The Legal Activities And Contributions Of Missionaries In The Late Qing Dynasty

Since ancient times,the Chinese nation has formed a unique legal culture system with its own continuous development.But in the late Qing dynasty,the closed door was forced to open along with the process of world integration dominated by Europe and America.Westerners,western things and western studies also poured into the ancient eastern empire as an unstoppable trend so that thousands of years of traditional legal culture was impacted violently and gradually began to disintegrate.Then China entered the process of legal modernization where missionaries were not only engaged in missionary activities,but also actively engaged in legal activities.As westerners in China,they made a significant contribution to the legal modernization of the late Qing Dynasty.This paper firstly begins with the background of the missionaries coming to China in the late Qing Dynasty,elaborates the historical evolution of Western missionaries coming to China and the legal situation concerning the prohibition of Western religious spread in Qing Dynasty.Secondly,it focuses on the related legal activities carried out by the missionaries in the late Qing Dynasty,including the dissemination of western law,legal education and participation in treaty signing.Thirdly,it discusses the role of missionaries in promoting the modernization of the late Qing Dynasty.These effects include enlightening thought by spreading the western law,training legal talents through legal education and establishing consular jurisdiction and forcing the Qing Dynasty to modify the traditional law by participating in the signing of the treaty to fight for legal rights.Meanwhile,it doesn’t deny that some missionaries have misconduct,such as intervention in litigation and setting up an illegal court,which arouses public anger and leads to a serious consequence.Finally,aiming at the problems in academic research,this paper reviews the legal activities and contributions of the missionaries in the lateQing Dynasty.It is pointed out that the role of missionaries in the modernization of the late Qing Dynasty is so crucial that we can’t deny it,however it also emphasizes that the missionaries are not the only external factor during this process,not even the decisive factor.So it should not be exaggerated or regarded as absolute.In addition,the mission of missionaries is preaching,their purpose is to make the Qing Empire become a member of the Christian world.And the legal activities they carry out are only necessary means in order to achieve the ultimate goal.