『初使泰西記』에 나타난 志剛의 대외인식

Zhigang’s Western Recognition in 『The book of first mission in the West』

총리아문 장경 출신인 志剛은 1868년 벌링게임 사절단의 중국 대표 자격으로 미국과 유럽을 견문한 내용을 일기 형식으로 기록하여 『初使泰西記』를 남겼다. 지강은 해외 경험을 통해 중국이 더 이상 세계의 중심이 아니며, 세계 속의 일국에 불과할 뿐이라는 점을 점차 인식하게 되었다. 중국이 새로운 국제 질서에 편입되어가는 어쩔 수 없는 상황 앞에서 서양과의 외교 문제가 가장 중요하며, 조약이 갖는 중요성 또한 자각하게 되었다. 지강이 특별히 주목하였던 외교적 이슈는 해외 이주 중국인들의 법적 권리 보호, 양주교안 처리를 둘러싼 영국과의 갈등, 철도·광산·鹽稅 등의 경제적 이권에 대한 것이었다.

Zhi Gang, who was a secretarial staff(zhangjing) in the Prime Minister’s Office(zongliyamen), visited the United States and Europe in 1868 as a representative of China in the official delegation, Burlingame Mission, of the Qing government. He kept a travelogue titled “The Book of First Mission in the West”, which is about various Western institutions and technological civilizations he experienced in the West. He scrutinized sensitive issues that were closely related to China’s economic interests and status in the international community, such as signing treaties, handling anti-Christian movements, building railways and developing mines, and so on. He tried to understand China’s position in the world and how the West deals with China. He showed a great deal of interest in Western technology. As a typical Chinese traditional intellectual, he introduced the complex structures and functions of Western machines, giving an unscientific explanation that it was “an old law that was originally in China”. Although he was not completely free from the traditional framework, he clearly recognized that China was no longer the center of world but just one country in the world through his experience in the West.