| dc.description.abstract | Abstract
Prussia rose to a superpower in Europe after it defeated France and founded Germany in 1871. The rise of Germany attracted the attention of Chinese intellectuals who wanted to duplicate “the German experience” in resisting the invasion of foreign powers. The Globe Magazine, a newspaper operated by foreign missionaries in China, was aware of this situation and published a great deal of information related to Germany. In turn, this shaped the concepts of “Germany” among the late Qing literati. Even up to today, these concepts still remain influential.
The Globe Magazine covered Germany from three perspectives. First, since Chinese people knew very little of Germany, the newspaper began its introduction to Germany by a general description on its history, politics, and geography. Since Germany became a diplomatic center in Europe, Germany’s foreign relations also became a major subject in the newspaper. Moreover, both China and Germany adopted had a system of monarchy, German emperors, Wilhelm I and Wilhelm II, were also covered. The second perspective of The Globe Magazine was on the national leaders of Germany. The secret of wealth and power of a nation comes from its leaders. The Globe Magazine accentuated three key figures in Germany at the time: Chancellor Bismarck in politics, Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke in the military, and Alfred Krupp in commerce. The third perspective was related to the military reforms of the late Qing period. Having experienced a series of defeats in foreign wars, the late Qing government and its people were greatly interested in the military development of foreign powers. Thus, The Globe Magazine also contained significant reporting on German military matters. Coverage of the German military can be divided into three parts – army, navy, and military science and technology. German army was put in a prominent position because it played a key role about the rise of Germany. The Globe Magazine also gave due attention to military science and technology because they were closely related to military power of Germany. | en_US |