Research Of Shandong Local Diplomatic Negotiations In Late Qing Dynasty

After two Opium Wars, the traditional diplomatic negotiation system were graduallyreplaced by the modern Treaty System which was dominated by the Western powers asa series of unequal treaties were signed. In this transition process towards moderninternational relations, rulers of the Qing dynasty who were shackled by outdatedBarbarians and Chinese view were still pursuing diplomatic outside policy, trying toavoid direct contact with the foreigners, which provided local government officialsopportunities to participate in local diplomatic negotiations.The Western forces began to penetrate into Shandong as the city of Yantai was openedas a commercial port in1861. There had been local negotiation institutions set up inYantai, Weihai and Qingdao which were both compelled to lease by the westernpowers and non-treaty port cities in Shandong province in order to deal with theincreasing local negotiation affairs. In1898, the first professional agency controllingthe provincial negotiation affairs in the history of Shandong－Foreign Affair Bureauwas officially established. This paper first gives a brief introduction about the localforeign exchange of the Shandong province before the Opium War, then it traces thehistorical evolution of the local negotiation institutions of the Shandong province inthe late Qing Dynasty chronologically. A system does not take effect until it workswith related personnel, after the discussion about the institutional change of localnegotiation system, chapter3analyzes the provincial governors who occupied thecentral positions in local negotiation，summarize limits of their negotiation authoritiesfrom three aspects and attempts to illustrate the impact of their attitudes towardsforeigners in the single-head local negotiation system by comparing the differentdiplomatic performances of the five provincial governors in the late19th and early 20th centuries.The forth part mainly discusses process procedure and negotiation objects of localnegotiation affairs and explains them with specific cases. Local negotiation involvedthe interests of Chinese and foreign officials and the populace, so certain procedureshould be followed in order to handle it properly. The local diplomatic negotiationprocedures gradually formed as the treaties were signed and the activities of theforeigners grew deepening. This thesis divides the procedures into two differentparts－regular cases and exceptional cases in accordance with reality.Chapter5analyzes Shandong local diplomatic negotiations in Late Qing Dynasty inthe aggregate, summarizes the features and explains the importance of it.To sum up, the specialization and modernization had been becoming an tendency inShandong local diplomatic negotiations in Late Qing Dynasty and it had positiveimpact on local diplomatic negotiation of other regions and provinces. The history inwhich local negotiation institutions gradually improved was at the same time a historyof reform the Qing government carried out in the face of external forces. Despite theshortcomings such as the unclear authority-responsibility relationships, too muchpower exercised by Governor of Shandong, loose institutions etc，the local diplomaticnegotiation institutions and related government officials did make contribution to thesovereignty of the country and local interests. They deserved credit for theirendeavors.