The Discussion on"Outuo"and the Change of the Concept of Border in the Late 19th Century
In the late 19th century,with the emergence of a new situation of the loss of vassals and strong neighbours bordering China,the ancient method of"Outuo",which had rarely received the attention of the Qing people,continued to be an important topic in the delineation of the Qing Dynasty.During the Sino-Russian negotiations on Yili,the method of"Outuo"began to be taken seriously by the court.During the Sino-French negotiations on Vietnam,the discussion on"Outuo"was unprecedentedly high with the Qing court's strong support.However,it ended with a strong opposition from the French side.After this severe setback,when China and Britain discussed the Yunnan-Burma border affairs,the plan of"Outuo"was mentioned again,but was sealed.The twists and turns of the plan of"Outuo"in this period not only reflects the continuation of a traditional consciousness,but also reflects the adjustment and transformation of the concept of border in the modern environment,and contains early reflection on the rules of Western border.The end of the discussion not only announced the failure of the traditional plan to respond to the border change,but it also meant that the Chinese concept of border broke free from the last important constraint of traditional track,and accelerated into the road of modern transformation.
OutuoFrontier CrisisNegotiations on Border AffairsConcept of Border
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