澳门_特殊港口城市的确立及其争论_英文_.docx

Social Sciences in ChinaVol. XXX, No. 2, May 2009, 116-133The establishment of Macao as a special port city and ensuing debatesWu ZhiliangMember of Conselho de Administra??o of the Macao Foundation, Assistant Director of the ResearchCentre for Sustainable Development Strategies of the Government of the Macao Special AdministrativeRegion澳门是中国最早对外开放的港口城市之一。但它如何在明朝中国的体制下开放给葡萄牙人，其性质和作用如何，曾经引起朝野内外的争论，也经历了一个漫长的 演变过程，并最终得以发展成为一个商业城市。澳门港口城市早期形成、发展的特 殊政治环境、行政形态和社会生活经验，造就了澳门“和而不同，不同而和”的特 性和传统，承传数百年而生生不灭。关键词：澳门、港口开放、城市建立、政治争论、历史作用Macao was one of the earliest port cities in China to be opened to foreigners; but how,under the institutions of Ming dynasty China, it should be opened to the Portuguese, and what its character and function should be, were subjects that triggered controversy both at court and among non-officials. It was only after a lengthy process of evolution that Macao finally developed into a commercial city. The special political environment, administrative patterns and social experiences of early Macao created a unique character and tradition of “harmony amidst difference, and difference amidst harmony” that was maintained for centuries with undiminished vitality.Keywords: Macao, opening as a port, establishment of the city, political debates, historicalroleThe establishment of Macao as a trading port by the Portuguese “marks the beginningof China’s foreign trade with the West.”1 Macao was indeed one of the first port cities in1 Wang Zhichun, The Qing dynasty’s policies of appeasing the barbarians, p. 361.ISSN 0252-9203? 2009 Social Sciences in China Press DOI: 10.1080/02529200902903875/ Wu Zhiliang 117China open to the West. However, it must be pointed out that even before it was officiallyopened to the outside world, Macao had already been a harbor2 “where vessels from different countries cast anchor.”3 But “those vessels mostly do not stay long as they come loaded with goods and leave for their home countries after finishing their business.”4 It was Maca