Robert Hart's Reform Vision for Late Qing China (ca. 1861–1911)

Abstract As inspector-general of the Imperial Maritime Customs, Robert Hart (1835–1911) was arguably the most powerful foreigner in late Qing China. This article discusses a rare Chinese work that he authored entitled A Bystander's Three Views (Pangguan san lun 旁觀三論). It contained his three memoranda on China's “self-strengthening” written at different times over a period of several decades. His first memorandum, “A Bystander's View,” was submitted to the Zongli Yamen (“Foreign Office”) in 1865 and later included in the Qing collection of documents on foreign contact, A Complete Account of the Management of Barbarian Affairs (Chouban yiwu shimo 籌辦夷務始末). Not as well-known is that he eventually composed and presumably submitted two more “bystander's views,” in 1884 and 1898, respectively, and that shortly after his third submission, he had all three jointly published in book form. This article aims briefly to introduce this work as a testimony to Hart's persistent hope, as a self-styled “bystander,” for China's transformation by adopting Western practices.