“国体”与“夷夏”：鸦片战争前中英观念冲突的历史考察

“National Dignity” and the “Celestial-Barbarian Idea”: A Survey on the Sino-British Ideological Conflicts before the Opium War

19世纪前期,中英关系演变中的一个重要现象,是两国之间围绕清朝秉持的"夷夏"观念而发生长期争端。由此产生的种种纠葛可以理解为"文化冲突",但这些争端实际上与经济、政治利益密切相关。1814年中英双方因阿耀案原因的表述问题产生的交涉导致了有利于英国东印度公司的贸易新章的出现。1816年阿美士德使团与清廷之间的礼仪之争,服从于英人对礼仪问题与其在华贸易利益关系之理解。1830年前后,英国人将清廷制订的制度看作他们"屈辱"的来源,展开长时间的抗议。由于其时清朝不会因其抗议而改变其制度,这样就在英人中将中英关系问题逻辑地导向武力解决的舆论或建议。这一脉络可为我们理解鸦片战争前中英关系的巨变提供一个新的视角。

Disputes about the "celestial-barbarian" idea of the Qing Dynasty are very remarkable in the Sino-British relations in the first half of the 19th Century. Such disputes could be explained as "cultural conflicts", however, they usually happened because of economic and political interests. In 1814, the dispute about the statements of the reason of linguist Ayew's case resulted in a new regulation of trade which was beneficial to the EIC. In 1816, the Amherst Mission form Britain made the final decision on the rite controversy with the Qing government according to their understanding about the interests of EIC. Around 1830, the British strongly protested against the Canton system, which was taking as the origin of so called humiliations by them. It is not possible for the Qing government to change its system that times, so the conflicts logically guided the public opinion of the British to military resolution of the problem of British-China relations. A study on this process could supply a new point of view on the Opium War.