Research On Sino-US Civil And Criminal Cases Occurred In China In The Period Of Dao And Xian

This thesis takes American Diplomatic and Public Papers: the United States and China,The Treaty System and the Taiping Rebellion,1842—1860as the main data,from the perspective of civil and criminal cases,to investigate the development of Sino-US relations in the Daoguang and Xianfeng periods of the Qing Dynasty.By studying specific cases,this thesis explains the diplomatic notes of officials of China and America as well as the letters,reports and instructions among American officials,businessmen in China and Secretary of State of America,to spy upon the differences in the ways of dealing with civil and criminal cases between Sino-US in different stages.Furthermore,this thesis analyzes several faces of Sino-US diplomacy reflected from the civil and criminal cases and the impact of the development of bilateral relations.Before the First Opium War,the Qing government judicial sovereignty was still intact and had independent jurisdiction over foreigners in China.During this period,the Qing government tried the “Wabash” case and the “Terranova” case on the basis of“The Qing Laws and Regulations” and “The Nine Years of Qianlong Routine”.However,the US officials and civilians in China were dissatisfied with the Qing government’s trial process and result of the “Terranova” case.This incident became the seeds of letting the Qing government to cede to consular jurisdiction forced by the US.After the First Opium War,China and the US signed the Treaty of Wanghia which made the US successful grab consular jurisdiction in China.As a result,the judicial sovereignty of the Qing government was further destroyed.Meanwhile,the relevant provision of the Sino-US treaty also made civil and criminal cases of two countries to obtain the diplomatic negotiation mechanism and the basis of the law of treaties.From 1844 to 1850,the Qing government mainly carried out the foreign policy of console and the principal officials who were in charge of dealing with foreign affairs,adopted unique diplomatic strategies during term of office.Besides,the US officials in China were submission.Therefore,the settlement of Sino-US civil and criminal cases in this period generally accord with the treaty procedures and spirit,and did not trigger much diplomatic controversy.Sino-US relations were at peace.With the adjustment of Qing government’s foreign policy and the change of Sino-foreign situation,Chinese and American officials have change their ways to deal with their civil and criminal cases.From 1850 to 1860,Chinese and American officials had constantly friction in the negotiation of the civil and criminal cases.The Qing government’s foreign policy changed from console to strong.Some Chinese officials collided with and showed negative state in handling cases.Meanwhile,the US officials in China took advantage of Chinese civil strife to change the image of submission in the past,using intimidation,force threat,distortion of treaties and none tariff to intervene cases.During this period,both Chinese and American officials broke the spirit of the treaty in the process of dealing with the civil and criminal cases.Judging from the evolution of Chinese and American officials’ negotiation of civil and criminal cases in the Daoguang and Xianfeng periods of the Qing Dynasty,there are three aspects of impact on bilateral relations can be explored.Firstly,the evolution promoted the revision of the “Treaty of Tientsin”.Secondly,it forced the US government to carry out judicial reforms in order to improve its consular jurisdiction in China.Thirdly,it laid the foundation for the Sino-US “traditional friendship”.Reviewing the history,we should learn lessons from the fact.The officials in Qing Dynasty lacked modern diplomatic thinking and strategies which led to many contradictions when they were dealing with cases and negotiating with US officials,accelerating the revision and expansion of the privilege of the Sino-US “Treaty of Tientsin”.Meanwhile,The US officials in China used interfered power politics to interfere cases with unjust means and infringe on national interest of China,which should be criticized rather than being ignored.