On Morrison’s View Of China

George Ernest Morrison(1862-1920)was born in Australia.Morrison is a famous British traveler,journalist and expert on China.He was the chief reporter of the times in China and political adviser to the president of the Republic of China.At the end of the 19 th century,Morrison came to China and spent more than 20 years in China.During that time,as a traveler and journalist,Morrison had traveled to many places in China,saw the famous mountains and rivers,cultural history of China,had close and extensive contact with local officials and ordinary people of China,and had visited the scenery and scenery of China,as well as the customs and customs of China.At the same time,he is not only an important channel for the west to understand China and exert influence on the Chinese government and senior management through him,but also an overseas person who Chinese parties vie to make friends and hope to convey China’s voice to the west through him.He went up to the emperor and served as a political adviser to the president of the Republic of China,Yuan Shikai.He went down to meet the common people and made friends with Beijing’s hutongs and market figures.He witnessed the historical nodes of the alternation of the old and the new,including the reform movement of 1898,the Boxer Movement,the new deal in the late Qing Dynasty,the Russo Japanese War,the 1911 Revolution and the founding of the Republic of China.He also witnessed the whole process of Yuan Shikai’s usurpation of power and the defeat of the imperial system.He also coordinated China’s participation in the first World War and the post-war Paris diplomacy,He was the core figure who almost did not miss all the major historical events and processes in China during that turbulent period.In his personal efforts to major historical events in China,in his extensive and lasting contact with people of all walks of life in China,in his browsing and appreciation of Chinese scenery and landscape,and in his recognition and appreciation of Chinese culture,Morrison had a profound understanding of Chinese society,China’s political ecology,development trend,Chinese people,as well as China’s historical traditions and cultural customs,They have their own cognition and views,thus forming a relatively complete understanding of China in politics,society,people and culture.He intuitively felt that China was backward in economy and system,and hated the corruption and low efficiency of feudal officialdom;He looked forward to China’s reform and reform.Even though the new deal in the late Qing Dynasty was not satisfactory in many aspects,he was also full of expectations for some clues about constitutionalism revealed in it.He was pleased with and fully affirmed the effect of the new deal in educational innovation;He appreciated the Chinese people’s hard work and good manners,and recognized that it was the result of civilization;He acknowledged the long history and profundity of Chinese culture,and observed and analyzed the attitude of this self-contained civilization towards foreign cultures.Morrison’s view of China has a common and universal cognition of Westerners to observe China,but also has his own and unique cognition of China in different historical periods.His view of China is dynamic,not immutable.With his approach to and in-depth understanding of China,many of his views on China are constantly adjusted,and different from most Westerners who blindly criticized China at that time,Morrison saw the changes and progress of China,and more deeply realized the broad and profound and tenacious vitality of Chinese culture than other Westerners,It not only points out that the real China is not completely consistent with the general description of the west,and its China view is more objective,but also has stronger confidence in China and more hope for China’s future.Of course,his remarks did not jump out of the limitation of the colonial position,and his starting point was to serve the colonial interests of the West.But this does not prevent us from learning from his point of view,self-examination,self-awareness and self reflection.