The Establishment of the Tsungli Yamen: A Translation of the Memorial and Edict of 1861.
J. L. Cranmer-Byng*.
The steps which led to the setting up of an office for the general management of the affairs of the various countries (tsung-li ko-kuo shih-wu ya-men) have been studied by Masataka Banno in his scholarly monograph, China and the West, 1851-1861: the Origins of the Tsungli Yamen. However, no complete translation into English of the important memorial and six-point memorandum submitted by Prince Kung, Kuei-liang and Wen-hsiang advocating the establishment of the Tsungli Yamen appears to exist, though a translation of the memorandum by T. F. Wade (later Sir Thomas Wade), made from a version of the text printed in the Peking Gazette, can be found in the Public Record Office, London. Short translated passages from the memorial and memorandum can be found in China's Response to the West, while Banno has supplied a brief analysis of their contents (with a few sentences translated) in chapter seven of his monograph. S. M. Meng, in his study of the Tsungli Yamen, refers to them but without offering any translation. Therefore a complete translation of the memorial and the memorandum, together with footnotes, is here offered in the belief that a detailed study of the whole document is valuable for a proper understanding of the reasons for the establishment of the Tsungli Yamen. The memorial was received at the travelling headquarters (hsing ying) of the Hsien-feng emperor at Jehol on 13 January 1861.
The memorial is a careful piece of reasoning, written in dignified Chinese, and aimed at persuading the war party at court of the necessity of setting up the Tsungli Yamen in order to have a more permanent method for discussing problems arising with the western-ocean countries now having treaties with China. The line of argument taken by Prince Kung and his co-memorialists is that because of the Taiping and Nien rebels China is now too weak to oppose Russia, Britain, France and America by force of arms.
* Professor Cranmer-Byng, now of the University of Toronto, was formerly on the teaching staff at the University of Hong Kong. He was first Editor of this Journal in 1960, and again in 1962-63.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TSUNGLI YAMEN: A TRANSLATION OF THE MEMORIAL AND EDICT OF 1861.
J. L. CRANMER-BYNG*.
The steps which led to the setting up of an office for the general management of the affairs of the various countries (tsung-li ko-kuo shih-wu ya-men) have been studied by Masataka Banno in his scholarly monograph, China and the West, 1851-1861: the Origins of the Tsungli Yamen! However, no complete translation into English of the important memorial and six-point memorandum submitted by Prince Kung, Kuei-liang and Wen-hsiang advocating the establishment of the Tsungli Yamen appears to exist, though a translation of the memorandum by T. F. Wade (later Sir Thomas Wade), made from a version of the text printed in the Peking Gazette, can be found in the Public Record Office, London,2 Short translated passages from the memorial and memorandum can be found in China's Response to the West3, while Banno has supplied a brief analysis of their contents (with a few sentences translated) in chapter seven of his monograph. S. M. Meng, in his study of the Tsungli Yamen, refers to them but without offering any trans- lation3. Therefore a complete translation of the memorial and the memorandum, together with footnotes, is here offered in the belief that a detailed study of the whole document is valuable for a proper understanding of the reasons for the establishment of the Tsungli Yamen". The memorial was received at the travelling headquarters (hsing ying) of the Hsien-feng emperor at Jehol on 13 January 18617.
The memorial is a careful piece of reasoning, written in dignified Chinese, and aimed at persuading the war party at court of the necessity of setting up the Tsungli Yamen in order to have a more permanent method for discussing problems arising with the western-ocean countries now having treaties with China. The line of argument taken by Prince Kung and his co-memorialists is that because of the Taiping and Nien rebels China is now too weak to oppose Russia, Britain, France and America by force of arms.
* Professor Cranmer-Byng, now of the University of Toronto, was formerly on the teaching staff at the University of Hong Kong. He was first Editor of this Journal 1960, and again in 1962-63.
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