電報의 淸末 政治에 대한 影響 ― 淸佛戰爭을 事例로 ― (A Research on the impact of the telegraph on the late Qing politics - Focusing on the Sino-French War -)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 중국근현대사학회
· 수록지 정보 : 중국근현대사연구 / 46호 / 1 ~ 52페이지
· 저자명 : 윤욱

초록

Previous scholars have attempted to figure out the influence of the telegraph on the power politics between Beijing and provincial governors after its introduction to China in the late Qing period. There are two conflicting opinions on this issue. Contemporary officials and diplomats and some current scholars argued that the telegraph helped the central government enhance its control over the affairs happening in outlaying provinces or distant places. On the other hand, recently some scholars carefully look through the telegrams exchanged during some specific political accidents (such as Zixi's attempt to dethrone the Guangxu emperor in 1900, the Boxer's Rebellion in 1900, Chinese nationalist movements in 1900s, and provincial governors imposing early commencement of the Constitution on Beijing in 1910), and insist that in fact the telegraph assisted provincial governors and local elites to increase their political influence at the cost of the central government.
While the previous case studies concentrated on the political events which happened in the final ten years of the dynasty, this paper revisits the issue with a case study of the Sino-French War when the Beijing still was in a better position in controlling its provincial governments. The present paper analyzes the telegrams that Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong, and Robert Hart sent or received during the war. As the result, it is found that indeed the introduction of the telegraph gave new political opportunities to the Beijing government as well as provincial governors.
Li Hongzhang at Tianjin, the hub of the Chinese telegraph network, could construct an information network between him and his friends to enhance his intelligence capabilities. In addition, he could block specific telegrams from going to Beijing and even annul the Beijing's order with the help of his personal network and the telegraph. On the other hand, the Governor-General of Guangxi and Guangdong, Zhang Zhidong's telegrams show that the telegraph helped Zhang to enhance his control over his army and the rim of his vast jurisdiction; however it was not much helpful for the central government to control the battlefield on the Vietnam border. At that time, Chinese telegrams were too slow that Beijing could not control the ever-changing situations with the telegraph on the battlefield which was too far from Beijing. Furthermore, Beijing authorities did not have enough knowledge which was necessary to wage a modern warfare. Therefore, although a wire existed between Beijing and the border area, the central government could not effectively take advantage of the telegraph. After all, the central government had no choice but to delegate nearly unrestricted power to provincial governors on the warfront - especially Zhang Zhidong - during the war. However, Robert Hart's telegrams exchanged with Campbell demonstrate that with the help of the telegraph Beijing could directly negotiate with the French government, bypassing provincial governors and Chinese diplomats, and eventually succeeded in materializing the cease-fire and the following peace treaty.
That is to say, the newly introduced communication system, the telegraph was not advantageous not only for provincial governors but also for the central government. It was a politically neutral source, which could serve for either side. However, as the tendency of decentralization was becoming stronger in China after the Sino-French War, it is assumed that the telegraph was more exploited to enlarge the political power of provincial governors or local elites.

영어초록

Previous scholars have attempted to figure out the influence of the telegraph on the power politics between Beijing and provincial governors after its introduction to China in the late Qing period. There are two conflicting opinions on this issue. Contemporary officials and diplomats and some current scholars argued that the telegraph helped the central government enhance its control over the affairs happening in outlaying provinces or distant places. On the other hand, recently some scholars carefully look through the telegrams exchanged during some specific political accidents (such as Zixi's attempt to dethrone the Guangxu emperor in 1900, the Boxer's Rebellion in 1900, Chinese nationalist movements in 1900s, and provincial governors imposing early commencement of the Constitution on Beijing in 1910), and insist that in fact the telegraph assisted provincial governors and local elites to increase their political influence at the cost of the central government.
While the previous case studies concentrated on the political events which happened in the final ten years of the dynasty, this paper revisits the issue with a case study of the Sino-French War when the Beijing still was in a better position in controlling its provincial governments. The present paper analyzes the telegrams that Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong, and Robert Hart sent or received during the war. As the result, it is found that indeed the introduction of the telegraph gave new political opportunities to the Beijing government as well as provincial governors.
Li Hongzhang at Tianjin, the hub of the Chinese telegraph network, could construct an information network between him and his friends to enhance his intelligence capabilities. In addition, he could block specific telegrams from going to Beijing and even annul the Beijing's order with the help of his personal network and the telegraph. On the other hand, the Governor-General of Guangxi and Guangdong, Zhang Zhidong's telegrams show that the telegraph helped Zhang to enhance his control over his army and the rim of his vast jurisdiction; however it was not much helpful for the central government to control the battlefield on the Vietnam border. At that time, Chinese telegrams were too slow that Beijing could not control the ever-changing situations with the telegraph on the battlefield which was too far from Beijing. Furthermore, Beijing authorities did not have enough knowledge which was necessary to wage a modern warfare. Therefore, although a wire existed between Beijing and the border area, the central government could not effectively take advantage of the telegraph. After all, the central government had no choice but to delegate nearly unrestricted power to provincial governors on the warfront - especially Zhang Zhidong - during the war. However, Robert Hart's telegrams exchanged with Campbell demonstrate that with the help of the telegraph Beijing could directly negotiate with the French government, bypassing provincial governors and Chinese diplomats, and eventually succeeded in materializing the cease-fire and the following peace treaty.
That is to say, the newly introduced communication system, the telegraph was not advantageous not only for provincial governors but also for the central government. It was a politically neutral source, which could serve for either side. However, as the tendency of decentralization was becoming stronger in China after the Sino-French War, it is assumed that the telegraph was more exploited to enlarge the political power of provincial governors or local elites.

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