Abstract

According to the traditional narrative of the modern Chinese history, an important feature of the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society in the Late Qing Dynasty was that foreign settlements or concessions were set up in China under “unequal treaties”. But Chinese settlements on the Korean peninsula (1884-1913) under treaties in the Late Qing Dynasty were seldom mentioned. With the expansion of Russia and Japan, the Late Qing Government began to strengthen the traditional Sino-Korean relations by treaties of European International Law. But the traditional Sino-Korean relations were based on the East Asian Dian-Li (典礼, Grand Ritual) of Chinese World Order, which was different from the European International Law in essence. As long as the tributary or vassal State complied with the Bin-Li (宾礼, Guest Ritual), it had considerable autonomy and independence. On the contrary, the dependent or protectorate state had non-complete sovereignty according to the European international law. Consequently, the Late Qing Government could not strengthen the traditional Sino-Korean relations by treaties of the European international law, because of the conflicts of the East Asian Dian-Li and the European International Law. Meanwhile, the concept of “unequal treaties”, which eliminated the conflicts of Li and Law, founded on the East Asian Dian-Li and reflected the European International Law critically, did not come into being until post-World War I. Then the Order of Global International Law had arrived too.