but things were beginning to change, and what started as a dispute over trading rights,

但是情勢開始有了變化，起先只是貿易權的爭端

would bring about a full-scale war, which was to then bring about a huge influx of foreign influence

竟然成了全面戰爭的導火線，導致了大量境外影響力的流入

and herald the beginning of a "century of humiliation".

也宣告了「世紀之恥」的開端

The Middle Kingdom would never be the same again,

中央之國的榮景不再

and it all started with two highly addictive and lucrative goods: tea and opium.

這一切都源自兩個具有高度成癮性和商業利益的產品：茶葉與鴉片

I’m Indy Neidell, welcome to “Battlefields”.

我是印蒂奈德爾，歡迎來到「戰場」

Regular trade between China and Europe had been ongoing since the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th Century.

自16世紀葡萄牙人到訪以來，中國與歐洲之間的交易已為常態

As European economic power expanded in the 17th and 18th centuries,

17與18世紀時，歐洲的經濟實力提升

Chinese goods like silk and porcelain became highly fashionable in the cities and courts of the West,

中國的絲織品與瓷器令西方人瘋狂不已

and trade in these products was very lucrative.

這些商品的交易相當有利可圖

In Britain, however, there was no Chinese product which created a greater demand than tea,

然而在英國，對茶葉的需求遠勝過其他的中國產品

for which the British developed an insatiable appetite.

英國人對茶有了貪得無厭的胃口

There were two problems with that, though.

這帶來了兩個問題

First, European merchants could not directly access the Chinese market,

第一，歐洲商人無法直接進入中國市場

but were restricted to a small merchant's quarter outside the city of Canton.

他們被限制在廣東城外的小小商業區內

They dealt through Chinese middlemen known as the Cohong, who charged high prices in order to cover heavy taxes.

還必須透過中國稱為「公行」的中間人，他們開了天價以支付高額的稅金

Second, Chinese interest in European goods was limited, and payment was only accepted in silver.

第二，中國對歐洲的商品並不特別感興趣，交易款項又只能以白銀來支付

To the British, who were on the gold standard and had to purchase silver

對當時以黃金為本位的英國來說

from other countries in order to trade with China, this created a huge trade deficit.

還得要從別的國家買白銀才能與中國交易，這導致了高額的貿易赤字

How then could the British trade for these goods? Well, there was one crop,

英國到底該怎麼交易這些商品呢？ 有一種作物

abundant in British-controlled India, which might solve the problem.

盛產於英屬印度的作物，可以解決這個問題

Opium, a narcotic derived from the resin of the opium poppy,

鴉片，從罌粟果實汁液提取出的麻醉藥品

had been known in China since at least the 8th Century AD,

中國至少在八世紀時便有鴉片的存在

initially being used for medicinal purposes and as an aphrodisiac.

最早作為醫療用途或是春藥

When the Portuguese first introduced tobacco from North America,

當葡萄牙人從北美洲引進了菸草

many Chinese had started smoking the two drugs together recreationally.

許多的中國人開始群聚吸食鴉片與菸草取樂

It became a popular social pastime and by the late 18th Century,

成為流行於十八世紀晚期的社交消遣活動

increasingly large amounts of opium, produced by the British East India Company,

英國東印度公司開始大量生產鴉片

were being shipped to China. The Chinese imperial government tried to ban the opium trade several times,

並將鴉片運往中國，中國曾多次嘗試禁止鴉片貿易

but the British were able to bypass these laws with the help of smugglers

但是英國人得以避開這些法律規範，全靠了走私者

and cooperative local authorities eager to exploit the demand.

與急於從中分一杯羹的當地主管機關幫助

British companies flooded the black market with thousands of tons of the drug during the 1830s receiving silver in return.

1830年代，上千噸的毒品流入黑市，英國公司賺取白銀作為回報

The number of Chinese opium addicts grew as large as 12 million,

鴉片成癮的中國人成長到了一千兩百萬

obviously a cause for concern. In December 1838, the Daoguang Emperor

這個現象明顯地令人擔憂，1838年12月，道光皇帝

sent commissioner Lin Zexu to Canton to deal with the problem.

派遣行政官員林則徐到廣州處理這個問題

Lin declared the death penalty would be applied to anyone found importing or possessing opium.

林則徐宣布任何進口或持有鴉片的人均會判處死刑

He also confiscated over 1000 tons of opium (worth £2 million) following a blockade

他也沒收了超過一千噸的鴉片(值兩百萬英鎊)

of the merchant's quarter. He then had the opium destroyed in May 1839.

隨後封鎖了商業區，他在1839年5月摧毀了沒收的鴉片

The British merchants demanded compensation for their seized goods,

英國商人要求補償這些被沒收貨物

which, Superintendent Charles Elliot assured them, would be provided by the British government.

而英國駐華商務總監像他們保證這些賠償會由英國政府來負擔

But that government was unwilling to compensate the merchants for the seized opium,

但是英國政府不願意補償這些商人的鴉片

believing that the responsibility should lie with the Chinese.

認為責任屬於中國政府

There was a fierce, prolonged public debate on the matter.

此事也引發了長篇大論的火熱辯論

A young William Gladstone said, "...a war more unjust in its origin,

年輕的威廉‧格萊斯頓說：「我從來不知道有哪一場戰爭

a war more calculated in its progress to cover this country with permanent disgrace, I do not know."

能比這一場戰爭更不公義、更能使我們國家蒙羞的了。」

But profitable interests won out over moral outrage at the "infamous and atrocious traffic",

即便對「臭名昭彰且令人髮指的交易(指鴉片)」的道德譴責，利益動機壓倒了義憤填膺的反對者

and parliament voted in April 1840 to send a fleet to China carrying Britain's demands:

1840年4月，國會投票通過同意派遣艦隊至中國

Compensation for the confiscated opium, an end to the Cohong monopoly,

要求中國賠償沒收的鴉片，並結束公行的貿易獨佔

and the right to occupy an island off the coast to use as a base.

以及佔據岸邊小島作為基地的權利

By June, the expeditionary force had arrived on the Chinese coast.

六月，遠征軍抵達中國海岸

It blockaded the Pearl River before heading north to bring the demands to the Emperor.

先是封鎖了珠江，再向北航行以向皇帝傳達要求

On July 6th, the British captured the island of Zhoushan near the mouth of the Yangtze,

七月六號，英國占領了長江出海口附近的舟山島

virtually annihilating Chinese defences in a nine-minute barrage after local officials refused to surrender.

當地官方拒絕投降後，英國持續九分鐘的砲火攻擊幾乎徹底瓦解了中國的防禦

They headed further north in August, blockading more ports.

八月他們繼續朝北走，沿路封鎖了更多的海港

In battle after battle, the dire state of the Chinese military had become clear:

一場接著一場的戰鬥，中國軍隊的困境顯而易見

Soldiers were equipped with bows, spears, and swords, and the occasional matchlock musket.

士兵的武裝包括了弓、矛與劍，偶爾會有火繩槍

Military units, scattered across a vast empire, would take many months to march to where they were needed.

軍隊散佈在廣大的帝國各處，要花數月才可以集結到需要他們的地方

Chinese coastal defences were crumbling stone forts, and the small war junks

中國海防只有準備崩解的岩石碉堡和戎克船

simply weren't equipped to fight the battleships and frigates of the Royal Navy.

完全無法和皇家海軍的戰艦和護衛艦對抗

Also, local authorities and military leaders were unwilling to bear news of defeats to Beijing,

同時，當地官方和軍事領袖不願將戰敗的噩耗上達天聽

and the Emperor instead received fabricated reports of heroic victories.

所以皇帝收到的報告都是精心編織過的英勇勝利

Seeing the whole business with Britain as a mere sideshow, many refused to acknowledge that there was a war on at all.

甚至有人將與英國的衝突視為枝微末節，拒絕承認有一場戰爭正在發生

Indeed, when the British fleet first arrived, Daoguang was informed

的確，當英國艦隊初次抵達時，道光收到了報告

that it was simply an unusually large flotilla of opium smugglers.

通知他只是異於尋常的大型鴉片走私艦隊來襲

The British attacked two forts guarding the mouth of the Pearl River, Chuanbi and Tycocktow.

英國攻擊了珠江出海口的兩處碉堡─穿鼻與大角頭

Fighting lasted less than an hour, with over 500 killed on the Chinese side and a mere 38 wounded among the British.

戰鬥持續不到一個小時，超過500名中國人死亡，而英國僅有38名傷患

The battle of Chuanbi also marked the debut of the first steam-powered iron warship Nemesis,

穿鼻之戰同時也是第一艘蒸汽動力鐵甲船─復仇女神號的處女秀

whose devastating onslaught was described in a book from 1845:

她的毀滅性突擊紀載於一本1845年出版的書

"The very first rocket fired from the Nemesis

「復仇女神號發射的第一發火箭

was seen to enter the large junk against which it was directed, near that of the admiral,

我們看著它射進大型戎克船

and almost the instant afterwards it blew up with a terrific explosion,

旋即而來的是精采至極的爆炸

launching into eternity every soul on board, and pouring forth its blaze like the mighty rush of fire from a volcano."

將船上每一條靈魂都轟到九霄雲外，噴出來的火焰有如火山爆發一般」

Several more battles followed in February and March 1841,

1841年2月與3月的數場戰役之後

with the British seizing more towns and forts on the Pearl River,

英國占領了更多珠江上的城鎮與碉堡

putting them in a position to bombard Canton itself by the end of May.

讓他們能夠在五月結束以前攻擊廣東

Local officials and merchants paid the British six million dollars to withdraw.

地方政府與商人付了六百萬英鎊的贖城費

Following the withdrawal from Canton, the fleet headed north again,

隨著廣東的撤軍，艦隊繼續北上

occupying several cities between August and October 1841.

1841年八月到十月間佔據了數座城市

Campaigns the following year captured Chapu and Shanghai, then still a small town.

隨後的一年就占領了乍浦與上海，上海當時仍然只是個小鎮

The final major battle of the war took place at Zhenjiang [Jen-jiahng],

最後的大型戰役發生於鎮江

where the British assault destroyed much of the city and killed many of the men defending it.

英國突襲摧毀了大部分城市與守軍

With the road to Nanjing open, and with it control of the entire Yangtze region,

隨著通往南京之路的通暢，英軍控制了長江流域

the Chinese government became fully aware of how serious the situation was, and sued for peace.

清廷這才大夢初醒，徹底了解事態嚴重性，並向英國求和

On August 29, 1842, Britain and China signed the Treaty of Nanking.

1842年8月29日，英國與中國簽訂南京條約

Among other things, China agreed to pay 20 million silver dollars in indemnities,

除了其他的事物外，中國同意付出兩千萬銀元的賠償

abolish the Cohong monopoly, adhere to fixed customs duties, open five ports to foreign trade

廢止公行壟斷、同意協同關稅、開放五口通商

(including Canton and Shanghai), and cede the island of Hong Kong to Britain.

(包含廣東和上海)並割讓香港給英國

This was the first of many "Unequal Treaties" that China was to sign over the following decades.

這是中國未來幾個世紀所簽定的「不平等條約」之一

The 1850s saw Britain and France fight China in a second Opium War,

1850年代英法對中國發動了第二次鴉片戰爭

which culminated in the burning of the Emperor's Summer Palace in Beijing,

過程中燒毀了皇帝夏宮圓明園

fully legalised the opium trade and opened yet more ports to foreign merchants.

徹底合法化鴉片交易並開放更多對外港口

The one-sided victories that the technologically superior British forces had achieved

科技上具有壓倒性優勢的英軍打了一場單方面勝利的仗

drove home the need to modernise, and shook the public's faith in the ability of the Qing Dynasty

激起了現代化的呼聲，也動搖人民對清廷的信任

to defend China from a foreign invasion.

認為清廷無法抵抗外侮

The huge influx of Westerners in the second half of the 19th Century

19世紀後半，外國人大量流入

was to have a profound influence on the Chinese way of life.

對中國人的生活型態造成了深遠的衝擊

All these factors would lead to the Boxer Rebellion and the overthrow of imperial rule in the 20th Century.

導致了庚子拳亂與20世紀推翻清廷的辛亥革命

But that's all story for another time.

但那又是另外一個故事了

In any case, while it might initially have been seen as a relative sideshow at the time,

無論如何，這起初看起來可能只是個花邊新聞

both in London and Beijing, it should be no surprise

不管是在北京還是倫敦，無庸置疑的是

that the first Opium War is now widely regarded as the beginning of modern Chinese history.

第一次鴉片戰爭被廣泛視為中國現代歷史的起點

The Opium War, though, wasn’t the first time that century

鴉片戰爭倒不是18世紀頭一次

that Britain crushed their enemy with their naval power.

英國用強盛海軍來碾碎他們的敵人了

You can find out all about Admiral Nelson’s Battle of Trafalgar up here.

你可以在上面找到納爾遜將軍的特拉法加戰役

A battle that would lay the groundwork to centuries of Great Britain’s naval superiority.

一場奠下英國數世紀以來海上霸權基石的戰役

So what do you think?

那你怎麼想呢？

Was the forceful opening of China an inevitable consequence of rising European Imperialism

強力叩關迫使中國開放，是歐洲帝國主義和清廷軍力積弱不振之下不可避免的後果嗎？

and China's military weakness, or might things have gone differently

還是如果透過別的方式處理鴉片糾紛

if the opium dispute had taken a different course?

事情可以有不一樣的發展呢？

Let us know in the comments.

請在討論區發表你的看法

Stay tuned for next week when we'll look at what happened in China during the second half of the 19th century.

下一周我們要來看看中國在19世紀後半的發展

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