从清修《四裔考》看乾隆时期清廷的世界秩序观

On the Qing Government’s View of the World Order in Qianlong Reign from the SiYiKao Compiled in the Qing Dynasty

“四裔”是古代中国对周边族群或国家的笼统的称呼,在今天看来自然已不恰当,不过在历史的长河中,这一称呼体现出中原地区的族群看待周边族群时常有的以自我为地理中心和文明中心的态度。这种世界秩序观对史书纂修有重要影响。乾隆朝官修《清通考·四裔考》所记包括有朝贡义务的属国和西洋互市国两类,对属国的书写凸显出清方作为宗主国的优待,以图巩固臣属关系,同时将远西各国来华求互市也描述为“输诚称贡”。《四裔考》对这两类国家的书写共同体现出清廷对中原传统世界秩序观的坚持,这种态度延缓了清廷对当时日新月异的新世界及世界关系的真正了解。

“SiYi”(四裔)was a general name for the surrounding ethnic groups or countries in ancient China,which was naturally inappropriate today.However,in the long river of history,this name reflected the attitude of ethnic groups in the Central Plains towards the surrounding ethnic groups,which often took themselves as the center of geography and civilization.This view of world order had an important impact on the compilation of historical books.The SiYiKao(《四裔考》)compiled by the officials in Qianlong reign included two categories:the vassal countries with tribute obligations and the mutual trading countries in Western.The writing of dependent countries highlighted the reasonable and preferential treatment of the Qing Dynasty as a suzerain country in order to consolidate the relationship between ministers and subordinates.At the same time,it also described the visits of far western countries to China for trading as paying tribute.The writing of these two kinds of countries in the SiYiKao jointly reflected the Qing government’s adherence to the traditional world order view of the Central Plains.This attitude delayed the Qing government’s real understanding of the rapidly changing new world and world relations at that time.