从“公理”“公法”到伍廷芳的外交实践

From “Gongli”,“Gongfa” to Wu Tingfang’s Diplomatic Practice

本文以伍廷芳的外交实践为研究对象,以《美国对外关系文件集》和伍廷芳所作的'中国法学'演讲稿为主要研究材料,分析伍廷芳在清末民初的外交实践与当时的国际秩序之间的关联。伍廷芳对当时的国际秩序的理解根植于其对法律的认识,而在其外交实践中对当时的国际秩序体系——'公法'体系保持了极致的尊重,并在近代中国生死攸关的外交斡旋中,既保卫了国格和国家利益,又守护了其自身的法律信仰。这恰好说了近代以来中国知识精英群体对西方法律制度的探索,既关系到制度层面的重新构建,又涉及意识形态的转型。

For the Chinese intellectual elites since modern time,approaching and comprehending the western legal system involve both the ideological transformation and the reconstruction of the ruling system.This article attempts to analyze the relevance between Wu Tingfang’s diplomatic practice and the international order of the day,by choosing Wu Tingfang’s"China Jurisprudence"and "Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States,with the annual message of the president transmitted to Congress"as research materials,and Wu Tingfang as the object of study.Wu’s comprehensions on the international order of the time are rooted in his legal recognition,therefore he showedgreat respects to order during his diplomatic practice,and succeeded in protecting the nation’s dignity and its interests,as well as his own law belief,in modern China’s vital rounds of diplomatic mediation.