《清代在华的英国博物学家:科学、帝国与文化遭遇》内容简介：清朝建立之初，曾和世界各国保持一定程度上的接触。后来中国的大门一度被关闭而后又被强行打开，这期间，外国的传教士、商人、外交官、军队、探险家、科学考察队蜂拥而来，东方古国的一切都使他们感到惊奇。基于种种不同的目的，他们记录下在华的所见所闻。这些记录数量浩瀚，积存在世界各国的图书馆、档案馆、博物馆或私人手中，成为了解清代近三个世纪历史的珍贵资料。由于西方人士观察、思考和写作习惯与中国人不同，他们的记载比较具体、广泛，比较注重社会的各个阶层各个方面，因而补充了中国史料记载的不足。“编译丛刊”将从中选取若干重要资料译介给国内的读者；对早年问世的具有开拓性、奠基性价值，但不为中国学术界所熟知的作品，我们也将同样给予关注；此外，对反映当代国外清史研究新的学术思潮、前沿问题、热点问题和重要成果的学术专著，“编译丛刊”也将及时地介绍给中国学术界。

清朝建立之初，曾和世界各国保持一定程度上的接触。后来中国的大门一度被关闭而后又被强行打开，这期间，外国的传教士、商人、外交官、军队、探险家、科学考察队蜂拥而来，东方古国的一切都使他们感到惊奇。基于种种不同的目的，他们记录下在华的所见所闻。这些记录数量浩瀚，积存在世界各国的图书馆、档案馆、博物馆或私人手中，成为了解清代近三个世纪历史的珍贵资料。由于西方人士观察、思考和写作习惯与中国人不同，他们的记载比较具体、广泛，比较注重社会的各个阶层各个方面，因而补充了中国史料记载的不足。

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Western scientific interest in China focused primarily on natural history. Prominent scholars in Europe as well as Westerners in China, including missionaries, merchants, consular officers, and visiting plant hunters, eagerly investigated the flora and fauna of China. Yet despite the importance and extent of this scientific activity, it has been entirely neglected by historians of science. This book is the first comprehensive study on this topic. In a series of vivid chapters, Fa-ti Fan examines the research of British naturalists in China in relation to the history of natural history, of empire, and of Sino-Western relations. The author gives a panoramic view of how the British naturalists and the Chinese explored, studied, and represented China’s natural world in the social and cultural environment of Qing China. Using the example of British naturalists in China, the author argues for reinterpreting the history of natural history, by including neglected historical actors, intellectual traditions, and cultural practices. His approach moves beyond viewing the history of science and empire within European history and considers the exchange of ideas, aesthetic tastes, material culture, and plants and animals in local and global contexts. This compelling book provides an innovative framework for understanding the formation of scientific practice and knowledge in cultural encounters.