“读图”取代“读文字”已成为我们这个时代越来越显著的文化特征之一。对图像文化功能的历史性考察,将有助于深入把握视觉文化的现代意义。本文拟对图像发展的三个阶段进行具体分析,从而揭示出:不同的文化时期,图像承载着不同的文化功能。从原始图像最初的模仿功能到现代图像的乌托邦功能,图像“见”证了人类把握世界方式的变化,也透“视”出人与世界关系的分分合合。 “Reading” instead of “Reading” has become one of the more prominent cultural features of our time. The historical investigation of the function of image culture will help to grasp the modern significance of visual culture. This paper intends to analyze the three stages of image development in detail, revealing that in different cultural periods, images bear different cultural functions. From the initial imitation of the original image to the utopian function of the modern image, the image “See ” shows that human beings grasp the changes in the way of the world, and that “the visual” separates people from the rest of the world.