Image of Peter the Great and ideology of the reform movement in China at the end of the XIX century

The history of the occurrence of Peter the Great’s image in China, the process of its sociocultural representation and adaptation, as well as the use of the image of the Russian Emperor and his transformations for the ideological substantiation of the reforms in the Qing Empire at the end of the XIX century are the aims of this study. The relevance of the article arises from the need to study the formation and development of Sino-Russian mutual images at different stages of history and in different regions, since these images and stereotypes inevitably affect the Russia-China bilateral relations. The image of Peter the Great and his reforms attracted Chinese thinkers of the XIX century greatly. The first evaluative discourse on Peter I occurred in China in the mid-nineteenth century. This was fragmentary information, mainly gleaned from randomly chosen Western sources. However, brief assessments of his activities were very positive. At that time, Peter I was seen by the Chinese thinkers as an exotic figure. At the same time, the personality of the Russian Emperor and the scale of his activities appealed to them a lot. The power of Russia achieved by the XIX century, in their opinion, was predetermined by the reforms of Peter I. It was especially noted that Peter the Great actively urged his compatriots to take lessons from foreign experience. The greatest attention to the personality of Peter the Great and his reforms was paid by an outstanding Chinese reformer Kang Youwei. For him, Peter was a symbol of extremely successful transformations to follow and learn from. At the same time, in his opinion, Peter I acted in accordance with the will of Heaven, without violating Universal Harmony. That was seen as the key to his success. Thus, in the nineteenth century China Peter the Great became a symbol of the successful implementation of reforms and the adoption of foreign experience. The image of the Emperor-Reformer, the wise ruler of a vast country remained with him for a long time.