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Dian-Mian huajie tushuo 滇緬劃界圖説

Sep 30, 2019 © Ulrich Theobald

Dian-Mian huajie tushuo 滇緬劃界圖説 is a short book on the border area between the province of Yunnan and Myanmar, at that time called "Upper Burma", and part of the British colonial empire. The book was written by Xue Fucheng 薛福成 (1838-1894), who also wrote a diary about his mission to England, France, Italy, and Belgium, Chu shi Ying-Fa-Yi-Bi siguo riji 出使英法義比四國日記. His collected writings are called Yong'an quanji 庸庵全集.

The book on the Yunnan-Myanmar border consists mainly of documents from the Chinese side and their negotiations with Great Britain, France (colonial power in Tonking/Vietnam), and Myanmar. These documents are letters submitted to Li Hongzhang 李鴻章 (1823-1901), Grand Minister for Foreign Commerce in North China (beiyang tongshang dachen 北洋通商大臣), and Wang Zhaoming 王文韶 (1830-1908), governor-general (zongdu 總督) of Yunnan, as well as letters exchanged with the representatives of the countries involved, and communications (zhaohui 照會) of the foreign offices of the two European powers. The book also includes a ten-chapters long discussion called Lun Dian-Mian jiewu shu 論滇緬界務書. Xue's text thus consists of more than 60 chapters and is an important document collection on foreign policy during the late Qing period 清 (1644-1911).

In the original version it was appended to the border treaty Zhong-Ying Dian-Mian tiaoyue 中英滇緬條約 (Convention between Great Britain and China relative to Burmah and Thibet) from 1894. Maps, attached to the original draft, are not transmitted.

The book is found in the series Huangchao fanshu yudi congshu 皇朝藩屬輿地叢書.

Source:
Wang Zhaoming 王兆明, Fu Langyun 傅朗云, eds. (1991). Zhonghua gu wenxian da cidian 中華古文獻大辭典, Vol. Dili 地理卷 (Changchun: Jilin wenshi chubanshe), 386.