On July 14, 1853, Commodore Perry and his party landed in Japan for the first time. 1. The Arrival of the Black Ships I have watched a bit of the river drama "The Legend of Ryoma" before, and I particularly noticed a "famous scene" in the fifth episode: In order to watch the Amer

2024-11-30 10:51:05 entertainment 4830℃

On July 14, 1853, Commodore Perry of the United States Navy and his party landed in Japan for the first time.

1. The Arrival of the Black Ship

I have watched a bit of the river drama "The Legend of Ryoma" before, and I particularly noticed a "famous scene" in the fifth episode: To watch the American "Black Ship", Ryoma Sakamoto He secretly ran to Uraga, where he also met Katsura Kogoro of the Choshu Domain - Takayun Kido, one of the later "Three Heroes of the Restoration". "In front of the huge hull, Ryoma's sword was so insignificant that it was useless. In less than a blink of an eye, Ryoma and Kogoro was already immersed in the sea. The huge waves stirred up by the Mississippi engulfed Ryoma and Kogoro. " (Based on the novel version of Ryoma's Story I by Fukuda Yasushi and Aoki Kuniko, translated by Chen Xianruo, published by Yilin. Society 2013 Edition, page 98)

The so-called "black ship" originally refers to Western ships in general. At that time, in order to prevent rust, the outer shells of Western ships were coated with tar, so they were black. Later, it specifically referred to advanced steam ships. In 1853, Commodore Perry of the U.S. Navy led a gunboat to invade the waters of Uraga in Edo Bay (now Tokyo Bay) and forced the shogunate to establish a country. The Japan-U.S. Goodwill Treaty was signed the following year, which was a famous "black war" in the history of East Asia. ship incident". Sakamoto Ryoma was originally an "anti-barbarian" faction, that is, xenophobic. According to the plot of the TV series, he realized that the katana could not fight against the "black ships" after seeing the power of the "black ships", and then he became a "founding country" Sent.

Ryoma is one of the most admired historical figures among the Japanese people, if not the only one, and the "attack of the black ships" is a symbol of the "founding of the country", which is equivalent to the beginning of Japan's modern history. Ryoma and Katsura Kogoro meet the "Black Ship" together. This scene is obviously very dramatic. But it is not difficult to imagine that this must be a fiction. As a samurai of the Tosa Domain, Ryoma could not have gone to the front line Uraga at that time.

Take a look at Shiba Ryotaro's writing: "On the third day of June in the sixth year of Kayei, that is, the moment the U.S. East India Fleet arrived in Japan, Japanese history changed and entered the turbulent era of the end of the Tokugawa period. Ryoma's fate also happened with it. But he didn't understand what the so-called black ship meant that day. After listening to Wu Shi's talk about the black ship, he suddenly realized. "I feel hungry." (The first part of "Sakamoto Ryoma", translated by Yue Yuankun, Nanhai Publishing Company, 2011 edition, page 47) In fact, when Ryoma heard about "Black Ship", it is probably impossible to test, Shiba Ryotaro. The plot is probably fictitious, but his fictitiousness is much more restrained, and he does not dare to say that Ryoma saw the "Black Ship" with his own eyes. Comparing this detail, there is no need to check special historical materials. I think it is enough to judge that Ryoma saw the "black ship" must be the scriptwriter's statement and cannot be taken seriously.

Japanese Restoration Patriot Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867).

Although the plot of the dragon and horse seeing the "black ship" is eye-catching, it is just a fiction of modern people. In modern Chinese history, there is an anecdote about Hu Linyi seeing a foreign ship, which is exactly the same as the plot of the dragon and horse seeing the "black ship", but it is There are levies in history.

The text of this anecdote can be found in Volume 1 of Xue Fucheng's "Yongxu Notes", under the chapter "The Minister is Concerned about the Country". The full text is as follows:

There is a Hefei native with the surname Liu. He tasted the title of Geshiha under the command of Duke Hu Wenzhong, and then retired to the countryside. . When the Chu army was besieging Anqing, Wen Zhong once went to inspect the division. He rode his horse up Longshan Mountain to take in the situation and said happily: "Looking down at Anqing from here is like being at the bottom of a cauldron. Although the thieves are strong, there is nothing to worry about!" When we arrived at the river bank, we suddenly saw two foreign ships sailing westward, as fast as a galloping horse and as fast as the wind. Wen Zhong changed his face and became silent. He reined up his horse and returned to camp. He vomited blood on the way and almost fell off his horse. Wen Zhong had been ill before, but he was still ill. Within a few months, he died in the army. For example, the Cantonese thieves must be wiped out, Wen Zhong has already calculated, and when we see the power of the foreigners, it will be a disease of blindness, and it will be difficult to start. Yan Danchu was a minister in the Wenzhong shogunate. Whenever he discussed Western affairs with Wenzhong, Wenzhong would often wave his hands and close his eyes. He looked unhappy for a long time and said, "This is beyond our knowledge!" Ouch! There are endless changes in the world, and external dangers are always thorny. However, those who worry about them are deeply concerned, so they regard the benefits as difficult and do not dare to ignore them lightly. The reason why this Wen Zhong is Wen Zhong is also Wen Zhong.

The "Chu Army's Siege of Anqing" mentioned here refers to the Hunan Army's siege of Anqing from 1860 to 1861. From the perspective of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it was the so-called "Anqing Defense War". Hu Linyi was confident that Anqing was just around the corner, but when he saw the Western ships on the Yangtze River, "the drums sailed westward, as fast as galloping horses, as fast as the wind", he thought that China's armaments would be unable to compete in the future, and he was eclipsed. , so that the condition worsened and he eventually died.

Hu Linyi's anecdote is also very dramatic and rich in details. It is even better than the story of Ryoma Sakamoto seeing the "black ship". In addition, Hu Linyi and Long Ma are not incomparable: as one of the "famous ministers of the late Qing Dynasty and ZTE", Hu's status was not lower than Zeng Guofan during his lifetime, but his courage was even greater, but he died early due to illness. , but it was not enough to see the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom; Ryoma interposed to create the alliance between the two powerful vassals of Choshu and Satsuma, and objectively became the hero behind the overthrow movement. As a result, he was assassinated at a young age, and the achievements of the "Meiji Restoration" were not seen. In the East Asian world, these two people can be described as heroes in history, and they were also the most outstanding figures in the era of Western power spreading eastward. However, neither of them used their talents to their full potential, which is naturally very sad.

2. Written by a busybody?

However, then again, some scholars question the authenticity of the scene where Hu Linyi saw the foreign ship.

Mr. Liu Yijiang, who specializes in studying Hu Linyi, believes: "The implausibility of this matter is that... when Hu was stationed in Taihu Lake, he was bedridden most of the time. It was not easy to go out to inspect the city defenses, and Taihu Lake is more than 220 miles away from Anqing. ,he Where did he find the strength to leap over Longshan? Moreover, since the coach came to Longshan to inspect the army, Zeng Guoquan, who was in charge of the Anqing war, would accompany him throughout the whole process. How could there be no trace of Zeng Guoquan's letters and documents at that time? Moreover, Hu was seriously ill. , no need to see foreign ships, every day They would all vomit blood, so it was compiled by a meddler to reflect Hu Linyi’s concern for the country.” ("Critical Biography of Hu Linyi", Hebei University Press, 2009 edition, page 338) It should be said, Mr. Liu is familiar with Hu's deeds, and his arguments are well-founded; but I also feel that the preservation of historical materials is accidental due to the lack of books, so "it is easy to say, but not difficult to say." For this matter Although it is difficult for us to establish the truth, we may not be able to absolutely prove it. To take a step back, even if the matter is attached to Hu Linyi, the forged plot may not be without credible historical facts, and it should not be written off as "made up by bad actors."

First of all, the text quoted by Mr. Liu comes from "Unofficial History of the Qing Dynasty". The source of the book's history is mixed and it is indeed difficult to fully trust it. However, as quoted above, the actual source of this text is "Yongzhen Notes". The author Xue Fucheng claims that "historical materials are of a kind, and he is careful in writing. He knows what is public and what is not public, and dare not have any personal opinions." The historical source is not It’s so easy to deny.

Secondly, and more importantly, regardless of whether Hu Linyi "saw" the foreign ship or not, this anecdote has its real historical background. In fact, it was precisely because I accidentally noticed diary materials about foreign ships at that time that I decided to revisit the anecdote about Hu Linyi.

Mo Youzhi, who is now famous as a bibliophile, during his lifetime, mostly acted as a "secretary friend" among various officials, including Hu Linyi and Zeng Guofan. On the 19th day of the first month of the eleventh year of Xianfeng (1861) (February 28th in the Gregorian calendar), he arrived at Taihu City, where the Hunan Army was stationed, and went to visit Hu Linyi the next day. On the 24th (March 5th in the Gregorian calendar), I met with Hu again at noon, and Hu "asked if he would stay behind the curtain", but Mo refused half-heartedly, "I can't let him do it because of his bluntness." "Things are just words", but at the same time, he also said: "No separation of duties, no hard work and salary, time and moon depend on each other, and you can get close to the great men of the day and expand your mind, which is the original intention of leaving the capital." - It was when he met Hu Linyi. On this day, he wrote down a sentence in his diary:

I heard that a foreign ship had passed Anqing two or three days ago. (" Mo Youzhi Diary", compiled by Zhang Jian, Phoenix Publishing House, 2014 edition, page 8)

Since then, he has been paying close attention to "foreign ships" or "ghost ships" and left many records. Only after that Within a month, there were the following:

(On the twenty-sixth day of the first lunar month), after the eclipse, I went out for a walk at the west gate and heard that a foreign ship had arrived in Wuchang.

(February 5th) I also heard that there were people on the ghost ship who arrived at Hankou, most of whom were from Chaoyong and Xingguo Prefecture. They also search for and buy forbidden substances such as nitrate and sulfur, which is extremely worrying.

A letter from Jiangxia on the 14th (February 21st) said: After the Bi passed through Yangluo, people said that dozens of foreign ships were helping to sail against Huangzhou. At that time, all the foreign ships were in Xiakou, and then three ships sailed down. It may not necessarily open your eyes to help others, but it will inevitably make China's heart and ears look down upon.

(February 22) Yang Hou'an's letter from the Junmen on the 18th: A foreign ship was parked outside the Xiaonan Gate of Anqing. It had two small rows. It was lit at night and was dealing with city thieves. It sailed off the next day. The navy was all angry, because they asked if the barbarian ship could be attacked next time if it was still like this. Gong Bao responded to this matter, but he was afraid that it was not the right time. (See "Mo Youzhi's Diary", pages 8, 10, 13, and 14)

The above records are all narrations or letters from others that Mo Youzhi got. It can be seen that foreign ships entered the Yangtze River that day. , and sailing through Anqing, is indeed a major event that attracts public attention. As a guest, Mo Youzhi is like this. It is conceivable that Hu Linyi, as the host, must be more concerned about this and must have obtained much more information. Therefore, he must be quite knowledgeable about foreign ships. In this case, regardless of whether he personally climbed Longshan Mountain, whether he personally looked down the Yangtze River and saw foreign ships, it is completely reasonable for him to be deeply worried about the Western power represented by foreign ships, and it is probably true. In other words, Hu Linyi's inspection of the Anqing front line is indeed suspicious and difficult to believe; but even if it is fake, there must be some truth in the fake thing. The detail of Hu Linyi's reaction to the foreign ship is used as historical data. Still very valuable.

Hu Linyi (1812-1861), a famous official in the late Qing Dynasty.

3. Foresight or hindsight?

In the record of "Yongzhen's Notes", Xue Fucheng summarized Hu Linyi's reaction to the foreign ships as "the minister is worried about the country", "but his worries are deep, so it is difficult to see the benefits", which not only highlights his worries Consciousness also emphasizes its foresight. But with the benefit of historical hindsight, Hu Linyi’s worries can no longer be said to be “foresight”, but rather “hindsight”.

As for the most advanced steamships in the West, the Chinese had “personally seen” records long before the Opium War. Xie Qinggao, who traveled overseas with foreign merchant ships in his early years, once left an oral document called "Hai Lu". In the records about the "Bailigan Kingdom", also known as the United States, there is this saying:

The country mostly used fire when entering and exiting. The boat uses axles both inside and outside the boat, with a brazier in the middle. When the fire is strong, it drives the wheel and turns the water around. There is no need for human power, and the boat can move on its own. The craftsmanship is so ingenious that no one can catch a glimpse of it. The small Western countries also have many effects. (Anjing's "Hai Lu", Commercial Press 2002 edition, pages 264-265)

Xie Qinggao died in the first year of Daoguang (1821), and "Hai Lu" was written in the 25th year of Jiaqing (1820) when he was in Macao Oral narration, written and recorded by fellow countryman Yang Bingnan. The exact publication time of "Hai Lu" seems difficult to determine, but in short, the circulation is very limited, and I am afraid that few people will pay attention to the record of this "fire ship".

Another example is the fifteenth year of Daoguang's reign (1835), Qi Gong, the governor of Guangdong, reported:

According to the foreign merchant Wu Shaorong and others, it was transferred to the British Yi merchant Qin Yili. When the Yi people come to Guangdong to trade, all letters must be passed back and forth. It is difficult to travel in the wind; now there are smoke boats at the foot of the harbor that can sail against the wind. They have no sails and masts, and only have smoke pipes. There is a fire in the ship, and the smoke comes out of the pipe. There are wheels on both sides of the ship. The smoke is spinning and the wheels are moving very fast. I want to When traveling to the province, deliver letters to the forts and forts along the way, in case of suspicion and expulsion. (Volume 27 of "Guangdong Customs Chronicles" compiled by Liang Tinghao, edited and annotated by Yuan Zhongren, Guangdong People's Publishing House, 2002 edition, page 531)

It can be seen that the British East India Company's mail ships at that time had used paddle steam power, and in China, at least Foreign businessmen will have a certain understanding of this. Of course,

and above are only sporadic knowledge among Chinese people, and the stimulation to the group is almost non-existent.

During the First Opium War, the British troops came to the city. The Chinese directly faced their military machines and were shocked by the Westerners' "strong ships and powerful artillery" (see Wang Ermin's "The Understanding of Sino-Western Relations by Chinese Scholar-officials in the Nineteenth Century") Derived New Concepts" Note 9, "On the History of Modern Chinese Thought", Social Sciences Literature Press, 2003 edition) .At that time, the British army still relied on old-style sailing warships as its main force. There were only a few small and medium-sized steamships in the fleet (the most famous one was the Nemesis). However, this new type of ship that did not rely on wind power had aroused unusual concern among the Chinese. Attention, as if Zhang Xi, Qi Shan, Chen Fengheng, Wang Wentai, Qi Ying, Yi Liang, Wang Yunxiang, Xu Jishe and others all have detailed records based on actual observations. Zheng Fuguang also has a special work "Pictures of Steamships" (cited by Wang Ermin, note 12 ) . However, the location of this war and the "Five Ports of Trade" after the war were limited to the southeast coast, and the wider population in the mainland still did not have the opportunity to witness it. Since then, times have changed, but the government and the opposition have remained stagnant. The Chinese people's enthusiasm for Western-style "strong ships and powerful artillery" during the war disappeared, and they missed the opportunity to "learn from foreigners and develop skills" - a "tip" given by history to the Chinese , so ignored and wasted by us.

Until history repeated itself, the Second Opium War was defeated again, and the Sino-British Treaty of Tianjin was signed in 1858. Following the opening of coastal trade ports, the Yangtze River trade ports were opened, including several important commercial ports in Hankou, Jiujiang, Nanjing, and Zhenjiang. , so British merchant ships could sail across the rivers and penetrate deep into the interior. At this time, British ships had been upgraded from the sail age to the steam age. Their speed and efficiency were far from what they were during the First Opium War. Compared with the stagnant traditional Chinese armaments, they were even more powerful. An overwhelming absolute advantage. This also means that along the long Yangtze River, Westerners were able to intuitively demonstrate the power of their "strong ships and guns". This visual impact was strong enough to dazzle and enthrall countless Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Shocked.

——This is the historical background of Hu Linyi’s anecdote about “seeing” foreign ships. In the final analysis, whether this anecdote about Hu Linyi is true or false, from the historical background, it always happened for a reason. This anecdote not only reflects Hu Linyi's possible shock and worry as a military commander, but also reflects the general shock and worry of Chinese scholars and people at that time.

However, we must know that it was twenty years after the First Opium War, and it was only then realized that "the power of foreigners is raging". It was already a bit behind, and it was not too clever. In fact, although Zeng and Hu were the first-rate figures at that time, their understanding of the "foreign power" was actually not as good as that of those who worked closely with them, such as Qishan and Qiying. Because, in the overall conservative context, Qishan and Qiying, as "capitulationists", have long been abandoned outside the center of power, and their foreign affairs experience cannot be passed down; while Hu Linyi, who is at the center of power, has to learn from Only by re-accumulating experience in practice and seeing or hearing the power of foreign ships first-hand can we once again realize the "power of foreigners" and realize what Qishan and Qiying already realized back then.

At this point, when political backbones such as Hu Linyi and Zeng Guofan also recognized the "foreign power" and the technological gap between China and the West, the Westernization Movement had to start. Although the subsequent Westernization Movement was carried out under the auspices of Zeng Guofan and others, we might as well say that the Westernization Movement had actually begun when Hu Linyi was surprised by the foreign ships! Unfortunately, from a hindsight perspective, this was ultimately a belated Westernization Movement—this Westernization Movement was generally considered a failure, and the reason why it failed was not because it came too late. What's the reason?

John Darwin (1948- ), Emeritus Professor of History at Oxford University.

4. Globalization is not a new thing

In today's usual expressions, globalization seems to be just a contemporary phenomenon, a phenomenon that only exists in our era. But in my opinion, globalization has certainly existed since ancient times. It can even be said that globalization has existed in almost any era. It's just that we have come from behind and have superior technical conditions, and our globalization is better than that of the ancients in terms of breadth and depth.

I agree very much with the contemporary British historian John Darwin, "Globalization is best understood as people, goods, money, technology, ideas, beliefs and biota - animals, plants and (less obvious) microorganisms - long-distance exchange."Globalization is not a new thing. It has a long history. 'Our' globalization is just the latest in a series of closer contacts that have facilitated the accumulation of distant regions." In fact, he particularly emphasized It is “steam globalization”, “Between 1830 and 1930, the world was reshaped by steam. The world's largest economies in China, India, Europe and the Americas are connected by sea and rail and increasingly by cable , with people, goods, ideas and money moving at an unprecedented scale and frequency. The impact goes beyond making it easier and cheaper for people to get around the world. Steam power also brought about a concentration of commercial, technological, and military power unprecedented in world history. For most of the 19th century after 1830, steam's role as a new and widely available energy source was largely limited to Europe and the United States, the emerging 'West'. Thus, for much of the 19th century, the owners of steam power seemed able to reorder the globe. They fashioned new iron networks to make their control a reality: empires of immigration, commerce, and rule; fleets of steamships to carry goods, immigrants, and mail; railroad lines to pry farther inland for occupation and trade. " ("Port Cities and Unlocking the World: A New Global History of the Steam Age", translated by Sun Wei, Yilin Publishing House, 2024 edition, pages 12, 11, 1)

"Port City and Unlocking the World: A New Global History of the Steam Age", translated by Sun Wei, Yilin Publishing House, 2024.

A major change caused by "steam globalization" is the entry of steam ships with unprecedented efficiency. In the heart of the continents, “the real revolution lies in the influence of steam on inland space. Steamboats on rivers extended the reach of port cities upstream, thereby expanding the scope of commercial agriculture and intensifying the influence of maritime transport on inland societies. These steamers facilitated the channelization and control of ‘unreliable’ waterways such as the Seine or the Elbe. They opened the great rivers of Asia and Africa—the Indus, Ganges, Irrawaddy, Mekong, Yangtze, Congo, Zambezi, Nile, and Niger—to European explorers, adventurers, traders, and missionaries. It was also sometimes open to European armies, navies and gunboats. ” (page 14) “River steamers, railroads, and eventually ocean steamers, brought what once seemed inaccessible inland areas within reach of European traders, missionaries, diplomats, and settlers…Steam powered of troop carriers and gunboats can now reach almost any possible target in weeks instead of months. ” (page 103)

Specific to China, the opening of the Yangtze River treaty ports can be described as a “major event” in modern history, “allowing Western-owned steamships to pour into the Yangtze River to obtain its trade. A steamer could travel upriver to Hankou, a huge inland tea market, in a matter of days," whereas with traditional transportation technology, "most trade would have taken weeks by sailing ship." (p. 284) .

In this way, from the perspective of world history, we can more clearly understand that steamships entering mainland China through the Yangtze River are indeed an inevitable result of "steam globalization" and cannot be stopped.

This historical scene is exactly what Hu Linyi did. What he faced, was shocked and feared at that time - "The foreign ship sailed westward, as fast as a galloping horse, as fast as the wind"! Referring to Mo Youzhi's diary, Hu Linyi learned about the time when the foreign ship passed Anqing. On or before March 1861, and he died on this day In this case, as Xue Fucheng said, he may have died with "concern for the country".

What Hu Linyi "saw" was actually not just a few foreign ships, but also a ship. A new era, an era of steam power.