晚清之通商論與商貿經營之變革

A Discussion on Commerical Competition and Changes in Trade Management during the Late Qing Period

王爾敏(Erh-Min Wang)

銀行 ； 保險 ； 專刊 ； 輪船 ； 電報 ； 郵局 ； 賽會 ； 國債 ； 商律 ； 公司 ； bank ； insurance ； patent ； steamship ； telegraph ； post office ； exposition ； public debt ； commercial law ； company

輔仁歷史學報

30期（2013 / 03 / 01）

91 - 120

繁體中文

中國古代兵家太公，儒家荀子俱言求富，然以農立國，不無主政者專農而抑商，富不同於今代。本文略加陳敘，以示中國上古謀國，亦未嘗輕忽求富圖強之道。近代中國，自鴉片戰爭之後，國力大受西方列強衝擊，兩次鴉片戰爭簽訂1842年之條約，割地賠款之外，中國在無知之間竟與英國代表議訂中國出入口稅則，蓋不知此為國家自主權，不需與他國議訂，迫使中國陷於協定關稅之枷鎖，英法率二次鴉片戰爭時於1858年將協定關稅載入條約，當時不知嚴重，卻造成中國長期不能關稅自主，此使中國對外之通商長期受制，居於劣勢地位。帝國主義者開始欺蒙中國，繼而載入條約，中外商貿，永遠居於優勢，而朘削中國有百年之久。中國經過道光、咸豐兩朝（1842－1860）被不平等條約束縛，直到同治後期（1876年以後）方始漸次覺悟中外通商貿易，英法對等，長居劣勢。自李鴻章、丁日昌、沈葆楨、盛宣懷、鄭觀應，薛福成等人起，於通商世局，反覆思考問題關鍵，與檢討中外商戰勝敗之關鍵。惟至光緒十年（1884）中法戰爭之後，中外通商貿易贏絀差距顯著加大，乃使中國官紳普遍認識到中國受損之嚴重，乃有王韜主動要求南北洋口岸任事之口岸道員以至最上層之北洋大臣李鴻章，南洋大臣沈秉成、曾國荃，劉坤一，以及商人鄭觀應，洋人傅蘭雅（John Fryer）等命題，在上海格致書院（Shanghai Polytechnic Institution）自光緒十二年至二十年（1886－1894），公開召地方士紳商民就命題撰文討論，優等者給予獎金，並分年刊到專書，名曰：《格致書院課藝》，前後成書十五冊，待受獎者達七、八十人之多。於中國在中外通商中之蒙受侵損，以至思考因應之道。自見國人普遍感受之深。其中於中外商戰之最關鍵性重點，則以南洋大臣沈秉成之命題：「絲、茶、烟（即鴉片）布合論」要算最能表現中國戰敗之根源。蓋絲、茶為中國大宗出口貨，而茶為印度所奪、絲為法國所奪，而鴉片及洋布輸入則與日俱增。在光緒十六年（1896），英國已自中國賺取白銀六千萬兩，實是驚人。而絲、茶、烟、布，才是一代商戰中關鍵之貨品。事實上自1842年中國開放五口通商起，西商販賣貨品，競爭最早、最激烈者是航運業，中國早先南省閩廣貨運商船破產，船隻停用朽壞，水手船員流為海盜，幫助走私鴉片。相繼緩慢受害者，因洋布廉價入口，使原有民間婦女絲織作業，生產無從售賣，農村原恃為一生活資金，幾完全斷絕。中國官商漸有感覺，不能不考求洋商剝朘之衝，從而吸收學習，以為與洋商競爭之手段。其時鄭觀應、薛福成、胡禮垣、馬建忠、以至盛宣懷較多了解外洋商貿之各樣機制，提倡仍照施行，俾能加強對外競爭能力。因是自同治朝後期（1870年之後），而於西洋之公司、銀行、保險、輪船、電報、郵局、專利、賽會、國債以至在清末之訂定商律，可謂一意仿效、步步改進，終至全面配合西方規制而與洋商競爭。

The ancient Chinese military strategist Taigong and the Confucian philosopher Xunzi both spoke of a quest for wealth, using agriculture to establish a nation. Heads of state encouraged agriculture and suppressed commerce, advancing a means of wealth promotion at variance from what we find today. This essay considers the lessons of China’s ancient quest for nationhood, particularly its path of seeking wealth as means to national strength.In the years after the Opium War, the strength of modern China suffered a heavy blow at the hands of Western powers. With the 1842 treaty that followed this conflict, China not only ceded land and paid reparations, but also in their ignorance signed an agreement with English representatives concerning the regulations for import/export taxes. It was unaware that this was a part of a nation’s sovereignty and that it was thus unnessary to negotiate it with other nations. The situation caused China to be shackled by a tariff agreement. When England and France prevailed in the second Opium War in 1858, the tariff stipulations were included in the new treaty. Again, China was unaware of the severity of the agreement, according to which it remained unable to manage its own tariffs for a long period of time, resulting as well in China being restricted in its overseas commerce and bound to a disadvantageous position. The imperialists began to humiliate China by means of this treaty. The result was that for a period of a century these imperialists remained in a position of strength in Sino-foreign trade and exploited their advantage over China.During the Daoguang and Xianfeng eras (1821-1860) China continued to be restrained by the unequal treaties and into the Tongzhi era (after 1876) it became gradually aware of Sino-foreign trade, the treatment of English law, and its long-term position of weakness. Leading officials such as Li Hongzhang, Ding Richang, Shen Baochen, Zeng Guanying, and Xie Fucheng, cognizant of the trade situation, began to reconsider key problems and the factors critical to the success and failure of the Sino-foreign trade war. Particularly after the 1884 Sino-French War, as the gap inSino-foreign trade conspicuously increased, there was widespread recognition among Chinese officials and gentry that the country had suffered a serious loss. Questions were actively presented to Qing governmental and commercial leaders in charge of maritime affairs. In addition, 1886-1894, the Shanghai Polytechnic Institute promoted written discussion of these questions among regional gentry and merchants. The best responses were rewarded and published in annual periodicals. It is evident from these writings that the Chinese deeply felt the losses that China had suffered in its foreign trade. The heart of their views, illuminating the source of China’s failure, was expressed in the South Seas official Shen Bingcheng’s essay ”A Dicussion of Silk, Tea, Tabacco, Cloth (and Opium).” Silk and tea had been China’s principle exports, but the tea trade had been expropriated by India and the silk trade had been expropriated by France. Moreover, the quantity of opium and foreign cloth entering China was increasing daily. By 1896, England had already drained China of 60,000,000 taels of silver-a shocking amount. And, indeed, this silk, tea, tobacco, and cloth were the key products of only one generation of the ongoing trade war.From 1842, as China opened five ports to foreign commerce, the earliest and fiercest competition was in the shipping industry. China’s initial Fujian and Guangdong commercial shipping venture went bankrupt. The vessals were decommissioned and fell into disrepair. Sailors and ship hands became pirates, assisting in the smuggling of opium. In slow succession, due to the import of low-cost foreign cloth, folk and female silk manufacturing was unable to sell their wares and farming villages were almost entirely cut off from their principle source of livelihood.Chinese officials and merchants gradually realized that they had to confront the blow perpetrated by foreign commerce and imbibe its lessons in order to study the steps needed to be competitive. At this time, leaders such as Zeng Guanying, Xie Bicheng, Hu Lihuan, Ma Jianzhong, and Sheng Xuanhuai had a general understanding of the systems of foreign commerce. They proposed measures in accordance with these models that would lead to a strengthening of China’s international competitiveness. In response, after 1870 they stipulated commercial regulations for Western companies, banks, insurance, shipping, telegraph, post offices, patents, religious procession, and national debt. This action can be defined as focused imitation and progressive improvement, resulting in widespread coordination with Western rules and regulations as well as competition with Western commerce.

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