ABSTRACT

This chapter traces the history of international communication and cultural convergence between China and the West since the late twelfth century up to the present, which covers massive transformation, with media of different types (such as merchants, immigrants and emigrants, missionaries, journalists and scholars) playing an increasingly important role. The authors of this chapter believe that in an increasingly mediated world, the role of the contemporary international news media (in place of the human medium, ancient papyrus, paper and movable type) in influencing people’s beliefs and actions across national borders has significantly increased. As a result, a better and deeper understanding of cultural contacts between China and the West in the past is urgently needed.