Samuel Wells Williams' Views On China

American Protestant missionaries in China's views on China is not only an important reference to understand China for the United States and the West,but also is a good mirror for Chinese reviewing themselves.Samuel Wells Williams is one of the pioneer characters arrived at China to missionaried in the early 19th century.He is also a early American pioneer of Chinese Studies said,S.W.Williams is honored as " a gifted and amateured historian" by John King Fairbank.S.W.Williams once chiefly edited Chinese Repository," The Middle Kingdom " edited by him is his observation and research results about historical culture of Chinese society,and has been an important milestone of American Sinology studies.S.W.Williams had been influenced early of Christian culture,the kind soul, tenacious perseverance,firm belief,the skilled use of language,as well as the rich life experiences,which would enable him understand and know china more systematically and objectively from different aspects,the series publications about china by Samuel Wells Williams is the indispensable tools for American scholars to learn china. Especially Chinese Repository edited by S.W.Williams deepenes the impression on China of the westerners,and also provides the quotable culture resources for overseas sinology research and development.The Middle Kingdom is the centralism manifests of his views on China.S.W.Williams affirmed the character and moral quality of Chinese people,at the same time,he also had an objective and dialectical analysis to many missing of modern Chinese.In the meantime,S.W.Williams carried out a detailed analysis to Chinese education system,legal system,literature and the Confucian classics,and put forward some constructive suggestions and ideas from his own point.Compared with the missionaries of the same period,Samuel Wells Williams ' views on China were more close to the true history.However,because of the Sino-US cultural differences,obviously Samuel Wells Williams' views have arrogancy and prejudice.Samuel Wells Williams' views on China make the West understand China more objectivly and also urge some advanced Chinese calmly and rationally to examine themself,which have a positive effect on the Sino-US cultural exchange of modern early time.