Studies Of The Images Of Eastern Tibetan Areas From The Perspective Of Western Missionaries(1899-1943)

At the end of the 19 th century,with the successive signing of a series of unequal treaties,China’s vast interior became a free space for missionaries of various Christian missions.In order to communicate information and strengthen cooperation among the missionaries,the missionaries published their English magazine,The West China Missionary News(1899-1943),which was also the longest-running magazine in Southwestern China.Although it was a religious monthly magazine in English,it had published many articles about missionaries’ movements,their travel expeditions and field works in Eastern Tibetan Areas.This magazine had accumulated a lot of information about the topography,climate,social customs,religion,wildlife,culture,transportation and medical treatment in Eastern Tibetan Areas.Eastern Tibetan Areas was an important passageway connecting the inland to Tibet,known as the "Han-Tibet Corridor".Geographically speaking,the main body of Eastern Tibetan Areas is basically in Khams.In addition,it also includes Rgyalrong Tibetan Area in Dajin and Xiaojin.Therefore,the study of Eastern Tibetan Areas is an indispensable part of Tibetan studies.The articles about Eastern Tibetan Areas from The West China Missionary News are representative reference for the study of Western Tibetology,especially missionaries’ Tibetology from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China,because of its long span,wide research field,large number of scholars involved and wide investigation scope.Based on the Tibetan-related articles of the magazine and related Chinese and English documents,this paper studies and discusses the imagines of Eastern Tibetan Areas from the perspective of modern western missionaries,which not only explores the Tibetan research value of Christian journals,but also promotes the study of the cultural exchanges between China and the West.The structure of the paper is as follows:The first chapter is the introduction,which mainly introduces the significance and value of the topic selected,research status at home and abroad,as well as the theoretical methods and article structure.The second chapter is the early Tibetan studies of western missionaries and Tibetan studies in The West China Missionary News.This part first introduces the background of the early western missionaries in Tibetan Areas,and reviews the activities of western missionaries and their Tibetan studies.Next,it introduces the magazine and its Tibetan-related articles,makes a comprehensive survey of the magazine,outlines the general features and contents of the magazine,and then compiles all the articles concerning Tibetan Areas.The third to the seventh chapter is the main body of the thesis.The third chapter is the natural imagines of Eastern Tibetan Areas from the perspective of western missionaries.The natural geographical environment not only gestates the human landscape in Tibet,but also influences the development of culture,economy,religion,transportation and other factors.In this chapter,the Tibetan topography,climate and weather,plants and animals are discussed.The fourth chapter is the religious imagines of Eastern Tibetan Area.Tibetan religions are almost universal among its people,while religions in Eastern Tibetan Areas are diversified.This chapter discusses the religion of Eastern Tibetan region in the eyes of western missionaries from three aspects: Lamaism and Lama,Devil Dance,and Ben religion.The fifth chapter is the traffic imagines of Eastern Tibetan Area.This chapter is divided into four parts: land-and-water traffic,coolie and Ulag,traffic hub of Tachienlu,and bandits on the road.The sixth chapter is the women in Eastern Tibetan Areas from the perspective of western missionaries.This chapter discusses the outstanding appearance and character of Tibetan women,their marital status,the hostess of Guozhuang "Ajia" and Tibetan nuns.The seventh chapter is about the disease and medical treatment in Eastern Tibetan Areas from the perspective of western missionaries.Tibetan medicine is one of the important characteristics of Tibetan culture,but in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China,Tibetan society was generally faced with the dilemma of lack of medicine and spreading endemic diseases.This chapter discusses the common diseases and causes of disease,treatment methods and means,and the investigation of endemic goiter by S.Harry Liljestrand.The eighth chapter is the conclusion part of the paper,trying to summarize the topic.It discusses the comprehensive characteristics of study of missionary?s Tibetan images,the impact on West China Approach of Chinese Anthropology from missionary?s accout and understanding of Eastern Tibet,and the analysis of Tibetan images from the perspective of both western missionary and western world.