《京报》的流传与19世纪中英关系构建:以“觐见问题”为例

The Spread of The Peking Gazette and the Construction of Sino-British Relations in the 19th Century:A Study on "Audience Question"

马克斯·韦伯曾指出:《京报》(即明、清《邸报》)"数十年来一直受到英国人的注意"。19世纪,《京报》不仅被西方来华人士所重视,其影响范围还扩展至欧美本土。在华英文报纸对《京报》翻译和利用活动,特别是《字林西报》开设的"《京报》摘要"专栏影响了19世纪中英关系的构建,1873年五国公使团觐见同治帝即为其中的典型事例:此事被当时的英文报刊称作"觐见问题"(Audience Question)。事件交涉的核心——"跪拜之礼"问题的解决未能打破英国人对中国人的成见,在华英侨在觐见之初所持的乐观心态反而最终归于失望和不满,其态度的转变与之对《京报》的先期定位及对相关译稿的后期解读紧密相关。

Max Weber once mentioned that The Peking Gazette ＂has been noticed by British people for decades＂. In the 19th century, the Peking Gazette was not only taken seriously by the westerners in China, but also inttucenced Europe and America in some degree. English newspapers in China helped construct Sino-British relations through translating and making use of The Peking Gazette. This paper takes a ease study on English newspapers＇ coverage of the Audience Question during five foreign ministers＇ audience with Emperor Tongzhi in 1873. It finds that although the key problem concerning Kotow was settled, British people didn＇t change their attitudes towards China. The British community in Shanghai was optimistic about the audience in the beginning, yet it was disappointed at last. That change is closely related with the Peking Gazette＇s coverage of the audience.