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03 JUN

Why did foreigners learn Chinese in the late Qing Dynasty?

  • Life Style
  • Ann
  • Aug 01,2023
  • 17

learn chinese online

As we all know, with the development of China, the Chinese language has gradually become popular, and many foreigners have gradually become interested in Chinese and started to learn Chinese. However, what you don’t know is that many foreigners actually started to learn Chinese in the Qing Dynasty, and there are many benefits, such as promotion! And there are a series of specific policies for learning Chinese!

The Necessity of Learning and Developing Chinese——"Yangguan"

Among the customs circulars I have read, the documents on foreigners learning Chinese extend from Circular No . 8 issued by the General Administration of Customs and Taxation in the late Qing Dynasty in 1864 to Circular No. 1783 issued by the State Administration of Customs and Taxation, which succeeded it in 1911 learn chinese online. It can be seen that the customs' attitude towards Chinese culture is not temporary, but long-term and systematic.

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Among them, regarding the question of why to learn Chinese, the General Administration of Customs and Taxation in the late Qing Dynasty pointed out in the Circular No. 8 in 1864 that the main purpose of learning Chinese is to improve the efficiency of customs work, enhance knowledge, and obtain qualifications for promotion from junior positions to senior positions , so that customs supervisors at all levels have full confidence in the ability of their subordinates to handle affairs online chinese class. In his opinion, learning Chinese can make foreigners have a better understanding and interest in the Chinese government they serve and the Chinese people who share the same fate. Once proficient in Chinese, it will be beneficial to individuals and customs in the future. In the following document No. 25, the State Administration of Customs and Taxation in the late Qing Dynasty further clarified the reasons for promoting Chinese in the customs. He believes that employees of any government department should speak the language of the host country, and in China, customs should also speak Chinese. Foreigners who learn Chinese can make a more accurate evaluation of China's national character.

Knowing the customs from the inside, but not understanding the Chinese taxation department, often understands that Chinese subordinates will be deceived, which damages the image of the customs and taxation department. Only when foreigners learn Chinese can they maintain the existence of customs, improve their own value, and make the customs hopeful that they will be praised by Chinese officials and recognized internationally. "Experience shows that the Chinese authorities prefer to deal with people who speak Chinese, regardless of their level of command, so they rarely hire a tax office who doesn't speak Chinese and let the translator influence the situation in difficult situations," he said . In addition, Chinese customs regulators often ask tax authorities who do not understand Chinese not to send people to their ports, pointing to the need to improve Chinese proficiency.

The succeeding HMRC agreed with this. He believed that foreigners had a standard of personal integrity that the Chinese did not. It is easier for foreigners to deal with customs affairs with foreign businessmen and avoid the interference of local Chinese officials.

NextAn Gelian, General Taxation Department of China Customs

Relevant systems to promote Chinese learning

Exam Employment Policy. The positions of foreign customs officers are divided into personnel inside the customs and personnel outside the customs. Their recruitment generally goes through three stages: examination, probation period, and assessment. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the General Administration of Customs and Taxation required that probation prisoners should not be transferred to full employment lightly, and the tax department must personally interview every probation prisoner. Even if they fail in character and language, the general tax department will remove them from their posts. The employment of foreigners by the General Administration of Customs and Taxation in the late Qing Dynasty reflected the orientation of "language ability first" and "proficiency in Chinese first". Therefore, in the list of job seekers, there are many descendants of diplomats and missionaries stationed in China. The General Administration of Customs and Taxation in the late Qing Dynasty believed that many of these young people were born in China, some of them were of mixed race, and many of them had the advantages of being Chinese and were familiar with Chinese society, so they gave priority.

Selection and Promotion Policy. This policy is mainly reflected in the promotion of foreigners by the inner class. In Circular No. 25 in 1968, the General Administration of Customs and Taxation of the late Qing Dynasty clearly stated: "If you cannot master Chinese well to handle daily affairs, you cannot be promoted to the tax department." Circular No. 25 and its attachments in 1869 The "Regulations on the Administration of the Customs of the Qing Dynasty" further stipulates: "The positions of deputy general tax department and tax department shall be selected by the general tax department. Insufficient, those who need translators to help with customs affairs cannot be appointed to the tax department." Among them, the same is true for the promotion of foreigners from other classes, so I won't describe it here.

Bonus allowance management system. For the foreigners in the internal class, in the early days when the General Taxation Department of the Chinese Customs was in charge of the customs in the late Qing Dynasty, the foreigners were given salaries when they went to Beijing and Nanjing University to study and develop Chinese language teaching. Circular No. 880 in 1899 clearly states that “in view of the acquisition and improvement of students’ Chinese cultural knowledge by enterprises is a kind of social learning and requires expenditure, so anyone with a monthly payment of 300 taels or more should be able to afford self-employed Chinese teachers, Such teachers need 15 to 30 taels of living expenses per month in Beijing, and half of it in other places.” In 1911, the successor General Taxation Department of the Customs stipulated in the No. Certificates, their Chinese classroom learning ability allowances will be withheld, and if we fail to obtain some corresponding professional certificates according to regulations, we will be fired. In terms of the Chinese expression level of foreigners in foreign classes, it is measured according to the regular examinations organized for the annual work, and rewards are given in time through bonuses and allowances with salary standards.

education and training system. The customs of the late Qing Dynasty provided a variety of training methods for foreigners to learn Chinese, which are mainly divided into four types. The second is self-study, which is suitable for middle and senior foreign personnel assigned to more important positions. Third, on-the-job self-study, which is a commonly used method. Foreigners rely on their personal circumstances and hire Chinese teachers to learn. The fourth is to focus on training, that is, to consciously learn Chinese, especially port dialects, by training high-level foreign students.

Performance appraisal reporting system. The "Regulations on the Administration of the Customs of the Qing Dynasty" stipulated the annual assessment system, and gradually formed a secret report system. Each customs and taxation department must write a performance evaluation report for foreign officials every year, mainly including personality, ability, knowledge, work, qualifications, health status, need for transfer, overall evaluation and other items. , The promotion and deployment of foreign officials is determined by the State Administration of Taxation after approval. The secret report performance appraisal system is a top-down appraisal system. The Chinese proficiency of foreigners becomes the content of the appraisal, which directly promotes the importance foreigners attach to Chinese proficiency.