一、序论20世纪70年代以来,历史学家意识到晚清中国的历史决不是中国对西方反应的历史。他们得出结论,认为太平天国起义后中国的社会结构受前两个世纪社会变动的影响远远大于受“西方的撞击”。因此,近年来对这一时代的研究,倾向于强调西方商行的影响不足或软弱无力,试图探讨一些或许在左右19世纪中国社会形态方面更有重大意义的其他课题。然而,如果西方居民的社会影响确实如断言的那样微不足道,那末,为什么直到20世纪初叶他们的商业和政治行为还受到中国民族主义运动这样的辱骂和抨击?造成这种明显矛盾的缘由是,称为“厘金”的内地税制和 I. Preface Since the 1970s, historians have realized that the history of late Qing China was by no means the history of China’s reaction to the West. They conclude that the social structure of China after the Taiping Rebellion was far more affected by the social changes of the previous two centuries than by the “impact of the West.” Therefore, the study of this era in recent years tends to emphasize the weakness or weakness of western firms and to explore some other topics that may be of more significance in shaping the social formations of China in the 19th century. However, if the social impact of Western inhabitants was indeed as insignificant as assertion, why did not their business and political behavior so abusive and attacked by the Chinese nationalist movement until the early 20th century? The obvious contradiction was caused by the fact that For the “likin” mainland tax system and