The Sarthois, their press and Asia (from India to the Far-East) between 1844 and the eve of the First World War

What did people from la Sarthe think of all the countries located between India and the extreme east of the Asian continent between 1860 and 1914? Is Asian culture really part of their lives? We can find the answers to these two questions by studying local newspapers. The country written about the most is China followed by Indonesia; with Japan and India far behind them. The image given of these countries is rather contradictory: on the one hand they were portrayed as the land of plenty with an abundance of wealth of all kinds, but on the other hand they were described as lands of death and catastrophe. They were also ruthless societies where torture and ritual suicides were said to be commonplace and where Hindu and Chinese women were physically and morally abused Chinese people are viewed with both despise and admiration. Japan was entering the Meiji era and was highly praised, mostly for her military victories over China and then Russia. Even if Asian objects were rarely to be seen in the home of Sarthe inhabitants, the Catholics from La Sarthe supported them vigorously.