中国国家博物馆藏薛福辰相关笔札考释

Research on Letters Related to Xue Fuchen Stowed at the National Museum of China

薛福辰是清末外交官薛福成长兄,不仅善于办理洋务,同时也兼通医术。中国国家博物馆藏有署名薛福辰的手书信札9通,另有3通信札涉及薛福辰的生平。这些信札反映了他早年在李鸿章、丁宝桢幕府中的活动,以及他与李鸿章幕僚的交往。薛福辰不仅为李鸿章撰写奏疏,还充当了李氏兄弟家庭医生的角色。因为出色的医术,光绪六年,经李鸿章等人保送,他入宫为慈禧太后诊病,这也成为他最常为后世提及的事迹。本文对国博馆藏薛福辰信札的释读和考证有助于补充对其生平的研究,同时增进对晚清官僚士大夫行医现象的认识。

Xue Fuchen,the older brother of Xue Fucheng who served as diplomat in the late Qing Dynasty,was a diplomatic expert and skilled doctor.The National Museum of China stows 9 handwritten letters signed by Xue Fuchen,and another 3 letters with details of his life career.These letters reflect his early activities in Li Hongzhang and Ding Baozhen’s private secretariats,as well as his contacts with Li Hongzhang’s staff.Xue Fuchen not only wrote memos for Li Hongzhang,but also acted as the family doctor of the Li brothers.Because of his excellent medical skills,he was recommended to treat the Empress Dowager Cixi in 1880,which became the most frequently mentioned anecdote for later generations.The article’s interpretation and textual research on these letters help supplement the study on his life,and enhance the understanding of the phenomenon of bureaucrat practicing medicine in the late Qing Dynasty.