淸末領事派遣論 : 一八六〇、一八七〇年代を中心に

Abstract

The dispatch of consuls by the Qing government, which had practiced a policy of qimin 棄民 (abandoning the interests of its nationals overseas), has been stressed as one link in the total Qing response to modern international society. However, previous studies have worked from the premise of "a modern consular system", designed to protect its own citizens within the framework of international law, and have ignored the character of the consular system that the character and authority of consuls had varied with the individual circumstances of the related nations. In reality, Western consuls in China were regarded by the Qing not only as protectors of their nationals engaged in commerce but also as managers or controllers of them, and it was understood that the rights of juridical authority and of mooring warships were associated with their character as managers or controllers. In the Qing, the firstconcrete proposal to dispatch consuls arose in the negotiations for the conclusion of the treaty of Sino-Japanese Friendship. The priority given the policy regarding Chinese nationals in Japan over nationals in other regions was due to Li Hongzhang 李鴻章, who charged with the treaty negotiations stressed relations with Japan. Thereafter, this movement was further spurred by the shock of the Japan's dispatch of troops to Taiwan. At around the same period, the decision was made to send consuls to the Americas in response to the problem of the abuse of coolie laborers 華工. The Qing dynasty was pressed by the need to protect Chinese laborers in response to the heinous "Coolie trade" in Cuba and Peru. Nonetheless, in dispatching consuls to protect overseas nationals, there was the attendant problem of their authority as controllers. Amidst the pressing need to strengthen naval defenses in response to the crises of the surrounding dependencies, and with regard to Southeast Asia where Chinese society had become particularly developed, the proactive policy of dispatching consuls conducted with one eye to the expansive administrative rights and the right to moor warships held by foreign consuls in China, partook of the character of an aggressive policy toward Southeast Asia furthering Qing influence in the region. However, Western nations had already made progress in establishing their spheres of control in Southeast Asia. Due to this fact, the Zongli Yamen 總理衙門, on the other hand, promoted the dispatch of consuls to Japan and the Americas rather than aggressively promote the dispatch of consuls to Southeast Asia. This conformed to Li Hongzhang's policy of emphasizing relations with Japan. When arguing about the dispatch of consuls, the notions of "protection" and "control" were inseparable for the Qing dynasty. This tendency is the reverse-side of the policy of "qimin", no protection without control, and grew out of the unique form of the Qing rule. Furthermore, different points of view regarding policy created different images of the consular system in accordance with each party's priorities. One illustration of this fact is that, in contrast to the proposal to dispatch consuls to Southeast Asia advocated with a consciousness of the authority held by the Western consuls in China, Li Hongzhang with his emphasis on Japan policy demonstrated a negative attitude that was rooted in his realization that the juridical authority of consuls was not universal among the Western nations.