書單: 優勢

鴉片戰爭之前歐洲是否認為中國優越？

伊恩·霍洛威

下列的

舊皇家海軍學院前首席講師。11點更新

簡答

這個問題沒有簡單的答案，因為它的具體說明不明確。

這裡的上級是什麼意思？
由誰考慮？
鴉片戰爭之前什麼時期？羅馬帝國時期，馬可波羅時代，還是 1838 年？

我將以 1550 年至 1839 年為時期，研究一系列領域。

中國因其幅員遼闊、古老、文化、政府模式和奢侈品出口而聞名。

儘管西歐「毛茸茸的野蠻人」怎麼想對中國人來說並不重要，但沒有哪個文化或文明能像上半葉的清朝中國那樣受到如此大肆推崇和廣泛讚譽，成為值得效仿的典範。。

Michael Adas (1989) 《機器作為人的尺度》第 78 頁

然而，到了18世紀，中國在數學、科學、工程、地理知識、航海能力和軍事能力方面被認為處於劣勢。歐洲許多人也認為它在表現藝術和許多哲學分支方面較差。

就在 1839-42 年「鴉片戰爭」之前，英國人對勝利充滿信心，因此他們不可能認為中國人優越。我們可以看到這一點，因為他們派出了一支相當小的軍隊來實現他們的帝國主義目標，而《南京條約》幾乎正是英國全權代表在衝突開始時被告知所要求的（鴉片合法化並不是一個重要的目標）。

奇怪的是，中國人對勝利更有信心，根本不考慮外國野蠻人在陸地上作戰的能力。

彝族士兵雖有槍砲，但劍法、步法、行軍卻較弱。而且，他們的雙腿被布緊緊束縛著，限制了他們的活動，難以伸展，更不用說登上河岸和海邊了。因此，儘管他們實力雄厚，但他們仍然可以受到控制：

林則徐《急走高中》p136 約瑟夫‧勞森譯

林特派員的評價可以與一位英國水手在抗清途中的評論相比較。

我們有大量的槍砲訓練、輕武器和彎刀訓練、登陸隊、擔架隊、帶梯子的攀岩隊、現場工作人員和裝有槳的船，用於攀登狹窄的小溪

引自 Humble R (1976) 在無畏艦之前 MacDonald 和 Janes p95

儘管是在主場作戰且主要採取守勢，但中國的戰鬥損失卻是英國的100倍。

長答案

0. 對比引文

中國幅員遼闊，富饒富饒，氣候溫和，人口眾多，工業發達，政府政策非凡，可以說，自從進行遠洋航行以來，，從未有過與此相比的發現

加布里埃爾·馬蓋蘭 (1688)中國新史

「中華帝國是一艘古老的、瘋狂的、一流的戰艦……」在過去的一百五十年裡，一連串有能力和警惕的軍官們幸運地設法維持了下去，並威懾了一些人。的鄰居只是因為它的體積和外觀。
「中國人……是一個活潑、敏銳、富有創造力和聰明的民族……」如果他們的教育和機會與更開明時期的人相同，他們也許會向世界展示出傑出的民族精神。一如既往地存在。

馬戛爾尼勳爵 (1793)

（中國人擁有）荒謬的偏見，注定永遠平庸……甚至印刷術的發明對於人類思想的進步仍然毫無用處。

Marquis de Condercet (1794)人類思想進步的歷史圖像草圖

介紹

顯然，在中世紀，中國在大部分領域都領先歐洲。馬可·波羅和尼科洛·孔蒂等旅行家分享了這些奇蹟。二戰後，劍橋大學的李約瑟證實了中國的優勢，他指出中國的許多發現和發明比歐洲早幾個世紀。

中世紀末期，歐洲的文藝復興開始縮小這一差距，儘管許多突破性的想法要么來自亞洲，要么通過亞洲中介。然而，在近代早期，歐洲的進步速度大大加快，在一些作者看來，呈現出通往現代世界的新特徵。相較之下，中國的發展步伐則慢得多。

然而，與任何歐洲強國相比，中國仍然是一個龐大的文明。儘管對中國的了解往往相當有限，但人們仍然了解中華帝國的悠久歷史和幅員遼闊。來自歐洲訪客對康熙皇帝（1662-1722）宮廷的報道非常精彩，如上面引述的 Magaillans 所示

此外，中國的奢侈品：陶瓷、茶葉、絲綢等也很受歡迎，並且在 18 世紀中葉，中國風格的裝飾和理念風靡一時。

下圖：管家埃德蒙布萊克艾德在 18 世紀最後 25 年向喬治王子殿下致辭，展示了 1987 年 BBC 歷史紀錄片《布萊克艾德三世》中那個時期時尚的中國風格裝飾。

然而，如果認為歐洲認為中國在各方面都更優越，那就太簡單了。隨著時間和背景的不同，歐洲對中國的看法也有很大差異。

到17世紀末，歐洲人在承認中國的幅員遼闊、欽佩其宮廷的富裕和奢侈品出口的品質的同時，已經意識到，在某些領域，按照歐洲標準，中國正在變得落後。

2. 規模和歷史－中國被認為較優秀

中國被視為一個古老、幅員遼闊、神秘的帝國。人們知道造紙、指南針、印刷術、火藥四大發明都起源於亞洲。馬可·波羅的報告顯示了中國宮廷的富裕。來自清廷的報告顯示，中國朝廷極度富有、勢力強大，統治範圍廣闊。

3. 宗教－中國被認為是劣等的（直到啟蒙運動）

在16世紀，宗教是一件非常重要的事。一名葡萄牙忠誠者在一艘即將被穆斯林反對者俘獲的船上將最後一顆子彈射入了他8 歲的兒子——他知道自己會被殺，但他擔心他的兒子會被穆斯林撫養長大，並因此面臨詛咒。 [來源;羅傑·克勞利的征服者(2016)]

同樣，歐洲人也將中國人視為異教徒。當一個人被認為可能要讓別西卜把一把熱烤叉子塞進他們的屁股來度過永恆時，一個人會認為另一個人高人一等嗎？

在啟蒙運動期間，伏爾泰等作家開始對當時歐洲普遍存在的宗教偏執（也稱為對宗教正統的忠實承諾）持悲觀態度。有鑑於此，東方宗教更加寬廣和務實（或者說是嬌氣地缺乏對聖經教義的承諾）的方法開始顯得有吸引力。

4. 奢侈品－直到18世紀末中國仍被認為是優質產品

中國商品需求旺盛——事實上，19 世紀以前，大多數製成品奢侈品出口都來自中國或印度次大陸。中國的絲綢和瓷器享有盛譽。哥倫布和葡萄牙探險家去了東方（我知道哥倫布向西航行，但他試圖到達東方；他剛剛沒通過地理考試）。

正如我們所見，在十八世紀，中國風風靡一時。

中國風的特徵是許多頻繁出現的主題。在18世紀的英國，中國似乎是一個神秘而遙遠的地方。儘管兩國之間的貿易在 17 世紀和 18 世紀有所增加，但進入中國仍然受到限制，對中國的第一手經驗很少。中國風借鑒了這些異國情調、神秘的先入為主觀念。這些物品描繪了夢幻般的風景、奇特的亭台樓閣、中國寶塔屋頂的流暢線條、神話般的鳥類和身著中國服裝的人物。有時這些人物是直接從中國物品複製而來的，但更多的時候它們源自於設計師的想像。龍等神獸也成為常見的中國風主題，喚起東方的奇異與美妙。

維多利亞與艾爾伯特博物館網站

18世紀，歐洲的進步開始削弱中國的一些領先地位。

「在陶瓷方面，中國人經過一千多年的試誤實驗所累積的優勢，被英國陶工僅僅幾十年的對照實驗所超越。喬賽亞‧韋奇伍德（Josiah Wedgewood，1730-1795 年）是英國皇家學會會員、著名實業家，因對陶瓷材料進行了五千多次實驗而受到讚譽。約翰·德懷特 (John Dwight，1633-1703) 開發了鹽釉炻器；威廉·庫克沃西（William Cookworthy，1705-1780）[看看這些人活了多少歲！在 1740 年代和 1750 年代，英國陶藝家開發了奶油色陶器、轉移印花和雙重燒製技術。

金登健 (2016)大知識的超越p.230

最受歡迎的「中國」設計－柳樹圖案，當然是英國根據日本傳說發明的！

5. 具象藝術：中國在某些領域處於劣勢

歐洲藝術家發現亞洲的藝術方法根本不同。他們發現中國人在色彩運用方面非常出色，在渲染動植物圖像方面也很出色，但感覺透視和比例感有問題。他們認為中國人不了解明暗對比技術（使用明暗），而且中國的人體解剖學繪畫與歐洲相比很差。此外，歐洲技術也沒有被中國採用。吉拉迪尼引用的一個說法是，中國藝術家認為黑暗藝術被用來創作一幅如此逼真的宏偉壁畫。儘管消息來源是吉拉迪尼，但他確實存在利益衝突！

6. 治理：直到 18 世紀末，中國仍被認為是優越的

伏爾泰的思想以耶穌會士的敘述為基礎，他將中國描繪成一個公正、高效、和諧的國家，與歐洲國王審判的統治形成鮮明對比。伏爾泰推崇中國的道德哲學。他還指出，中國的職業官員必須通過考試，而歐洲則更多的是：「我是地方法官，因為我父親是」。

伏爾泰關於仁慈和高效的中國的觀點並不普遍。笛福（Daniel Defoe，1719）《魯濱遜漂流記》中[請花一點時間，我正在哼著兒時優秀的法國電視版《魯濱遜漂流記》的主題曲]魯濱遜認為歐洲全面先進，並諷刺中國的做法事。他批評中國的商業限制、官僚主義和軍事力量的薄弱。

喬治·安森 (George Anson) 在環遊世界期間 (1741-44 年) 訪問了廣州，他認為中國的成就被高估了，官員腐敗。平心而論，他只看到了中國的一小部分，覺得自己有資格概括整個帝國。安森認為他的 60 門砲艦百夫長號可以單槍匹馬對抗整個中國海軍。安森的批評無疑比他的觀察更有效。儘管如此，後來的法國作家還是讚揚了中國的農業方法。然而，1782年，植物學家兼探險家皮埃爾·索納拉特（Pierre Sonnerat）在《1774年至1781年間前往東印度群島和中國的航行》一書中同意安森的觀點，即中國被高估了，因為中國的大多數人民都是貧窮和奴役的；他覺得他們的絲綢產品不如法國製造的。

7. 地理知識－中國被評為劣等

耶穌會學者震驚地發現，中國的戰爭對世界的認知是多麼落後。他們有相當好的中國地圖，但他們對外在世界的觀念卻很荒謬，這種觀念一直維持到「鴉片戰爭」時期。看我的回答

Ian Holloway

· 2y

How much did China know about Britain at the outbreak of the Opium War?

Opening Quote from James Polachek The Inner Opium War Harvard 1992 p18 Unlike the Japanese shogunate, which took care to monitor European political developments even as it proclaimed itself “secluded” from their influence, the Ch’ing central government apparatus made no provision for the gathering of intelligence on extra-Asian affairs. In this disinterest it was fully supported by the Confucian intellectual class, which by the early nineteenth century had come to think of “Western Learning” as no more than a branch of mathematics and astronomy , learned long ago from the Jesuits. Such an atmosphere was not even conducive to wrongheaded thinking about the foreigner, let alone its refutation of correction and rendered the Ch’ing political establishment quite unprepared to digest the lesson of defeat that [British Foreign Secretary] Palmerston stood ready to administer Very little and much of this was muddled and some of it was absurd. They really look like devils, they have devil slaves England is several thousand leagues in circumference. It is so short of inhabitants that they rear all the children who are born. Even prostitutes who have children do not kill them My main source for this is the diary of Commissioner Lin Zexu which is translated by Arthur Waley and from the letter Lin wrote to Queen Victoria . If we take Lin as representative we learn: * Germane to the “Opium War”, the Chinese thought opium was illegal in Britain when in fact it was completely uncontrolled (as it was in India and almost everywhere else). * The Chinese knew Britain had a Queen but not her role as head of state rather than executive authority. * They knew about Parliament, but had no idea what it was all about. They had no idea of a Prime Minister as the person who made the decisions. * They knew Britain ruled much of India * They were not sure if Britain was a vassal state of Holland or the other way around. * They couldn’t point to Britain on a globe. * They knew British ships were very good and could sail a long way. However, they had no idea of their real military capabilities or the ability of British project force. Although their ships are strong and armed with powerful cannon they only have the advantage in the open sea. In ports, their technology is of little use * They knew British people took pledges, promises and treaties seriously. * They had no idea of British military capability, dismissing the chances of them winning a land battle with the armies of the Celestial Empire. That estimate was a bit off: in the “Opium War” the Chinese lost about 7000 killed and the British about 70! Although the yi soldiers have guns and cannon they are weaker in swordsmanship, footwork and marching. Moreover their legs are tightly bound with cloth, which restricts their movement and makes it difficult to stretch, much a less ascend riverbanks and seashores. Hence despite their strength they can be held in check: Lin Zexu ”ji zougao zhong”p136 Translated by Joseph Lawson * They thought Britain was underpopulated and was stealing Chinese children to make up the numbers. * They thought Sepoy troops were made using black magic potions given to Chinese prisoners of war. They carry off young men, shave their heads paint their bodies with black lacquer, give them a drug which makes them dumb and so turn them into black Devils, using them to carry heavy loads * They had no idea of steam power and thought British paddle steamers were powered by oxen on treadmills. * They thought British burial practices were to leave their dead to be eaten by the giant crows that stalked their benighted kingdom. It is known the foreigners expose their dead and crows peck at their flesh. That is why the crows shown in their books grow to such enormous size That sounds raven mad! * They thought Britain needed Chinese rhubarb for its health and that cutting of Britain’s rhubarb supplies if they didn’t stop trading opium was some kind of threat! The well -respected Commissioner Lin did attempt to study Britain in the run up to the “Opium War” -having newspapers delivered etc. He found a lot of information baffling. A big problem was that the Chinese banned foreigners from learning Chinese and there were few Chinese English speakers. Chinese were also prohibited from going abroad (albeit many did so- like the opium ban it was more honoured in the breach than the observance!) The Chinese learned more about British military capability once fighting started, but the reports the Chinese made were so warped that no intelligence could be gained from them- the Emperor kept getting news of victories over foreign barbarians! There were Chinese people who had been to Britain as crew on British ships, but these folk were lowly and their views carried little weight. As we shall see, there were also well educated Chinese who had been to the UK. There was little excuse for this ignorance because educated Chinese people had been to UK. Below Joshua Reynolds’ fine 1776 painting of Huang Ya Dong, a botanist from Guangzhou (Canton). Huang is known to have visited the naturalists Mary Delany and the Duchess of Portland at the latter’s country seat of Bulstrode, discussing Chinese plants and their uses with them. He also visited the Royal Society, talked to Josiah Wedgwood about the manufacture of Chinese porcelain and explained the principles of acupuncture to the physician Andrew Duncan. The man who was instrumental in enabling Huang to travel to England was John Bradby Blake (1745-1773), who was engaged in trade for the East India Company in Guangzhou. Blake was interested in the natural history of China and being stationed in Guangzhou enabled him to collect seeds and plants that had medicinal or economic uses and to send them back to Europe for propagation and research. Huang’s botanical knowledge made him a suitable conduit to supply ﬁrst-hand information to British naturalists. Blake fell ill and died in Guangzhou just before Huang arrived in England, and his father, Captain John Blake, initially looked after the young Chineseman. The Duke of Dorset and John Bradby Blake had been at school together, which indicates how Huang then came to transfer to the Duke’s household. But what were Huang’s own motives in coming to Europe? At this time Chinese visitors to Europe were still very rare, as the voyage was long and dangerous and the Chinese imperial administration discouraged its subjects from travelling abroad. On this point a letter attributed to Sir Joshua Reynolds and dated 18 February 1775 provides valuable clues: ‘I have lately met in company Whang-At-Ting, the Chinese, who is now in London. He is a young man of twenty-two, and an inhabitant of Canton, where having received from Chit-qua, the Chinese ﬁgure maker, a favourable account of his reception in England, two or three years ago, he determined to make the voyage likewise, partly from curiosity, and a desire of improving himself in science, and partly with a view of procuring some advantages in trade, in which he and his elder brother are engaged. He arrived here in August, and already pronounces and understands our language very tolerably, but he writes it in a very excellent hand, which he acquired with ease by using the copybooks recommended by Mr Locke. He has a great thirst after knowledge, and seems to conceive readily what is communicated to him ’ Elsewhere Jones recorded that Huang‘[passed his ﬁrst examinations with credit in his way to but was afterwards allured from the pursuit of learning by a prospect of success in trade An 18th-Century Ornamental Adventurer: the Enigmatic and Ambiguous Portrait of Huang Ya Dong at Knole Reference Waley A (1958) The Opium War through Chinese Eyes Unwin

8.科學和數學－中國被評為劣等

從 1580 年代的利瑪竇開始，一系列才華橫溢的耶穌會傳教士居住在北京的中國皇帝宮廷中。這些傳教士掌握了漢語並研究了其文本。利瑪竇被中國文人視為「科學奇才」[資料來源：利瑪竇對中國的科學貢獻（1935）]，而利瑪竇對此感到好笑，因為他承認自己對歐洲科學的相對無知。利瑪竇對中國的運作方式和明帝國的規模印象深刻，但他也看到中國在一系列主題上的知識已經過時，而且也未能向前發展。

對中國科學最詳細的研究是由路易十四的宮廷數學家路易·勒孔德（Louis Le Comte）完成的。他 1696 年出版的《新中國回憶錄》非常批評。孔德指出，中國人對歐洲的創新抱持著「不是這裡發明的」態度，即使歐洲的思想對數學和天文學的問題給了正確的答案。他斷言，中國在一代人的時間裡並沒有產生“一個在思辨科學方面取得偉大成就的人”，事實上，我們不能指出中國在這一時期有一個與笛卡爾、伽利略、牛頓或惠更斯相媲美的人。

快速回顧高中數學中的符號代數、統計、座標幾何、對數、指數函數、複數和微積分，就可以看出歐洲在那個時期的進步。請參閱 Jan Gullberg 的《數學從數字的誕生》以了解這些想法的歷史。

在此期間，歐洲發現了二十七種新化學元素和一顆新行星。中國人在這兩方面的得分都是零。中國人很少關注日心說宇宙論，根據耶穌會傳教士的說法，中國人需要說服地球不是平的。

[有時對這種類型的分析提出批評，認為這實際上只是說歐洲人在歐洲科學上比中國人更好，歐洲人在歐洲數學上比中國人更好。因此，這類似於表明橄欖球聯盟球員比橄欖球聯盟球員更好，因為當兩個代碼的主角相遇參加橄欖球聯盟時，聯盟球員總是會脫穎而出。我不確定這個論點是否完全有效，因為橄欖球定律是任意的，而科學和數學都可以被客觀地檢驗。但無論如何，今天的問題是關於感知的，所以它是“橄欖球聯盟球員的想法！”]

9. 工程－中國被評為劣等

從1520年代的里程表開始，歐洲出現了各種各樣的關鍵儀器；單顯微鏡和後來的複式顯微鏡（分別是1590 年代和1650 年代）、望遠鏡（1608 年）、氣壓計（1643 年）、氣泵（1650 年代）。股創新熱潮以及它在科學探索和生產從火器到鐘錶等關鍵機械設備方面給歐洲帶來的優勢。
歐洲人對其精密工具和儀器的優越性的認識與進一步、更根本的啟示有關。歐洲旅行者和傳教士開始意識到，他們感知和感知世界的方式與他們在海外遇到的任何民族都有根本上的不同。

Michael Adas (1989) 《機器作為人的尺度》第 60 頁

這種對工程劣勢的評價在 18 世紀有所增加。

10. 軍事能力：中國被評為劣等