从洋务到时务:晚清的变局与情势

From Yangwu to Shiwu:On the Transformation and Social Evolution of the Late Qing

洋务为近代中国大变局的特定产物,“海禁未开,无所谓洋务”。葛士浚所辑《皇朝经世文续编》于“六政之外,别立洋务一类”,举凡朝廷六政之外的所有事项均在其中,包纳了外事与“自强新政”,如机器制造、铁路、工矿、银行、邮政、商务乃至人才培养等诸多实政。但1902年刊行的《皇朝道咸同光奏议》却把“洋务”范畴限定在交涉、教案和出洋三项,诸多实政出现脱洋务而入时务的变动。“经世文编”系列体现的这一变化,实际呈现的是晚清“化西为中”的制度性变迁。晚清大变局的形成及其运行趋向,早就蕴积在社会情势的演进之中;而社会情势与洋务内容的蜕变互为表征,也如影相随地构成晚清大变局历史的丰富内容。

Yangwu,which literally translates to“all the issues related to Westerners,”emerged as a product of the great transformation in modern China.During the late Qing dynasty,it was commonly stated that without relinquishing the maritime ban policy,there would be no Yangwu.Ge Shijun,in his Notes on Governance,proposed that Yangwu should be a distinct category in governance encompassing foreign affairs and all self-strengthening endeavors such as equipment manufacturing,railway construction,factories,mining,banking,postal services,business matters,talent development,and other related issues.However,the“Suggestions to the Royal Court”in 1902 restricted the scope of Yangwu to foreign negotiations,missionary activities,and the dispatch of Chinese students abroad.Many issues previously under the purview of Yangwu were now classified as Shiwu,or“current affairs.”This shift reflected the late Qing institutional trend of“sinicizing Western concepts.”The transformation during the late Qing era and its underlying dynamics were deeply intertwined with Chinese societal evolution.The evolving Chinese society and the changing scope of Yangwu became essential components of the broader transformation during the late Qing period.