从洋行贸易看铁路技术的传播--以英国怡和洋行在近代天津的铁路建设为例

The Diffusion of Railway Technology from the Trade of Foreign Companies:The Case of British Jardine Matheson’s Railway Construction in Modern Tianjin

技术传播过程以技术者为媒介,而技术者的流动受政治与贸易影响。文章关注近代受贸易影响而进入中国的外国机构与技术者,以英国怡和洋行为例,它将铁路建设工程确定为开发中国市场的关键,最早派遣铁路工程师将欧洲最先进的铁路技术引入中国,并在天津建设了展示铁路与津沽铁路及其附属建筑。怡和洋行在津的铁路建设一方面巩固了天津作为华北交通枢纽的地位,形成市区-塘沽双中心城市格局的雏形,另一方面通过资本的投入与技术的传播共同推动了基础设施近代化进程。考察这一过程,可以佐证近代技术跨境传播的源流与中西文明互鉴的历史过程,进一步阐释现存铁路遗产多元的历史与科技价值。

The technology diffusion process is mediated by technologists,and the movement of technologists is influenced by politics and trade.This research centers on foreign organizations and technologists who came to China under the influence of trade in modern times.The British Jardine Matheson Company regarded railways as critical for developing the Chinese market.It was the first to send railway engineers to introduce Europe’s most advanced railway technology into China,constructing the Decauville Exhibition Railway and the Jingu Railway as well as their ancillary buildings in Tianjin.On the one hand,Jardine Matheson’s railway construction in Tianjin strengthened Tianjin’s position as the transportation hub of northern China,forming the prototype of the dual center of the Old Town and Tanggu.On the other hand,it promoted the process of infrastructure modernization through capital investment and technology diffusion.Researching this process can shed light on the origin of the cross-border diffusion of modern technology and the historical process of mutual influence between Chinese and Western civilizations,and further explain the multiple historical and technological values of the existing railway heritage.