论清政府的信守条约方针及其变化

On Changes in the Qing Government’s Policy of Adhering to Treaties

信守条约是清政府为适应中外间新的条约关系所采取的外交方针 ,在不同时期有不同的内涵和特点。两次鸦片战争之间 ,为维持天朝体制和闭关状态 ,清政府主要是要求对方守约 ,并有着暗地摆脱条约约束的明显意图 ;第二次鸦片战争爆发后发生变化 ,产生了要求自己守约的趋向 ,到同治初年以潮州入城事件为转机 ,逐渐确立了重视履行条约义务的主体意识。马嘉理案发生后 ,清政府更加注重履行条约义务 ,开始采取措施 ,加强地方官的守约意识。除了向各省和基层衙门颁发条约之外 ,并从制度上加强地方官的守约意识。清政府的守约方针及其失误 ,给后人留下深刻的教训和启示。

Conscientious adherence to treaties was a diplomatic policy adopted by the Qing government to deal with the new treaty relations between China and foreign countries. The policy had different meanings and manifest itself in different ways in different periods. Between the two Opium Wars, in order to bolster the Imperial system and maintain its closed society, the Qing government mainly demanded that other parties to stick to the treaties, while clearly intending to secretly cast off the yoke of treaty restrictions itself. After the Second Opium War, this policy changed, and the Qing government began to demand that its own side adhere to the treaties. In the early years of the Tongzhi period, with the Chaozhou Incident as a turning point, the government gradually became conscious of the importance of performing its treaty duties. After the Margary case, the Qing government paid more attention to performing treaty duties, and began to take measures to raise local officials’ awareness of treaty compliance. Besides promulgating the treaties to all provincial and local offices, the government began to take systemic measures to enhance local officials’ consciousness about treaty compliance. The Qing government’s policy of adhering to treaties, and the wrongness of it, have left a profound lesson for later generations.