From the Chinese land to Poland : tales of China, pirates and sinologists in Aleksy Prusinowski's "Wiarus" magazine

In 1850, "Wiarus", a limited-edition newspaper for Polish peasants, written by Rev. Aleksy Prusinowski, published a two-part story about the adventures of Michał Kleczkowski, who was one the first professional Sinologists of Polish origins, working at the time at the French consulate in Shanghai. The story was based on an actual encounter with Chinese pirates in December 1849, described in Hongkong newspaper "The China Mail" in January 1850; the account went on to become the source for articles in the Singaporean, British, French and Dutch press in February and March 1850. Prusinowski based his text on the French article, thereby creating a third version of the same tale; he described Kleczkowski's fight, framing it in an 'orientalizing', stereotypical narrative about the Chinese who dressed like clowns, bound women's feet, and whose speech was similar to the yelping of puppies. Kleczkowski's adventures in China were appropriated to suit the main goal of the publication: imbuing a rural public with Polish national feelings. Such appropriation, simplification and stereotyping was one of the main reasons why Polish society's level of knowledge about China in the 19th century was so low.