跨界的國家建構：光緒華北旱災、日本捐賑與清朝外政秩序

Japanese Relief and the Qing Government’s Handling of Foreign Affairs during the Period of the Ding-wu Disaster

光緒初年，華北地區發生嚴重糧荒，尤以1877、1878年為最，史稱「丁戊奇荒」。英美等國及日本、東南亞各埠均曾參與捐款和賑恤。既往研究主要關注西方的援助行為，對日本方面的救恤活動較為忽視。災情初現時，駐上海日本領事館首先組織在華日商及社會團體參與捐款，但因款項歸入西方傳教士的「洋賑」系統，因而未能引起廣泛的社會關注。隨後，日本商界依靠政府的支持在國內發起募捐，購買米糧運往中國施賑，並採取依託地方官府力量施賑的「本土化」策略。日本商界的賑恤活動不僅突出其主體性，也受到清朝政府的關注。與此同時，清朝駐日公使館設立後，亦向在日華商群體勸募，受到華商的熱情響應。華商集款後，積極利用駐日公使館與國內行政系統的聯繫，將賑款解送母國；清政府則依據旌表制度對在日華商進行嘉獎。本文指出，日本商界及在日華商選擇獨立的路徑完成捐賑，並在解款或施賑過程中密切與清朝官方聯繫。1870年代後期，日本和東亞地域秩序在中國外交事務中日漸重要，清政府能夠給予相應反饋，顯現外政運作方式已逐漸成熟。

In the early years of the reign of the Guangxu Emperor (r. 1875–1908), the Ding-wu Disaster丁戊奇荒occurred in North China, and in response, the US, the UK, Japan, and many Southeast Asian countries all participated in relief programs. However, previous studies have mainly focused on the aid activities of Western countries and overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia while ignoring those of Japan. At the onset of the disaster, the Consulate-General of Japan in Shanghai called on Japanese merchants and community organizations in China to make donations, but because the relief funds were subsumed under“foreign relief”洋賑, which was dominated by the participating Western countries, it failed to attract widespread attention from Chinese society. Subsequently, with government support, Japanese merchants initiated fundraising activities in Japan, using the donations to purchase rice and other grains in Japan and ship the goods to Tianjin. During this process, they adopted a“localization”strategy that meant relying on Chinese local governments to provide the relief while highlighting Japanese identity and agency, efforts which successfully caught the attention of Chinese authorities. In addition, the Qing dynasty mission in Japan raised donations from Chinese merchants in Japan, which was met with an enthusiastic response. Once the funds were collected, the merchants actively used contacts with the mission to assist in transferring the aid to the domestic administrative system. The Qing government then commended them according to the official reward system旌表, showing that the Chinese merchants in Japan were equally treated to the native Chinese in their contributions. This article indicates that both the Japanese and Chinese merchants chose separate routes to realize their relief activities, but within their respective paths, closely collaborated with the Qing government. The Qing government was thus able to effectively respond to their needs due to the growing geopolitical influence of Japan in the late 1870s, and a new Chinese political system dealing with foreign affairs emerged.