From the late Ming to the end of the Qing, the knocking of the West upon China's door led many Chinese to go overseas to study. But what each saw while there depended upon his own education and character. Some saw things so strange, they made their eyes pop out of their heads.
從晚明到清末，受到西方人來叩關的影響，中國人絡繹出洋，向國外「取經」，但是往往觀者的眼光學養、人格心態，也決定了所見之處。