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太平天國之興亡與美國之關係
The Rise and Fall of the Taiping Rebellion and its Relation with the United States
並列摘要
This essay attempts to show a considerably close relationship between the Taiping Rebellion and the United States in three respects: American missionaries, diplomats, and ＂filibusters＂. From the first point of view, Hung Hsiu-chüan was not a born rebel or revolutionary. Had he passed the civil service examinations and obtained a higher degree, he would have become a Chinese bureaucrat or a member of the gentry class. Though deeply frustrated by examination failures and in a tortured state of mind, he did not join the mob in any anti-foreign activities in Canton. Instead he went to study the Bible in 1847 under an American missionary, I. J. Roberts, for about three months. His desire to be baptized and given a steady job in the Church was declined by Roberts. Lacking the means of making a living, Hung Hsiu-ch'üan was compelled to rebel in Kwangsi. Most informants confused the revolutionary movement with a secret society or bandit uprising. The first Westerner to clear the myth and pointed out to the world that the Taiping rebellion being a Christian movement was I. J. Roberts. He even predicted the Taiping success and called for Western support. Many missionaries including W.A.P. Martin tried to visit their Christian brothers in Nanking. Martin urged the United States to recognize the Taiping Kingdom as well as the Peking regime - a two China policy. Later on in 1860 the Reverend J. L. Holmes visited Nanking requesting an interview with the Heavenly King, Hung Hsiu-ch'üan. When his request was not complied with, the irate missionary published a sharp criticism of the Nanking regime in the North China Herald. Shortly after, I. J. Roberts was invited to Nanking by his former pupil to serve as a religious mentor and diplomatic adviser dealing with foreign visitors. Unfortunately the affectionate teacher-student relationship degenerated into enmity as both were quick tempered and obstinate. After staying on for fifteen months, Roberts had a quarrel with Hung Jen-kan, a cousin of the Heavenly King, and left Nanking in a panic. He published articles not only discrediting the Taiping leaders but suggesting military intervention to wipe out the Kingdom. This suggestion was heartily welcomed by the British thereby changing their policy of ＂neutrality＂ to intervention. Second, the relation between American diplomats and the Taiping regime is considered. The first American minister, Peter Parker, was favorably impressed with the rebels. His successor Humphrey Marshall however criticised him for being over sympathetic with the insurgents. In spite of the fact that the Secretary of State, Marcy, instructed Marshall to recognize Peking as a government de jure and Nanking de facto, Marshall placed the foreign settlement in Shanghai under western military protection and formally recommended a policy of non-recognition of the Taiping Kingdom. Although the American naval authority in China under Commodore Matthew C. Perry disagreed sharply and quarreled with Marshall, the latter being in charge of diplomatic affairs maintained a policy of neutrality in name and a pro-Manchu policy in fact. He even forbade American citizens to visit Nanking on the penality of death. Marshall's successor, Robert M. McLane, was again instructed by the Secretary to recognize the Taiping Kingdom as a de facto government. After arriving in Shanghai, McLane insisted on making a trip to Nanking before carrying out his instructions. His on-the-spot study reached the conclusion that the Taiping officials were mostly illiterates, ＂the dregs of the country＂. He decided to follow Marshall's policy. Thereafter there was no further change in the American attitude toward the Taipings. Active cooperation with the British was kept up and finally the Anglo-American support of the Ch'ing Dynasty was to dcal the Taipings a severe blow. Third, the part played by American ＂filibusters＂ such as Frederick T. Ward and Henry A. Burgevine is dealt with. When Shanghai was threatened by the Taipings, the moneyed class and foreigners were frightened. The banker Yang Fang employed Ward to train a mixed corps consisting of Filippino and other foreign mercenaries to battle the Taipings. Being better paid and armed than the Chinese soldiers, they won a number of victories. As an encouragement, the Manchu court granted to the force the title of the ＂Ever Victorious Army＂, not taking into account their several defeats suffered at the hands of the rebels. Ward was killed in September 1862. Before he died he did not forget to claim that Yang Fang and the Shanghai taotai Wu Hsü owed him some $150,000, a wealth he accumulated within two years from his penniless condition on first arriving at Shanghai. After much struggle between the American and British authorities, both would have liked to have a successor to lead the Ever Victorious Army from their own nationals. Burgevine, a high school graduate with some military training, eventually secured the job. He was not only a good fighter but also an efficient commander who could share hardships with his soldiers. However, he could not get along with his superiors especially Li Hung-chang. For accepting some 40,000 taels of silver from Yang Fang's bank to pay his troops, he was dismissed and replaced by a Briton, C. G. Gordon. The Ever Victorious Army was successful at least in preventing the Taipings from taking Shanghai. If Li Hsiu-ch'eng had taken Shanghai, the Taipings could have been able to purchase weapons and ammunitions, recruited foreign fighters and accumulated money from custom duties and other sources and the Taiping history would have been a different one.