| Western countries opened the doors to China by force, since then the Qing Dynasty had to join in the world in which the western capitalism played a leading role. Due to the failure of Opium War I & II, the Qing government had realized the advance of the west gradually, and some advanced Chinese had awakened from the dream of the Celestial Empire, believing that China must learn from the West in order to rejuvenate China. They were sent to the west or traveled to the west, to know a new world which was very different from the Qing Dynasty. They took down quantity of diaries of the western social system, customs, philosophy, traditions and landscapes.Guo Songtao, Li Shuchang and Xue Fucheng are took as the study subject in this essay, in which the author will discuss their diaries'value through the discuss of their background of being sent on a diplomatic mission, the analysis of their diaries'content. All of the three guys had a very good relationship with Zeng Guofan, who was a friend of Guo and a teacher of both Li and Xue. Besides, this essay discusses the impact of Zeng on the three men. |
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