全球化语境中的启蒙现代性——18世纪欧洲的东方形象与乌托邦小说的发展

The utopian novel, which originated in the 16~(th) century, underwent an important transformation in the 18~(th) century. The transformation was closely related to the image of the Orient constructed in early modern Europe at this time: from the 16~(th) to the 18~(th) centuries,Eastern religious and philosophical ideas were initially introduced to Europe and, in the context of broadened Euro-American contact, Westerners had a mixed view of the Orient and constructed a composite image of the Orient. During the Enlightment, European writers often referred to the idea of proto-materialism in Eastern religions, the characteristics of Eastern political systems and other related cultural features when imagining an idealized virtual society,juxtaposing and bringing into dialogue Eastern and Western thought. They used utopian novels as a vehicle for exploring the conditions and possibilities for Western culture to achieve modern transformation in dialogue with global cultures. An important case in point is Voyages et avantures de Jaques Massé, published in French in the Hague in 1710, which distinctly embodies the development of utopian novels in the 18~(th) century and reveals the role of Eastern thought in the construction of Western modernity.