英文摘要 |
Zhang Deyi is a special diplomat in late Qing dynasty. He went abroad as a student of Tung Wen College since 1866, until he was appointed ambassador to UK, Italy and Belgium from 1901 to 1906. He experienced 8 times to go overseas and stayed for 27 years in foreign countries. In the period of travelling overseas, he wrote a diary daily and left a work - Drafts on My Fantastic Experiences Overseas - of more than 2 million words. This work contains considerable journals on his voyages. He preferred to use vague way to describe sea views, but used detailed and clear records with unreal atmosphere to give account of the special marine creatures and natural phenomena. With the accumulation of sailing experience, his descriptions turned from analogy with traditional knowledge to scientific and numerical descriptions, and then construct an ocean world view which was closer to the west. Drafts on My Fantastic Experiences Overseas reproduces extremely diverse marine lives. He thought that storms, huge waves and the pain of seasickness were identified as the exclusive medals of adventure and regarded that he experienced calamities safely because the help of emperor, sea gods, and western science and technology. This reflects the contradiction between tradition and modern. Appreciation of the natural scenery and participation in recreational activities on board are two things that brought him happiness which show coexistence novelties vs. nostalgia and static vs. dynamic states. |