qualitative change,from nothing to something,from indirect understanding to direct exploration,from superficial understanding to essential analysis.The purpose of this paper is to summarize the process of the Chinese people’s phased research on the Egyptian pyramids from 1840 to1949,integrate the relevant research results of the Chinese people,make a basic evaluation of it,and then preliminarily analyze the characteristics and development trend of the Chinese people’s research at each stage,on this basis,further explore the semiotic value of the Egyptian pyramids and the academic and practical significance of the Chinese people’s recording and understanding of the Egyptian pyramids.Missionaries to China were the first to introduce and disseminate the pyramids of Egypt in China.At the beginning of the 17 th century,the early introduction of the pyramids of Egypt had been included in the foreign historical and geographical works imported by the Jesuits in China.These introductions did not initially cause significant repercussions among the Chinese people.Until the Protestant missionaries came to China,their imported knowledge of the Egyptian pyramids stimulated the research interest of the Chinese scholars and promoted the Chinese people to carry out the recording activities of the Egyptian pyramids.In other words,the early introduction of the missionaries had a preliminary role in the import and dissemination of knowledge about the Egyptian pyramids.In 1840-1860,enlightened scholar-bureaucrats,represented by Lin Zexu,Wei Yuan and Xu Jiyu,compiled foreign historical and geographical works such as "Four Continents","The Atlas of the Sea" and "The Outline of the Records of the World",which included relevant introduction to the pyramids of Egypt,which became an important book for the early Chinese people to record Egypt and the pyramids,and opened a new chapter for the Chinese people to translate and introduce the works related to the pyramids of Egypt.During this period,Chinese people began to replace missionaries in China and become the main group to record and understand the pyramids of Egypt.From 1861 to 1911,the Chinese people showed diversified characteristics in the carrier of describing the Egyptian pyramids.In the process of spreading the pyramids in Egypt in China,travel diaries and newspapers emerged.During this period,the early bourgeois reformers and bourgeois reformers,represented by Bin Chun,Zhang Deyi,Wang Tao and Guo Songtao,played an important role in the process of recording.The main performance was that some Chinese people who went to Egypt saw the magnificent pyramid and contacted fresh historical information.By integrating these "information resources",they recorded what they saw and heard in words,He began to write a series of wonderful pyramid stories.At the same time,the Chinese people in the late Qing Dynasty started to run newspapers and periodicals independently,and more than ten articles about the pyramids of Egypt appeared sporadically in the newspapers and periodicals.During this period,Chinese people really became the main body of independent records of Egyptian pyramids.From 1912 to 1949,this historical period was the climax of the Chinese people’s recording and understanding of the Egyptian pyramids.During this period,the Egyptian pyramid knowledge recorded in newspapers and periodicals has made significant progress in both quantity and content,and the recorded content is more profound,systematic and accurate.The narrative group of the Egyptian pyramids is expanding day by day.Professional scholars,represented by Huang Zengyue and Su Xuelin,began to appear and compiled a series of articles dedicated to the ancient Egyptian civilization and the Egyptian pyramids.During the late Qing and Republic of China periods,the Chinese people’s record and understanding of the Egyptian pyramids underwent a huge transformation process,with significant changes in the dimensions of recording content,media,subject,method,purpose,and dissemination subject.In other words,the research trend of the Chinese people towards the recording and understanding of the Egyptian pyramids has been a wave like progression,going through a process from nothing to existence,from existence to refinement,from indirect understanding to direct exploration,and from the simplification of narrative content to diversification.In addition,during this historical stage,the Chinese people regarded the pyramid as one of the symbolic symbols of Egyptian civilization,which was recorded and widely promoted domestically;The record of the Egyptian pyramids by the Chinese people has both academic and practical significance,which has a profound impact on the overall research of later Egyptian disciplines and the practical exchanges between China and Egypt.To sum up,the Chinese people’s record and understanding of the Egyptian pyramids in the late Qing and the Republic of China is of pioneering significance,and we should correctly understand and objectively evaluate the achievements of the Chinese people’s understanding at this stage.Although the overall level of recording and understanding is still very low and has not yet transitioned from the cognitive level to the academic level,the pioneering records of Chinese scholars should be positively affirmed.