Wei Yuan (魏源)(VII)

In chapter seven Leonard pointed out that Wei regarded the west as one single region similar to that of Nan-yang: they were politically fragmented small states. The only difference was that the West was more unstable because they lacked a system of tribute and overlordship.1 Wei attributed the growth of European maritime power in Asia to their emphasis on trade, and competition among different nation-states. Wei thought that these two features had led to the national self-aggrandizement, and they were not in harmony with Chinese traditional values.2 Wei thought that Europe had once been unified under a vast empire centered in Rome headed by a Pope who functioned as both religious and political leader. In some respects, Wei drew parallels between the role of the Pope with the Chinese emperor: they discharged both political and religious functions. 3. Wei seemed to feel that in history the lack of political morality was the reason for the breaking down of the Roman Empire. And now the West was searching for profit in Asia through opium trading, backed by military forces, Wei saw it as the consequence of lack of virtue and sound political values.4 At that moment Wei was unaware of other motives that prompted Western overseas expansion, for example religious zeal, rivalries among leading European countries, and for adventure and exploration.5 Overall, Wei was unable to grasp the fact that Western advance in naval technology had shrunk the distance between Europe and Asia.6 Wei, while introducing Malacca and Singapore, noted that there was a Anglo-Chinese school that employed Chinese to teach on a variety of subjects such as Classics, history, literature and philosophical works. He deplored the fact that all along China was reluctant to learn about the West.7 It was also clear to Wei that oceans were no longer barriers to communication and Asia was vulnerable to Western intrusion.8 But at this moment Wei still believed that because Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam were still independent from Western control, and they were in the inner circle around China, thus they could form a buffer zone protecting China from threats from the south. Due to Wei's traditional notion of distance and his belief in the buffer effect of land frontier, he perceived the threats as not yet at China's gate, but was at the outer zones of the maritime Asia. (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 154
2. page 155
3. pages 155-6
4. page 156
5. page 157
6. page 164
7. page 165
8. page 166