eyes of British female writer Luo Anxin :

After the failure of the Chinese Boxer Rebellion, from the return ofEmpress Dowager Cixi in 1902 to the final establishment of the Republic ofChina in 1912, the Chinese society changed dramatically. Under the heavyoppression of Western powers and the violent impact of Western thoughts, thetraditional feudalism in China Society is inevitably gradually declining andreplaced by a republican system based on the western constitutional model. Thisis a dynamic period of reform. Various new trends and new fashions areconstantly emerging to combat the decaying and declining old customs andtraditional ideas. Performing drama on the big stage of Chinese society.

At the same time, due to the rapid development of Western industry andtechnology, the advent of large passenger ships has made intercontinentaltravel more comfortable, convenient and cheaper. For most middle-classmembers of Western society, the dream of traveling around the world hasgradually become a reality. During this particular historical period, thenumber of Westerners who came to China for tourism, inspections, andexplorations, as well as the number of travel notes they wrote, is alsoincreasing. For example, in 1902, 1907, and 1910, the American travelerGale came to China three times in a row, inspected the Yangtze River, the GreatWall, and the 18 provincial capitals of the Qing Dynasty, and wrote threerelated travel notes. British watercolor painters Li Tong and Li Deer alsocame to China in 1907 and spent more than a year traveling around and drawing alot of sketches. After returning to China, they not only held anexhibition of paintings, but also published a book entitled "China: ItsWonder and Mystery" (1910). Another British professional painter,Menpes, came to China at about the same time and painted various sketches, watercolorsand oil paintings in China. He returned home to work with another writerand also published a book called China (1909).

This article introduces another British, British female writer AS Roe, who cameto China in May 1907 and January 1912 and published two travel books, China inMy Eyes (1910) and China: Opportunity And change (1920).

Although Luo Anyi's two above-mentioned travel books have been selling wellsince its publication, many units such as Barnes, Noble, and Cornell Universitylibraries are still being reprinted and sold, it is difficult to find themysterious writer from the Internet and a dictionary of general biographiesLife and background. On Amazon's website, she was even confused withanother American male writer who was involved in the American Civil War (AlfredCeller Rowe). This is obviously wrong, because in the narrative texts ofthe two travels, we can understand that the narrator using the first person isa middle-aged woman. The time she described was half a century away from theAmerican Civil War. When she first came to Shanghai from Britain, the authorhad a fantastic unreal feeling. When she saw British policemen wearingkhaki uniforms on the streets of Shanghai, she vaguely felt that she hadreturned to Britain.

At present, our understanding of the British female writer comes from her twotravel books. For example, she told readers at the beginning of"China in My Eyes" that she was able to go to China because hersister-in-law was a missionary in Shanghai, China, named Kai, a female missionaryin a mission church in mainland China. She is accompanied by Deborah, ayoung unmarried female partner. The first travel book was written as aletter. There are 19 letters in this book sent from differentplaces. The first letter was dated May 27, 1907, and the last letter wasdated February 1909. From this, we can infer that she visited China forthe first time, visited nearly 20 cities, and spent nearly two years inChina. Wherever she went, she followed Kay's instructions and went to thelocal missionary who was responsible for receiving her. The first stopbefore leaving Shanghai to return home was Hangzhou, where she stayed for abouta month. During this time, she followed Kai's suggestion and sailed alongthe Qiantang River for about a week to reach Lanxi. She met a mainlandmissionary, Miss E. J. Palmer, a medical missionary there, who enjoyed a highreputation among the local people because of her dedication to saving the deadand helping the wounded. This brief visit laid the foundation for Luo'ssecond book, because when she came to China for the second time, she stayed inLanxi for almost a year, and her second travel book, "China: Opportunityand Change" Almost half of the content is related to Lanxi.

As a female writer, Luo's writing style is exquisite, smooth, and sensual, andshe truly records what she has seen and heard around China, as well as her ownrelevant feelings and comments. When she first came to China, she wascurious about everything she saw. In her opinion, the cultural differencesbetween Britain and China are sometimes incredible. For example, when shewas shopping in Shiba, she noticed that bird cages were hanging from the doorof each store and thought that the owner wanted to be lucky. Aftershopping, six of them went to a local restaurant for a meal and tasteddelicious dishes such as large bowls of noodles, bamboo shoots, sweet and sourpork ribs, and mushrooms. After they're full of wine and meals, theycalculate carefully at checkout. For everyone, the total cost is less thana penny! During the journey, Luo Anyi began to study Chinesehard. Her Chinese name was given to her by the then Chineseteacher. She used to be a guest of a big family and she wanted to practicethe Chinese she just learned with the ladies of that family. As a result,she spent half a day working hard, but found that others didn't understand aword. Her missionary host showed her church schools and hospitals inDengzhou, Wuchang, Chengdu, and Hangzhou, making her realize that China is onthe eve of a major change. In Beijing, she attended a Chinese wedding andwitnessed traditional weddings, such as birthdays, counting brides and groomsbefore getting married, and then sitting in a sedan chair. On the platformof Hankou Railway Station, she felt the honor of the honor guard to welcome thenew brigade commander from Beijing to Hankou. In Yichang, because of thecold weather, she imitated the locals and roasted her feet in a charcoalpot. As a result, she accidentally baked the soles. On the YangtzeRiver ship, she met two Chinese engineers who came to Sichuan from Hankou tobuy railroad tracks and learned that Sichuan Province was preparing to build arailway. On the train from Tianjin to Shijiazhuang, she saw that theconcubine of Governor Zhishi Yuan, the governor of Zhili, had packed thefirst-class carriage alone. Feeling wronged, she tried to argue with theconductor and wanted to get first class. However, all efforts failed, andas a result, they could only sit in the second-class compartment. InPingyao, she heard about the death of Emperor Guangxu. She also heard thatYuan Shikai had also died. She felt the pressure of the dark clouds todestroy the war. The description of these details makes the reader moretruly feel all aspects of Chinese society in the late Qing Dynasty.

However, due to space limitations, we can only focus on the details of whatBritish women writers saw and heard in Hangzhou and Lanxi, Zhejiang, and thevarious scenes reflected in the trends and changes in Zhejiang society beforeand after the 1911 Revolution.

Luo first arrived in Hangzhou in January 1909, when theShanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway was not yet completed, so they had to take aboat from Shanghai along the canal. Luo Anyi described the situation witha ship: the so-called Hangzhou fleet from Shanghai to Hangzhou consisted ofseveral passenger ships connected end to end, all towed away by a small tugboatin the front. Those passenger ships have bird cages. You have to passthrough a three-foot gate and follow a steep ladder down to the darkhut. Most passenger ships have berths on both sides of the cabin and atable on the other side. The top of the cabin is where the third-classpassengers live. They were all wearing cotton coats, sitting on the floorin a ball, like a group of hens rolling up their feathers and resting on aperch. They stared at us like a row of hens staring suspiciously at theinvaders. During the journey, passengers will stay in the cabin for 24hours. Fortunately, eight of them slept at night and slept soundly on theboat, not as bad as she imagined. In addition, the scenery on both sidesof the canal is pleasant, not as desolate as the upper reaches of the YangtzeRiver. The English writer was impressed by the mulberry trees andfarmhouses surrounded by bamboo forests and other unique landscapes on theHangjiahu Plain. After entering the surrounding area of