| Abstract: | 在中國和西方國家第一個所謂「不平等條約」—1842 年南京條約—的餘波影響下，中國對外開放越來越多的港口和內陸站，並有無數歐洲人，美國人和外國居民落戶在這些日本經濟史學家濱下武志所稱的開放市場區域。由Robert Hart 領導的中國海關稅務總司[CMCS]於1863 至1911 年間建立了代表中國政府的關稅代理司，監控各地港口與貿易站，以及數個位於台灣與韓國的海港。在Hart 幹練且雄心勃勃的帶領下，CMCS 成為一個擁有二十多個國籍成員的跨國組織。多數成員畢業於英美或歐洲大學，在統計、工程、醫學、外文、歷史等領域擁有淵博的專業技能。資深稅務司長Paul King 稱這個社群為「嗜書者」，而伴隨著該社群在東亞的長期居留與活躍職涯的則是大量的著作。這些著作也促使CMCS 逐漸成為現代重要學術機構的非官方研究與出版組織。這份研究計畫旨在證明CMCS 代表一個研究1860 年至1930 年間外籍社群在東亞的文學遺產的有效觀點，雖然CMCS 實際上並非一個文學的概念。事實上，開放港口市場區也成為開放港口文化區，而CMCS 成員們如Robert Hart, H. B. Morse, Paul King, J. O. Bland, Putnam Weale, E. B. Drew, Augustine Henry 等，以及其他東亞外籍居民們，如身兼英國領事官的漢學家T. F. Wade (曾短暫貢獻於CMCS 創始期)和Robert Hart 的姪女Juliet Bredon (見證了Hart 於北京的事業末期)，亦創作了驚人的著作。這些著作涵蓋回憶錄、小說、詩集、歷史研究、傳記、散文、科學論文、日記，以及其他已發表和未發表的素材。以1860 年至1930 年所計之編年範圍乃一彈性歷史標誌，並非具有一定的規範性。然而它象徵Robert Hart 開始他的影響力直到兩次世界大戰期間那些重要十九世紀人物如Hart, Bland, King 和Morse 的逝世，以及CMCS 轉向趨中國化而逐漸流失異國色彩。研究該時代文學遺產的努力可引出被稱作開放港口圖書庫的知識考古學，以及進一步回應J?rgen Osterhammel 在「亞洲去魔化：十八世紀的歐洲與亞洲帝國」(1998) 一書中的論點：具異國與神祕色彩的十七世紀中國於十八世紀時被西方徹底「去魔化」。中國/東亞是否真的成功「去魔化」的議題仍持續被討論，但本計畫所探討之外籍社群的文學遺產無疑能進一步闡明該議題。因此，十九世紀末和二十世紀初文學素材的著眼點也可能增強西方十八世紀和二十世紀對於中國/東亞的理解。雖然中國的形象不似以往光榮或難解，但這並不意味著該層神祕面紗已完全揭起。 CMCS 作者群與其友人們對於中國/東亞研究和著作的熱衷顯示了這樣的迷戀是非常活躍。此計畫由一跨學科團隊所組成，主要研究員為文學專家，合作研究員為歷史學家，該團隊將利用中央研究院所提供之豐富人文學科資源進行學術研究。該研究問題極具重要性，且能進一步開?東亞僑民社群、跨國文學、西方對亞洲的想像性理解，以及在非正式帝國時代跨文化交流的可行研究。
In the aftermath of the first so called “unequal treaty” between China and the Western nations, the Treaty of Nanjing of 1842, more and more ports and inland stations in China were opened to foreign trade and numerous European, American and other foreign residents settled in these open market zones, as the Japanese economic historian Takeshi Hamashita has called these areas. The task of establishing a customs agency to monitor these ports and trading stations on behalf of the Chinese government, as well as several ports in Taiwan and Korea, was assigned to the Chinese Maritime Customs Service [CMCS], led from 1863 to 1911 by the Ulsterman Robert Hart. Under the guidance of the capable and ambitious Hart, the CMCS became a true transnational community which employed foreign staff members representing more than twenty nationalities. Many of these employees were graduates of British, American or European universities and had considerable expertise in statistics, engineering, medicine, foreign language studies, history, etc. These were “men who loved books”, in the words of longtime Customs Commissioner Paul King, and their lengthy residence and active careers in East Asia resulted in a flood of writings as the CMCS over time became an informal research and publishing power house with an output similar to that of a major modern academic institution. The present research project aims to demonstrate that the CMCS, though admittedly not a literary concept, represents an effective angle to research the literary legacy of the foreign community in East Asia from 1860 to 1930. The open port market zones, indeed, also became open port culture zones and CMCS employees such as Robert Hart, H. B. Morse, Paul King, J. O. P. Bland, Putnam Weale, E. B. Drew, Augustine Henry, etc. and some related foreign residents of East Asia such as the British consular official and Sinologist T. F. Wade (who was briefly associated with the CMCS at the time of its founding) and Robert Hart’s niece Juliet Bredon (who witnessed the end of Hart’s career in Beijing) produced an amazing body of writings. These writings include memoirs, novels, collections of poetry, historical studies, biographies, essays, scientific papers, diaries and other published and unpublished materials. The chronological range from 1860 to 1930 is a flexible historical marker and does not necessarily carry any fixed normative weight, but indicates the era spanning from the time when Robert Hart first began to make his mark to the interbellum years when important nineteenth century figures such as Hart, Bland, King, and Morse passed away and the CMCS became more Chinese and less foreign. The effort to map the literary legacy of this age will result in what may be called an archaeology of knowledge of the open port library and make possible further reflections on J?rgen Osterhammel’s contention in his Die Entzauberung Asiens: Europa und die asiatischen Reiche im 18. Jahrhundert (1998) that the exotic and mysterious China of the seventeenth century was thoroughly “disenchanted” in the West during the course of the eighteenth century. The question whether China/East Asia was ever really successfully disenchanted continues to be debated, however, and the literary legacy of the foreign community under investigation in this project can shed further light on this question. This focus on late nineteenth and early twentieth century literary materials may, therefore, also help to bridge the West’s eighteenth and twentieth century understandings of China/East Asia. Although the image of the Middle Kingdom was not as glorious or mysterious as before, it does not mean the veil had been completely lifted. The passion for research into and writings about China/East Asia among the CMCS authors and some of their friends and acquaintances indicates that the fascination was very much alive. The project is supported by an interdisciplinary team consisting of a principal investigator who is a literary specialist and a co-investigator who is a historian and will make use of the extensive access to resources of the Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s premier research institute for humanistic studies. The research questions addressed are important and will open up further avenues for viable research regarding expatriate communities in East Asia, transnational literature, the Western imaginative understanding of Asia, and intercultural contacts in an age of informal empire |
