「著名的第十三款」之謎：圍繞1843年中英《善後事宜清冊附粘和約》的爭議

Mysteries over the “Famous Thirteenth Article”: Controversies Arising from the Supplementary Treaty Signed by China and Britain in 1843

鴉片戰爭以後，中英兩國在1843年10月8日簽署《南京條約》的補充條約《善後事宜清冊附粘和約》（通稱《虎門條約》），中英文本存有嚴重歧異，引發連串風波，其中以第十三款爭議最大，史家稱之為「著名的第十三款」。但現在所見相關討論，並沒有能解釋為什麼這麼重要的條約會出現嚴重的錯誤，且一直沒有能夠確定責任誰屬。本文集中處理《善後事宜清冊附粘和約》第十三款中英文本的歧異，利用英國外交部以及其他原始資料，詳細分析和約中英文本產生和翻譯的過程，證明文本歧異並不在於中國官員狡黠欺騙，單方面修改條款，實因英方譯員羅伯聃在抄寫文本後沒有準確校對，未把英方對中方送來的文本所作的修改放進條約英文本內。本文又詳細分析事件被揭發後各方的應對，展示英方相關人士如璞鼎查、德庇時以至阿伯丁的反應，嘗試全面描繪事件的真相。 On 29 August 1842, China and Britain signed the Treaty of Nanking toconclude the First Opium War. Then on 8 October 1843, they signed theSupplementary Treaty (commonly known as the Treaty of the Bogue) to settlesome outstanding trade issues. Nevertheless, the Supplementary Treatybrought great confusion because of serious discrepancies between the Chineseand English texts. The thirteenth clause caused the greatest controversies,and hence historians have called it the “famous thirteenth article.” Yet thewhole incident remains a mystery, and no satisfactory explanation has beenprovided as to how the discrepancies emerged. By examining extensivefirst-hand materials, this article draws a comprehensive picture of how the twotexts were produced and how the translation processes were conducted. Bypointing out that the discrepancies were the results of negligence on the part ofthe British translator, Robert Thom, it challenges the view commonly held byWestern historians that Chinese officials amended the Chinese version behindthe backs of the British diplomats. It also analyses the reactions of thedifferent parties involved, including the first two Hong Kong governorsPottinger and Davis, as well as the Foreign Secretary, Lord Aberdeen, thusconstructing a more comprehensive and accurate account of the incident.