Nationalism Across Frontiers : The Narratives and Economic Activities of Tongshuntai, an Overseas Chinese Company in Korea during the First Sino-Japanese War

Abstract

This paper analyses the business communications of the Tongshuntai firm in order to examine Cantonese merchants’ attitudes and responses to the first Sino-Japanese War (1894–95). Since Tongshuntai achieved rapid commercial growth in Korea under the auspices of the Qing Empire’s political presence in Korea, Tan Jiesheng, the executive manager of Tongshuntai, kept close eyes on the political evolution of events. While his overriding concern was with preserving property value and maximizing commercial profits, he identified private interest with national interest occasionally. Being part of the commercial diaspora, Cantonese merchants in East Asia, represented by Tan Jiesheng and his trade partners, shared the position that the highest priority should be placed on preserving capital, though they, being as Chinese, wished a Chinese victory as well. For the sake of their economic survival, they regarded the Western powers and their legal protection in the open ports as the last resort. As the war against China was evolving, the assaults on the Chinese in Korea increased considerably. Ironically, while the Cantonese merchants started to despise the Japanese by calling them “Japanese dwarfs” or “Daikon head,” their biggest contempt was directed to Koreans who set fire on Chinese shops and looted them. After the battlefield was shifted into Chinese territory, Tan Jiesheng monopolized the profit of the wartime boom in Korea, taking advantage of the temporary setback of the Shandong merchants. His confidence in economic success in Korea reinforced his cynical and critical attitude toward the Qing dynasty and its bureaucrats who were forced to negotiate a humiliating peace treaty with the Japanese. (This article is in English.)本文以分析同順泰號的交換書信來探討廣東商人對甲午戰爭的態度和反應。因爲同順泰號在駐韓淸官的保護之下得到迅速發展，同順泰號的經理譚傑生特別關注事態的進展。一方面他的最要關心始終在於保存資産和追求最高利潤，另一方面有時將國家利益視如自己的利益。譚傑生是離散在東亞的廣幇商人群體之一員。這些廣幇商人雖然祈願淸朝的戰勝，但依然優先保全資産的課題。爲了經濟上的生存，他們將西歐列强在開港口的勢力以及法律的規制看做最後的堡壘。戰時出現了朝鮮人對旅韓華商的攻擊。廣幇商人將日本人稱號倭寇或者蘿蔔頭等的蔑稱，而對華商店鋪放火和掠奪的朝鮮人却成爲他們所最蔑視的對象。在戰場轉移爲淸朝領土之後，譚傑生乘山東商人撤退的機會可以獨占戰時好況的利益。他在戰時獲得的營業成功加强了他對淸朝的批判性態度，他看到淸朝官僚在講和談判上堪耐屈辱之情況，更强化了對淸朝和淸官僚的否定態度。