Study On Robert Hart And Sino-foreign Treaties In The Late Qing Dynast

Rebort Hart, quite an important and complicated man in modern Chinese history, was the inspector-General of Chinese Maritime Customs Service during the late Qing Dynasty for48years, out of his living in China54years, Which had comprehensive and deep effect on Chinese domestic and foreign affairs. As a person from England serving in China, he directly and indirectly involved more than60sino-foreign treaties, among which there belong to sino-british, sino-french, sino-portugues, sino-german, or sino-japanese bilateral treaties, and there also belong to multilateral treaties. Some treaties involves much sovereignty, while others only stipulated some details of some problem. The paper studies Rebort Hart’s activities, attitudes, tactics, functions and opinions and suggestions during the negotiations. The paper consists of preface,7chapters and conclusion.The preface firstly explains the reasons that the title is selected are the significance of Hart’s in the negotiations and the special roles of the sino-foreign treaties in modern China. Then introduces and reviews relevant researches of the topic at home and abroad, make brief evaluation, and point out the inadequacy of the studies in the past. Also talks about the important and difficult points, the research mentality, researching methods, main new ideas and deficiency of the paper. Finally, briefly defines the concept of the sino-foreign treaty in the late Qing Dynasty.The first chapter analyses the integrated factors of Hart’s involving so many treaties. The half colonization of modern China gradually increased and sino-foreign treaty relations in the late Qing Dynasty had been evolving, however, the shortage of diplomatic personnel and the weakness of the diplomatic forces in China, so the Qing government completely believed in and relying on Hart. Meanwhile, the British government, the Englishmen as the Chinese officials, and other western powers all gave Hart full support. In addition, Hart was of some advantages:having a good education, mastering Chinese and being familiar with China, acting carefully and flexibly, and so on. From Second Chapter to Fifth Chapter study all the treaties by being divided into3classes, according to Hart’s different roles (namely, China’s negotiator, mediator, secret manipulator behind, translator or adviser), the content and property of the treaties. When the three types are analyzed, Hart’s complex activities, proposals, functions and influence during mediation and negotiation are comprehensively researched.Second Chapter expounds Hart and those treaties negotiated and decided by Hart’s deputizing for China. First, these involves several Macao’s sovereignty treaties signed by China and Portugal, for example, Friendly Trade Treaty, Proposed Treaty, Lisbon Protocol, and Chinesisch-Portugiesischer Vertrag von Peking. Second, they are Sino-french Armistice Terms and Vietnam Clause, Which concerns Vietnam status. Third, China negotiated with the Britain on Sikkim sovereignty, trade in Yatung, and Hongkong’s Opium trade agreement.Third Chapter and Fourth Chapter discusses those treaties Hart participated in negotiating, ranging from Sino-Danish Treaties of Tientsin, Alcock Convention, Chefoo Convention, Burma provisos, Mackay Treaty, Anglo-German loan contract and another loan contract, sino-french treaty of boundary surveyed along Sino-Vietnamese border, Boxer Protocol to treaties of setting up customs and taxing in Macao.Fifth Chapter studies Hart’s activities and effect during controlling and drafting special treaties. They involve not only special treaties of internal law’s property by Hart’s drafting in order to adapt domestic situation and prevent the imperialists from invading, namely, a few treaties of Changjiang trade, Pilot Rules, Rules for Joint Investigation in Cases of Confiscation and Fine by the Custom Authorities, but also some rules signed to dealing with issues in a particular subject by China and the imperialists, namely, sino-french Postal Regulations, sino-japanese Postal Regulations, sino-british Postal Regulations, sino-german Postal Regulations, along with treaties of setting up customs and taxing in leased territory signed by China and German or Japan.Sixth Chapter comprehensively analyses Hart’s attitudes and position during negotiating. First, he safeguarded his motherland England interests and attached primary importance to the Britain. Then, tried to defends Qing Dynast’s authority. Meanwhile, pursued his own utility maximization, for example, ensuring and strengthening the status of the inspector-General of Chinese Maritime Customs Service, adding trading ports, enlarging taxation and tariff’s power. Also he did his best to cover the imperialists’ interests.Seventh Chapter thoroughly studies means and strategies that Hart used in the course of negotiating. In order to early reach an agreement, end negotiation, Hart in the predicament tried his best to play all his cards, including alternated between coercion and temptation, exchanged reclame for the true interests, used non-specific and ambiguous words, adopted an impartial stance like riding, paid attention to the key points and ignored less important aspect, or easy first, difficult second, ect.Eighth Chapter dissects Hart’s attitudes and opinions towards sino-foreign treaties in the late Qing Dynast. Hart thought the treaties were the results of foreigners’threatening or imploring. Although he admitted the treaties were aggressive, he asked Chinese to comply strictly with them. However, he also rendered some advice on how to improve the relation of sino-foreign treaty, such as slow and prudent negotiation, all-sided consideration, giving up extraterritoriality, etc.Conclusion discusses Hart’s negotiation on the whole.It summarizes the characteristic of every stage and the mass about Hart’s negotiating. On the one hand, Hart’s mediations and signing treaties assist the Qing government in solving problems and safeguarding certain interests, which played an active role, on the other hand, Hart’s activities damaged China’s sovereignty and deepened the half colonization of modern China, which blocked China’s development. Meanwhile, Chinese learned lessons as follows:The lagged will be beaten; Those in power should always concern his people, are of foresight and sagacity, and engage in pragmatic foreign policy; Attach importance to training diplomatic personnel and have the full aid of foreigners. Hart’s mediations presents foreigners’good or bad effect on diplomatic transition of modern China from one aspect, reflects China’rushed response and desperate fate, and is also a symbol of China’s gradually reducing to a semicolonial and semi-feudal country.