19世纪晚期中国的西方技术掮客

BROKERS OF WESTERN TECHNOLOGY IN LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY CHINA

通过四个具体的例子，该文力图探讨这样两个问题：一是哪些人在１９世纪下半叶充当着中国引进西方技术的掮客（中间人）这一角色；二是他们的成功是由哪些因素促成的？文中所考察的几个例子表明，在当时，对技术问题的精通并非在这一行当获得成功的重要条件。对于掮客们来说，最不可缺少的个人条件是外交技巧和平衡多种不同利益的能力。这些例子还表明，在开始时并不存在纯粹的掮客，那些从事这项活动的人几乎不可避免地要同时扮演其它一些角色。

Throught four case studies, the paper attempts to answer the following two questions: Who were the people who played the crucial role of broders of Western technology in late 19th century China and which factors contributed to their success? The cases show that competence in technological matters was not an important condition for success in such a career at the time. For the brokers, the most indispensable personal qualities were rather diplomatic skills and the ability to balance several different interests. The cases also reveal that there were hardly any “pure type” brokers at the beginning. People who pursued that career inevitably assumed other roles at the same time.