Transcultural Mediterranean in the History of Chinese Travelogues: Oumei manyou riji as a Case Study

Chen Yifu 陳一甫 (1869–1948) and his son Chen Dayou 陳達有 (exact dates unknown) are the authors of a rare travelogue, Oumei manyou riji 歐美漫遊日記 [Diary of a journey in Europe and the United States]. The text is a fundamental milestone in the late Qing and Republican era odeporic production. As much as the father and son were well-known in the scholarly milieu of the epoch, they were in the first place entrepreneurs, not literati or diplomats, unlike most of the authors of previous travelogues of this historical phase. The focus of this article is the representation of the Mediterranean portion of the Chens’ travels, particularly the description of relics both as cultural finds and as comparison examples. By highlighting fresh elements and representations that the authors’ backgrounds involved, the article aims to assess if and to what extent the Mediterranean was perceived in Oumei manyou riji as a “transcultural space,” as defined by David Tomas, and what new research perspectives this provides for the study of late Qing and Republican era odeporic production.