Abstract: In the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, Chinese scholars understanding of Mount Fuji constructed multiple images and meanings of Mount Fuji as a representative of Japan, a symbol of nation and national spirit, a sacred mountain, a superb view, and a summer resort. It also endowed it with multiple faces, including “the mountain in a foreign country”, “a place in East Asia” as well as “the mountain of civilization”, thereby overall manifesting a shift from “objective narration and praise” to “the coexistence of praise and criticism”. This understanding was a formative process of knowledge and emotional connection between the subject and the object based on experience in a certain time and space. It was not only based on the experience and knowledge of the Chinese literati about Mount Fuji, but was also influenced by various factors such as views of modern civilization and changes in SinoJapanese relations. At the same time, it also exerted an impact on the selfknowledge of the Chinese people and the Japanese knowledge of Mount Fuji.

Key words: late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, Chinese intellectuals, Mount Fuji, crossborder, view of civilization