The Transformation Of Intellectuals In Shanghai Port In The Late Qing Dynasty

Shanghai is one of the earliest forced trading ports in modern China.Based on its special political,economic and cultural conditions,Shanghai was at the forefront of the eastward spread of Western learning.And a group of "port intellectuals"who have come out of Shanghai are leading the way in the transformation of Chinese thought and culture.The pressure of losing the imperial examination and making a living made them bravely enter the London Missionary Society Press and translate books with missionaries.In metropolis infested with foreign adventurers of Shanghai,London Missionary Society Press translation group first observed the conflict between China and the West,and carried out their own transformation in the process of:serving the Westerners".For the London Missionary Society Press translation group who have been receiving traditional culture education for a long time,participating in the translation of Western books is not only a simple process of seeking jobs and seeking a living,but also a process of accepting the impact of Western learning and realizing the transformation of their own ideas.By participating in the translation of the Western Books,they saw the superiority of the Western modern political system and changed the narrow political outlook.The achievements of advanced civilization in the West made them realize the charm of modern science and technology.Even the London Missionary Society Press translation group,who knew the Confucius and Mencius,began to have religious beliefs and formed an equal and open religious outlook.All of this made them the "forerunners" of the early modern China.The transformation of thought becomes the guide of the transformation of action.In Shanghai,where the west wind is just beginning to spread,the London Missionary Society Press translation group has used its own actions to walk out of the deviant road seldom used by intellectuals for thousands of years.In the London Missionary Society Press,they gradually turned the road of imperial examination from reading books to seeking an official position into the road of making a living as a translator,running newspapers and engaging in new careers.In the friendly communication with missionaries,the London Missionary Society Press translation group acted as the bridge between China and the west.For the London Missionary Society Press translation group,when the traditional imperial examination system closed a door for them,they opened a window for themselves in the newly opened trade port area.Through this window,they saw the world full of sound,light and electricity,and the decline of ancient China against the west.With this as the source,they made friends with westerners,learned from the west and advocated reform,which was the first step of their acceptance of the west.Although they did not forget the imperial examination and the official career path,they could not go far on the road of breaking through the tradition.However,in the modern China,where the atmosphere began to open,the London Missionary Society Press translation group can't be ignored in the road of self-transformation and the road to learning the West.