A Study On Ambassadors' Diplomacy For Overseas Chinese In The United States Of America In The Late Qing Dynasty

the Qing government dispatched envoys to foreign countries,which was summed up after the disastrous diplomatic failure.Britain,the United States and Japan became the first important countries where the Qing government send envoys.As one of the first countries to send ambassadors,the United States is inseparable from the emergence of the problem of overseas Chinese.Chinese living in the western part of the United States,in neighboring Mexico,Peru and the Spanish territory of Cuba,were subjected to inhumane abuse.Under the outcry of overseas Chinese,the Qing government realized the importance and urgency of sending envoys abroad.At the end of 1875,Chen Lanbin was appointed as the first ambassador to the United States,Spain and Peru.In 1878,the Chinese Embassy in the Washington was officially established.This is an important page in the diplomatic history of China and United State.Both sides stationed envoys and leaders in each other's capitals equally and Qing government could deal with the United States for the first time through envoys stationed in the United States.Subsequently,through the arduous efforts of successive ambassadors in the United States,China has set up consulates successively in Chinese-populated cities to protect the rights and interests of overseas Chinese.From 1875,Chen Lanbin was appointed as the first ambassador to the United States in the late Qing Dynasty until the collapse of the Qing government.There were eight ambassadors to the United States in the late Qing Dynasty.After Chen Lanbin,there were Zheng Zaoru,Zhang Yinhuan,Cui Guoyin,Yang Ru,Wu Tingfang,Liang Cheng and Zhang Yintang.Among them,Wu Tingfang served as Chinese ambassador to the United States twice.Cantonese are the main group of envoys stationed in the United States.Most of them are born of an elite,a celebrity or a Hanlin,which can be called"the right path of origin".They have a deep cultural foundation of middle school.Some of them are good at westernization.Wu Tingfang and Liang Cheng received systematic Western civilization education when they were young.Although both of them have good Western literacy,they are also familiar with Chinese traditional culture.they are proficient in masternng classics,historical lessons and learning both Chinese and Western.Because of the shortage of diplomatic talents and the shortage of state funds,ambassadors to United Statesusually double as ambassador in Spain and Peru.In 1903,the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believed that the United States and Spain were far away from each other,and that Cuba would become independent from Spain and that cross-regional annexation was out of date.Therefore,the Minister to France serve as Minister of Spain,whilethe Minister to United States serve as Minister of Peru and Mexico.As a Ministerin the United States with several position,the successive ambassadors in the United States have shouldered the burden of contacting state diplomacy,negotiating and protecting Chinese people.The problem of Chinese in the United States,Mexico,Cuba and Peru has also become the most important issue in their work.This paper intends to make an example analysis of protective diplomacy of Chinese ambassadors in the United States,Mexico,Cuba and Peru.So as to further understands the overseas living conditions of the Chinese in the late Qing Dynasty,and on the other hand,it deeply analyses the indelible achievements of the ambassadors in the United States in protecting the Chinese.This paper is divided into three chapters.Chapter one centers on the background of the dispatch of ambassadors to the United States.Firstly,it discusses the rise of coolie trade,the development of Chinese labors and the establishment of overseas embassies and consulates.Secondly,it introduces the general situation of ambassadors in the United States from the aspects of geographical location,family background and position.Chapter two introduces the protective measures of successive ambassadors in the United States for Chinese from three aspects:the anti-Chinese movement in the United States,the establishment of embassies and consulates in the United States under the efforts of ambassadors in the United States,and the transformation of diplomatic means of protecting overseas Chinese by ambassadors in the United States.Chapter three focuses on the efforts made by the ambassadors in the United States to protect overseas Chinese when he is serving concurrently in Mexico,Cuba and Peru.They actively participated in the negotiations of various countries and signed treaties to protect the Chinese people;To establish embassies and consulates to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese people;To tried to deal with cases of abuse of Chinese workers and strive for the compensation they deserve.