The Observation of the Current Situation,Spiritual Healing and Crisis Rescue of the Scholars in the late Qing Dynasty——Centered on the Dissemination and Reading of Chih-hsin Mien Ping Fa
After the Sino-Japanese War,the book Chih-hsin Mien Ping Fa(Ideal Suggestion through Mental Photography),translated by the British missionary John Fryer,triggered the imagination and perception of the"national body"among the readers of the late Qing Dynasty.Through an intricate network of interactions among scholars,the dissemination and reading of this book brought about the flow of ideas and concepts,resulting in a certain degree of discourse on meaning,which had a profound impact on readers.Around the Hundred Days'Reform,the book corresponded with the late Qing intellectuals'appeal of"saving the nation"and became an ideological resource to appeal for change and pursue social progress.The intellectuals'interpretation of Chih-hsin Mien Ping Fa mostly uses the method of"farfetched analogy",and the text and concept experience"translation of translation",which is interesting.In general,this book has experienced a gradual approach of interpretation such as"knowledge book","enlightenment book"and"thought book".His theory of"treating heart and avoiding disease"provides a method for people to integrate Chinese and Western and solve external and internal difficulties.In the interpretation of scholars,they often associate one's illness with the national crisis.This discourse follows the traditional system of"curing disease and saving the country",and inspired the late Qing Dynasty's"Sick China"and other related discourses.The metaphor of"treating heart and avoiding disease"realizes the conquest of the external"body"in a way of inner transcendence,and saves the crisis by eliminating the diseases.
discourse of sick countryChih-hsin Mien Ping FaWestern booksreading historydiary