甲午战争前中国人对西方农业机械的认识与思考

鸦片战争后,中国人开始认识西方近代农业机械。在甲午战争前,较早见识这类近代科学技术产物的,主要是外交人员和因各种机缘出国的人。他们通过农业机械展览馆、农业机械制造厂和农田等渠道接触西方近代农业机械。所见的农机具包括耕耙机具、收割与脱粒机具、灌溉机具、食品加工机具等。认识呈现小范围、零碎性和同步性等特征。近代化农业机械的效率使这些中国人惊叹不已,但因中国人多地少的国情,也引发了他们对中国要否采用农业机械的思考。这些认识和思考,既体现晚清中西文化交汇中有识之士寻求民族振兴的心路历程,又是中国农业近代化的先导和必要的舆论、心理准备。

The Chinese Understanding Western Agricultural Machines Pre- Sino-Japan-War on the Yellow Sea

After the Opium War, the Chinese began to recognize modern western agricultural machines. The Chinese who set foot on the western countries, mainly diplomats, came across such products of science and technology early. They got in touch with such machines mainly in the following three ways, in the exhibition, in the factory and on the farm. The agricultural machines they saw were for plowing, for harvesting, for irrigating, for hulling and for food processing. The modern agricultural machines were so powerfu...