18世纪以前,中国在西方人的想象之中,是一个像仙境般的天堂。在东西方文化的交流史上,16、17世纪是一个带有童话色彩的“轻信”时代。欧洲人对中国的认知,停留在雾里看花的阶段。大家都天真地相信那些由传教士、旅行家和商人所撰写的中国游记。其实,商人只在乎赚钱,把中国描绘为天国乐园,有利于货物卖出更高的价钱;传教士也带有先入为主的观念,不是对真实的中国感兴 Before the 18th century, China was a paradise like a fairyland in the imagination of the Westerners. In the history of East-West cultural exchanges, the 16th and 17th centuries are an era of “credulity” with fairy tales. Europeans to China’s cognition, stay in the fog watching flowers stage. Everyone naively believes in Chinese travel notes written by missionaries, travelers and merchants. Actually, businessmen only care about making money and portraying China as a paradise for heaven, which is conducive to the higher prices of goods sold. The missionaries also took the preconceived notion of being true to the real China