ネルチンスク條約で定めた淸とロシアの國境について

Abstract

When the national boundaries were drawn at Nerchinsk, neither the Chinese nor the Russian side had sufficient geographical knowledge. Therefore, along the eastern border and elsewhere, there remained regions where the national boundaries were not delineated. However, according to written documents, both sides contributed maps for the negotiations. One could postulate that because they had surveyed the zone without dispute, both sides must have had accurate maps. The Russian Petelin map and the Chinese "Nine Rivers of Jilin" map 吉林九河圖 were probably most intimately connected with those used at the negotiations. Both maps, for exemple, dispose the theory that Kerbichi River, which formed a section of the western border between two countries, really was the present-day Amazar River, and prove that it was the present-day Gorbitsa River. Similar clarifications can be made regarding the eastern section of the border. For example, the Weiyikealin 威伊克阿林, surveyed by the Qing in 1690, had nonetheless remained largely uncharted. According to the "Nine Rivers of Jilin" map, it seems to have been recognized that this area lay in the high mountains near the eastern edge of the mountain range designated as the national border. Furthermore, it is possible to read from these two maps the moutain ranges designated as national borders, as well as the extent of the undelineated areas in the vicinity of the Vdi River. Thus, insufficient geographical knowledge does not completely explain why there remained areas undelineated by national boundaries. As written documents indicate, the fact that the Russian representatives had not received instructions regarding the borders in this region, must also be understood as an important factor.