Reflections of the West and Modernity in Mirza Saleh Shirazi's Travelogue (Historical Analysis and Critique of Cultural Reform in the Iran and West Confrontation)

1.n contemporary history, the initial efforts of the modernization movement in the cultural reformist discourse on the success of the West and its pattern can be influenced by two issues, on the one hand, the intellectual wave in Europe, an important feature of which was science and experimentation, and on the other hand is the defeat of Iranians in the first encounter with the new West (the wars of Iran and Russia), which can be regarded as the milestone in the first receptions of the pioneers of the cultural reformist discourse of Western culture and modernity, which the reflection of this approach in Iranian travelogues early in the Qajar period makes sense in the West's political presence and colonialism.
Meanwhile, the role of Iranian intellectuals who have commonly understood the West closely should not simply be ignored. For example, thoughts related to liberty, democracy, constitution and parliamentary, and even astonishment in the face of European development were first brought to Iran through travelogues such as Mirza Saleh Shirazis.
The topic of travel journalism, in general, and the above-mentioned work in particular, are considered as the milestone in the manner and attitudes of the first generation intellectuals, therefore, the focus and research on the views and ideas of this travel writer is important for the tremendous advances made by the Westerners and the scientific achievements of Europe. Thus, in addition to mentioning the advantages of this travelogue compared to others in his time, we also deal with the dark points he suffered those days, which we still encounter with currently.