The Political And Economic Image Of China In The Russian Emigrant Magazine "Asian Herald"(1909-1917)

Asian Herald was published in Harbin from 1909 to 1927 as the first academic journal of oriental studies founded by Russian expatriates in Harbin.The journal was directed by the Society of Russian Orientalists(Harbin),which served Russian interests in East Asian countries,and was used to publish the results of "practical oriental studies" to promote Russian far east policy.At the end of the 19 th century,Tsarist Russia built the Chinese Eastern Railroad in northeastern China and used it as a base to encroach on China.Therefore,under the domination of the Russian Far Eastern Policy,the goals and interests of the "practical orientalism" were clearly directed to China,which objectively determined that China was one of the most important objects of the practical studies of the magazine.Politics and economy were the most fundamental aspects of national life,and in the context of Russia’s aggressive expansion into China in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries,China’s political and economic development was a matter of Russian interests in China and the nature of its policy toward China.Therefore,the study of Chinese politics and economy received considerable attention in the magazine.The political and economic image of China constructed in the magazine’s texts not only reflected the reality of China at that time to a certain extent,but also implied the magazine’s perception of China and the Russian regime’s political and economic aspirations towards China.This paper selects magazines published between 1909 and 1917 and uses the texts of Chinese political and economic research articles to analyze the political and economic images of China,to explore the purpose behind the construction of such images in the magazines,and then to further examine the magazines’ overall view of China from the political and economic images of China constructed in the magazines.The introductory section of this paper clarifies the object of the study,its significance,the current state of research at home and abroad,the purpose,methodology and innovation of the study,and defines relevant terms.The first chapter examines the basic information of Asian Herald and uses a qualitative and quantitative research method to examine the positioning of the magazine and its focus on Oriental studies.The results show that the journal’s positioning is distinctly oriented to serve the interests of Russian aggression,with China studies accounting for the largest share of all country studies articles,at 66%.Political and economic themes are the two most important topics in China studies,accounting for32% and 24% respectively.Chapter 2 analyzes the construction of China’s political image by magazines in terms of both China’s domestic and foreign affairs.The study finds that the magazines create an image of China’s domestic affairs as "political changes and social turmoil" and an image of China’s diplomacy as "struggling on all sides and powerless to resist".Behind this image the magazine’s reflections on Russia’s own fate and Russia’s political aggression against China are implied.The third chapter examines the magazine’s image of China’s economy from the perspectives of China’s internal economy and external trade.The study shows that the magazine portrays China’s internal economy as "financially unstable and difficult to overcome" and its external trade as "economically invaded".While constructing this image,the magazine constantly seeks to satisfy Russia’s need for economic penetration into China,"advising" Russia on the dumping of goods and the export of capital to China.The conclusion summarizes the whole text and,based on the political and economic image of China created by the magazine,analyzes the magazine’s general view of China on the one hand,and indicates the significance of the magazine’s image of China for examining the reality of China at that time and judging the nature of Russia’s policy toward China on the other.