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School of Chinese Scholar Seminar

A Changing Legal World: Christianity and Extraterritoriality in Sichuan Courtroom (1810-1911)

Abstract:

This talk examines the evolving relationships between Christian churches and local communities in late Qing dynasty Sichuan through the lens of law, particularly extraterritoriality. Moving beyond the narrative of anti-Christian violence, it explores how Chinese Christians, non-Christians, foreign missionaries, and Qing officials navigated the shifting power landscape created by imperialist incursions into the Chinese interior. Through judicial records, imperial documents, and local accounts, the study reveals the strategic exploitation of extraterritorial privileges by Chinese Christians for legal protection and personal gain, as well as how non-Christians strategically coped with such abuse. It argues that the conscious choices made by both Chinese and foreigners transformed extraterritoriality into an integral component of local justice. The talk contributes to a more nuanced understanding of extraterritoriality’s legal and social repercussions, challenging its perception as a mere catalyst for anti-Christian sentiment or symbol of sovereignty infringement.

About the Speaker:

Yuan Tian is a historian specializing in late imperial and modern China, with a focus on legal history, business history, Christianity, and colonialism. She earned a PhD from the University of Chicago, an MA from Stanford University, and a BA from the University of Hong Kong. Currently, she is the Postdoctoral Fellow of Department of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore and working on her monograph Uncharted Jurisdiction: Law, Imperialism, and Global Trade in Modern China, which investigates how extraterritoriality—a colonial legal framework granting foreigners immunity from Chinese jurisdiction—became deeply embedded in the legal and socioeconomic fabric of Chinese society. This project shifts scholarly attention from the well-studied coastal treaty ports to the Chinese interior, particularly the Upper Yangtze region, offering a fresh perspective on imperial legal encounters and Sino-foreign trade. Her recent work will be published in Late Imperial China and Journal of Chinese History. Yuan’s research has been supported by grants and fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Hoover Institution, the Association for Asian Studies, the Nicholson Center for British Studies, and the China Times Cultural Foundation, among others.

田源的研究主要聚焦於18世紀以來中國史和全球史視域下的法律、商業與殖民問題，尤其著眼於這些宏觀議題在基層社會中的微觀互動。她先後在香港大學、斯坦福大學和芝加哥大學獲得學士、碩士和博士學位。目前，身爲新加坡國立大學中文系博士後的她正在進行英文專著的寫作，該書探討治外法權這一特殊的殖民法律制度如何嵌入中國本土的法律和社會經濟結構，並將關注點從傳統的沿海通商口岸轉向中國內陸，特別是長江上游地區。田源的最新成果將發表在Late Imperial China和Journal of Chinese History。她的研究曾獲得多個機構的榮譽和資助，包括胡佛研究所（Hoover Institution）、American Council of Learned Societies、美國亞洲研究協會（Association for Asian Studies）、芝加哥大學的Nicholson Center for British Studies以及中國時報文化基金會等。