近代对华鸦片贸易的再审视:以西方文献为视角

Re-survey of Opium Trade in Modern China:From the Perspective of Western Documents

19世纪之后,西方国家通过对华贸易等方式不断向中国输入鸦片,对近代经济与社会产生了深远影响。Adam Matthew系列数据库为理解对华鸦片贸易问题提供了新的文献证据和新的视角。从思想史的角度看,鸦片战争前后英国的国内舆论对是否应当对华输入鸦片颇有争议,相当部分人士认为鸦片贸易会阻碍其他合法产业的正常贸易,并会导致贸易逆差和中国白银的外流,从而带来一系列负面的国际影响。与此同时,在华传教士主要通过对鸦片贸易事实的叙述和道德谴责来反对鸦片贸易,并通过一系列实际行动参与禁止鸦片的运动。总体而言,西方社会在近代对华鸦片贸易问题上的讨论和思考在很多方面能够为现有研究提供有益的补充。

After the 19 th century,western countries imported opium to China in disguise of trade,which exerted a profound influence on the economy and society of modern China.The serial database of Adam Matthew offers new documentary evidence and perspectives to understand the opium trade towards China.Based on the perspective of intellectual history,it had been extremely controversial in Britain whether they should export opium to China around the Opium War period.Quite a number of British people held the opinion that opium trade would hinder other normal trades of legitimate industries,even leading to a trade deficit and the outflow of Chinese silver,which thus brought a sequence of negative international effects.At the same time,missionaries in China opposed the opium trade mainly through narration and moral condemnation.They even took an active part in the opium prohibition campaigns.Overall,many discussions and thoughts from western world can enrich existing researches about the opium trade in modern China.