国际战争、商业秩序与“通夷”事件-通事阿耀案的透视

International Wars,Trading Order and the “Colluding with Barbarians” Case——A Study of the Case of Ayew

1814年10月,通事李耀(时人多称其为阿耀)被广东南海县逮捕、监禁,广东官府后以"冒滥名器""交结夷人诓编钱财"判其流放伊犁。实际上,此案的发生与第二次英美战争、欧洲国际局势导致在珠江口海域产生的争斗相关,清政府军事、外交力量的衰弱在试图利用此案驱逐英国战船"罢■仁号"的过程中明显表露出来。同时,阿耀案与当时广州口岸中西贸易中的商业权势竞争具有密切关联。在此案发生前后,广东官方致力于夺回英人通过对贸易秩序的干预所获得的商业权力,试图从此案入手解决问题。此外,阿耀案亦成为中英双方解决当年发生的贸易冲突事件之手段。这个案件反映了,早在鸦片战争前数十年,中英之间在各方面的冲突与调适已经展开,双方的互动对此后的历史进程具有深远影响。

In December 1814, a linguist named Ayew was arrested and imprisoned by the government of Nanhai County, Canton province. He was exiled to Yili by the provincial government of Canton, for ＂cheating for official ranks＂ and ＂colluding with foreign barbarians for money＂. In fact, the occurrence of this case had something to do with the second Anglo-American war and the struggle between western powers in the waters of Zhujiangkou. The military and diplomatic weakness of the Qing government was clearly exposed in its attempt to use the case to expel British warship Doris. Furthermore,the case of Ayew was closely linked with the power competition in Sino-British trade in Canton port. Before and after the occurrence of Ayew case, the provincial high officials of Canton were committed to using the case to take back Britain＇s commercial power gained through intervening in the order of Canton trade. Besides, the case of Ayew was used both by Chinese officials and the British Select Committee of E. I. C. in Canton to solve the conflict between them. The case displays that struggles and compromises between the Chinese and the British were conducted long before the Opium War. The interaction between these two parties influenced the events hereafter which lead to the war