阿瑜陀耶王朝的覆亡與暹羅對中國朝貢關係的中斷（1767-1782）

The Fall of Ayutthaya and Siam's Disrupted Order of Tribute to China (1767-1782)

過去有關暹羅鄭王（吞武里王朝；1767-1782）與中國外交接觸的研究文獻普遍認為：鄭王在他的對外關係佈局中特別強調暹羅與中國的互動交往，而此一外交基調也由其後的拉塔那科新王朝初期（1782-1854）的幾位暹羅國王所繼續遵行。然而，這些研究主要係以中國方面的史料文獻為立論基礎，甚少關切一個核心問題：「1767年阿瑜陀耶王朝的覆亡對於此一暹羅最初外交關係中『中國觀』的形成具有何種影響。」為釐清此一問題，筆者將並重暹羅與中國的文獻史料以進行分析，檢視阿瑜陀耶王朝崩解後暹羅恢復中斷的對中國朝貢的過程。為探求此一問題，筆者將闡明暹羅與中國之間政治訊息如何傳遞以及雙方如何理解與解讀這些訊息；此外，本研究的另一目的在於呈現出此一時期暹羅與中國交往中的多元參與者以及互動關係中的多樣面貌。本研究所欲廓清的是：「鄭王的統治是暹羅與中國交往關係史的轉折點，而此一轉折的意義在於暹羅內部的中國媒介促使暹羅認真考量在雙方關係中首度向中國進行朝貢的政治意涵。」在此情勢背後，可以發現阿瑜陀耶王朝滅亡後，吞武里與廣州之間政治訊息的傳遞有顯著地強化，這比過去暹羅與中國間繁忙的沿海交易更具意義。然而，即使暹羅與中國間訊息往來密切，但此一時期雙方仍存在認知上的矛盾。暹羅方面對於發展與中國關係的看法內部存在認知差距，這一點是研究者論述拉塔那科新王朝暹羅菁英對於與中國發展關係的文化與政治利益評估時所不應忽略的。

Previous studies on King Taksin (r. 1767-1782)'s diplomatic contacts with China reveal that the King laid special stress on Siam's interactions with China in his external relationships and this basic pattern was carried on by the Kings of the early Rattanakosin era (1782-c.1854). Since those studies mainly rely on Chinese historical data, little attention has been given to the point what kind of change the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 occasioned to the indigenous Siamese diplomatic view of China. To clarify this point, I will examine the process of restoration of the disrupted order of Siam's tribute to China during the period following the destruction of Ayutthaya through a study of Siamese and Chinese historical records. Through exploring this topic, I would like to focus on how political information was transmitted between Siam and China and how the knowledge was comprehended by the both party. Besides this, another purpose of this study is to show vivid images of multi-faceted interaction among various participants of Sino-Siamese interaction during the era. This study clarifies that the reign of King Taksin was the turning point of the history of Sino-Siamese interaction since for the first time in the history of Sino-Siamese relations, Chinese intermediaries in the Siamese court had to take into consideration cautiously the political aspect of paying tribute to China. Behind this is the fact that than former ages, there was outstandingly intensified transmission of political news in the busy seaborne traffic after the fall of Ayutthaya between Thonburi and Guangzhou. However, between the two courts the news was still rather ambiguously comprehended at this stage of history. This gap of understanding of the relationship with China among the Siamese court should not be overlooked when we try to assess the sense of value lying behind Siamese elites' interest in cultural, economic and political implication of their relation with China during the early Rattanakosin period.