On The Image Of Quanzhou City In The Westerners’ Eyes During Song And Yuan Dynasties: A City Of Light

As is known to all, Quanzhou Port reached its peak of prosperity in Song andYuan dynasties. It even became “the largest port in the world”. At that very time,Merchants, travelers, envoys and missionaries from different countries and regionscame and left their footprint here. They recorded Quanzhou from different angles,which depicted a bright Quanzhou city.This thesis adopted the theories of cultural geography and image studies ofcomparative literature. The first part of the thesis illustrates that in the eyes ofWesterners from the perspective of trade and economy: Quanzhou is the emporiumof the world. The second part presents Quanzhou City from the perspective ofreligion–a shrine for religions and missionaries. The last part displays that the cityis a paradise for living. It draws the conclusion that in the Westerners’ eyes duringSong and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou is “a city of light”.The significance of studying Quanzhou image lies in to add a sample forcultural study, and the coastal cultural study of Fujian Province.