19世纪中叶欧美列强对日本的冲击与德川幕府的应对

The Impact of European and American Powers upon Japan and the Response of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the Middle of 19th Century

在19世纪50年代,欧美列强以坚船利炮相威胁,力图迫使德川幕府打开锁国之门。面对日益严重的"西力东侵",德川幕府并非毫无作为,而是汲取清朝战败缔约的教训,对长期实行的消极的锁国政策进行了调整,采取了对外开港通商的积极应对方针,实施了组建近代陆海军、设置洋学研究机构并培养洋学人才、破格启用人才等顺应时代发展的幕政改革。比之中国清朝政府,德川幕府为何能够如此快速做出反应?关键原因在于当政者的文化背景和国际意识,尤其是兰学的长足发展开阔了日本朝野的视野,使得幕府能够正视日本与欧美国家的实力差距。幕府当局在开明幕臣的主持下,力所能及地趋利避害,以图存救亡,对近代日本历史进程产生了重大影响。

In the 1850s, European and American powers to the threat of force, forced the Tokugawa shogu- nate to sign the unequal Treaty, open the country door. Facing increasing ＂foreign pressure＂, the Tokuga- wa shogunate was not idle. It learnt from the lesson that Qing dynasty was defeated and concluded a trea- ty, it also responsed to the policy with changing the negative closed-door policy gradually to the positive open-door policy, and carried out the reforms that comply with the development of times, including form- ing a modern army and navy, setting the foreign research institutions and training foreign culture talents. Comparing with Qing Government, why the Shogunate response so quickly？ The key is the cultural back ground and international consciousness of the authorities, who used Lan Sue to broaden the Japanese hori- zon, which made them face positively the gap between Japan and western countries. The shogunate au- thorities avoided the disadvantages by survival and salvation, made an outstanding active response under the auspices of the enlightened ministers and it also made a significant impact on the development of mod ern Japanese history.