新发现的陈兰彬信函释读——留美幼童撤回事件之补证

Explanation of Newly Discovered letters of Chen Lanbin--Accident of the Retreat of Chinese Educational Mission Students

长期以来,人们对光绪七年(1881)发生的留美幼童撤回事件的认识及评论,多依据容闳回忆录及部分李鸿章函稿的说法。对于该事件中最重要的当事人之一的陈兰彬,却因材料太少而缺乏足够的说明。新发现的陈兰彬信函证明,在该事件中,学生沾染洋习、不习中学,并不是留学事业失败的主因。留美幼童的撤留,与其说是陈兰彬、吴嘉善与容闳的理念之争,不如说是使团内部的人事纷争。

For a long time, scholars took Rong Hong's Memoirs and Li Hongzhang's letters as fundamental materials to explain the Accident of the Retreat of Chinese Educational Mission Students in the United States of America. However, little explanation was made for Chen Lanbin, the Chinese Minister who played an important role in this accident.