“大黃迷思”－清代制裁西洋禁運大黃的策略思維與文化意涵

The Myth of Rhubarb: The Strategic Rationale and Cultural Implications of China's Prohibitions on the Export of Rhubarb to Britain and Russia in the Qing Period

張哲嘉(Che-Chia Chang)

《近代史研究所集刊》 47期 (2005/03) Pp. 43-100

https://doi.org/10.6353/BIMHAS.200503.0043

摘要

本文從清廷在鴉片戰爭前研議對英實施大黃禁運這段歷史插曲入手，探討清代「控制大黃即足使西洋人無以維生」此一想法的歷史淵源。論點有五，（一）道光君臣的信念，來自乾隆54年對俄禁運大黃獲致外交勝利等成功前例，乃隊事實經驗為其立論基礎。（二）造成該誤解的主因，源於東西藥學理論與物質文化的差異。在中國被視為具有危險性的大黃，在西方卻因炮製方式的不同，藥性和緩安全；且在體液學說盛行的時代，被當作萬靈藥，廣泛用於排泄體液。可見東西方對同一藥物的看法差異極大。（三）造成誤解的偶然因素，如乾隆禁運大黃時，沙俄適取消專賣，促成邊境走私，使清方判斷俄國因亟需大黃而窘急；最後俄方基於貿易考量委曲求全，更堅定清方的誤解。（四）大黃迷思的起源不在中國人無根臆測，而在歷史事實為無效問題提供假證據。清方興起大黃制敵的思想，淵源於明代以來以茶馬貿易控制周邊民族的有效模式。（五）無論茶、馬或大黃，背後均有一套涉及藥性、食物、身體，乃至自然環境等四個因素的也界觀，作為其思想基礎。從此可知，此論雖曾盛行一時，且於事實證據、論理雄辯看似均無懈可擊，卻在誤會條件消失後反成荒謬。後人須設身處地，方能了解。

關鍵字

大黃 ； 文化交流 ； 貿易制裁 ； 中英關係 ； 中俄關係 ； 鴉片戰爭 ； 恰克圖 ； 本草 ； 物質文化

並列摘要

This paper examines the strategic thinking behind China's prohibition on the export of rhubarb to Britain before the Opium War, and explores the myth that Westerners could not survive without rhubarb. The paper makes five main points. First, the strategy was based on the previous successful experience over Russia in 1792, during the late Qianlong reign. Second, the myth was based on differences between the pharmaceutical theories and material cultures of the Chinese and Western traditions. In China rhubarb was considered as fatal if misused, whereas in the West, after a specific method of processing, rhubarb was considered to possess mild medical qualities. Furthermore, in the Western tradition of pharmacology rhubarb was broadly used as a cure-all for its amazing effects of discharging surplus body fluids. Thus in China and in the West, this same herb possessed completely different images. Third, a contingent reason fostering the myth was the Russian government's recent termination of the rhubarb monopoly before the Sino-Russian border conflict. This gave rise to increased smuggling, which China misunderstood as evidence that Russia desperately needed rhubarb. When the boarder conflict came to an end in 1792, Russia's unusually submissive attitude tended to confirm this misunderstanding. Fourth, therefore, the rhubarb myth did not lie in baseless imagination; rather, Chinese aimed to collect evidence on the basis of a false question, namely how China could keep a privileged status over other countries by controlling some necessary goods, which can be traced back to the successful tea-horse trade model developed in the Ming Dynasty. Finally, fifth, whether we consider rhubarb or the tea-horse trade, both policies were based on a natural theory concerning pharmacology, food, the body, and the natural environment. This paper concludes by noting that the complexity of Chinese diplomacy cannot be grasped by a simple theoretical structure. Sometimes it is essential to examine cultural factors such as medicine and pharmacology to understand the basis on which it was conducted.

並列關鍵字

rhubarb ； trade sanction ； Opium War ； Sino-British Relations ； Sino-Russian Relations ； materia medica ； material culture

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