鸦片战争前在华西人与对华战争舆论的形成

The Formation of a General Sentiment among Westerners in China for Waging War against China before the Opium War

随着1830年前后中英之间冲突的演进,来华西人群体对广州贸易体制愈益不满,逐渐产生了对华武力强制的舆论。西人先后在广州发行了一批英文报刊,作为舆论阵地,在1830年代初期提出对华武力威慑,迫使清政府废除广州体制、实现对华自由贸易的主张。1834年律劳卑事件后,这种主张发展为对华战争的舆论。在西人内部,武力威慑论和对华战争论都曾引起争论,部分西人反对这种依恃武力改变对华关系的观点。1837年英人几种关于对华关系的小册子出版后,来华西人分别在其报刊上提出对华关系的武力强迫论、商业交往论和宗教改善论。但在1837—1838年的兴泰行商欠案发生后,西人普遍不满广东当局对此案的解决,对华战争渐成为其一致主张。

Following the rise of Sino-British conflicts around 1830,Westerners in China became more and more dissatisfied with the Canton trading system,and gradually formed a general sentiment in favor of using force against China.Westerners distributed a number of English language newspapers and magazines in Canton through which they advanced their views,and called in the early 1930s for military threats against China to force the Qing government to abolish the Canton system and realize free trade.After the William John Napier Incident in 1834,these views developed into a general sentiment in favor of waging a war against China.Both the idea of threatening China with military force and the idea of waging a war against China aroused disputes among Westerners in China,some of whom were opposed to the idea of relying on military force to change Sino-Western relations.After a number of pamphlets on Sino-Western relations written by English people were published in 1837,Westerners in China set forth differing China policies in their own newspapers and magazines,variously proposing applying pressure through military force,increasing commercial intercourse,or reforming China through religion.However,after the Hingtae Hong debt case in 1837 and 1838,almost all Westerners were dissatisfied with the Canton authority's settlement,and the idea of waging war against China gradually became their common opinion.