近代中朝宗藩关系的实像:朝鲜首批来华“军工留学生”研究

The Real Image of the Suzerain Vassal Relationship between China and Korea in Modern Times:Research on the First Batch of“Military Students”from Korea to China

1882年朝鲜“军工留学生”史料中称“学徒工匠”。因以学习近代军工技能为主,故笔者称其为“军工留学生”或“留学生”。来华学习,是近代中朝关系史上之首创,在朝鲜近代化进程和甲午战前中朝关系史上有着重要意义。此举是中朝两国为改变朝鲜落后军备、稳固宗藩关系,培养朝鲜近代军工技术人才实施的一次有效尝试。留学生“学徒工匠”的身份,体现了以学习近代兵器制造为主的“军工留学”特点。表面看,他们虽未学到精湛技能,但是在特定时空下,两国合力举办“军工留学”,其意义已经超出系统学习近代科技本身。此举通过“来学往教”两个阶段的实施,开启了朝鲜近代军工事业和外语教育事业的先河,从情感到物器层面加深了两国之间的了解与信任。探究首批朝鲜军工留学生来华学习的历史,可以了解19世纪80年代初期,在宗藩关系下,中朝两国相互合作,各尽其能,面对危机的历史篇章。

In 1882,a group of Korean officials were sent to China to study weapon manufacturing.This study abroad program was the first in the history of modern Sino Korean relations and it has made a great significance in the history of Korea’s modernization and Sino Korean relations before the Sino Japanese war.It was an effective attempt by China and Korea to change the backward armaments of Korea,stabilize the suzerain vassal relationship and cultivate Korea’s modern military industry and technical talents.The“Apprentice craftsman”identity showed that the goal of the“weapon manufacturing foreign students”was to study modern weapon manufacturing.On the surface,the students failed to learn any exquisite technology and hardly attained knowledge in other fields.However,during this specific period in history,the significance of the efforts made by China and Korea collectively hosting the“weapon manufacturing study abroad”program has gone beyond the systematic study of modern science and technology.Throughout the implementation of the two stages of“come to learn and go to teach”,this program not only pioneered the modern military industry and foreign language education in Korea,but also deepened the mutual understanding and trust between the two countries from the emotional to the material level.By exploring the history of the first“weapon manufacturing overseas students”group,we could see that in the early 1880s,China and Korea cooperated and did their best to survive the crisis together under the suzerain vassal relationship.