Wei Yuan (魏源)(VI)

The purpose of chapter five was to clarify the nature and purpose of the Treatise, its structure, and its source materials. It also explained the book's significance as a traditional Chinese statement about the foreign maritime world. In this chapter Leonard stressed that Wei's view on the maritime world or the tributary order had not changed although he was using western sources to write his book.1 Wei wrote the book with the Opium War in mind, the purpose was to guide Qing official in the conflicts with the British.2 What Wei saw was that for the first time, Nan-yang was occupied by Western powers. What Qing had to do was to know the barbarian, and he admitted that Qing's ignorance about the situation.3 In chapter six, Leonard pointed out that because Wei understood the War from the perspective of China's relations with the Nan-yang, therefore his solution was to restore what he considered as the "normal" stabilising patterns of overlordship and tribute system. Qing still held the concept of regional overlordship in the Nan-yang and saw itself had a responsibilities for the region.4 There was still no equal nation-state concept in Wei's understandings of Nan-yang, and the world beyond. Wei's perception of the regional tribute system in Nan-yang was an expression of the traditional Chinese concept of hierarchy in Nan-yang political relationships, with Qing as the overlord at the center. In Wei's understanding, the responsibilities for regional overlordship was more than maintaining internal order, it encompassed the maintenance of peaceful relations between neighboring regional powers.5 With this world view in mind, Wei saw the British occupation of Singapore and intrusion into the Malay Peninsula as an encroachment against Thai's overlordship in the region.6 Wei knew that for Qing, direct intervention was not the best solution in suppressing disruptive elements in the Nan-yang because behind-the-scenes maneuvers could be a better solution. He suggested joined military efforts by Burma, Vietnam, and Thailand to fight against the British intrusion into the Nan-yang maritime world.7 (to be continued)

Notes:
1. Leonard, Jane Kate. Wei Yuan and China's Rediscovery of the Maritime World. Cambridge (Mass.) and London: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University: distributed by Harvard University Press, 1984, page 93
2. Ibid., page 99
3. Ibid., page 100
4. Ibid., page 121
5. Ibid., page 134
6. Ibid., page 135
7. Ibid., page 142