Part II Modern Post

Chapter 1 The origin of Modern Post

The Opium War in 1840 opened the door of China. China became a half-colonicial, half-feudal society. Due to the invasion of capitalism, feudal natual economy gradually disintegrated. Capitalist economy developed to some extent. Some bureaucrats, landlords and merchants started to invest in modern business industry, importing machines and technologies, which created capitalistic relations of production. Capitalist powers forced their way in trading with China. They dumped goods and plundered raw materials, which made Chinese economy, especially economy in coastal areas and on both banks of Yangtze River linked to world economy and become part of world market. Those Chinese with outstanding insight stared to "look around the world", seeking the outlet to "enrich the country and strengthen the people". Foreign affairs of the country increased. Chinese society, especially the metropolises and coastal areas raised new requirements for message delivery. However China Post by then stuck to conventions and didn't make any reform. Document delivery office set up by Qing Government to meet the requirements of communication outwards delivered only document of foreign affairs, which was similar to post delivery. Public post office was small in scale, narrow in communication range and was highly scattered. History was calling for the reform of communication mode and the emergence of new communication system.

In capitalist countries of Europe and America, the main characteristic of modern post was that it was directly managed by the government. It not only undertook the delivery of official documents and private letters, but also ran 'diversified businesses, providing the public with wide services and carrying out unified change system. With the invasion of capitalism, this new communication mode gradually spread to China.

Section 1 Invasion of "Guest Post"

The spread of modem post to China appeared in the form of so called "Guest Post", which was the post organization set up by western powers which violated Chinese sovereignty. The invasion of "Guest Post" to China originated from the trading of western merchants in China after the discovery of shipping line on seas.

In the early stage of trading, there were no communication facilities, letters were brought and taken by ships. With the increase of trading with China, post boxes were set up in piers for communication of foreign merchants. In 1834 (14th year of Daoguang of Qing Dynasty). Lord W.J. Napler, British commercial supervisor in China set up a post office in Guangzhou, which was under the command of British Post Administration Bureau. This was the earliest "Guest Post" appeared in China. On April 14, 1842, the head of the British invasion troops Herry Pottinger announced in the name of British Administrator of Hong Kong to set up "Hong Kong British Post Office". In August, 1842, after "the Naming Treaty" was signed, on the basis of Hong Kong post office, UK set up "Post Agencies of Consul", which was directly under the command of British Post Administration Bureau, in 5 newly-opened trading ports (Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo and Shanghai). For this bold invasion of China sovereignty, Qing Government not only didn't take any measures, but also called it "Guest Post" and regulated in "Tianjin Treaty" which was signed in 1858 that "imperial envoys and their entourage of UK can come and go as will". The received and delivered documents, luggages couldn't be unpacked without permission. Documents could be delivered from anywhere in coastal areas with their couriers treated as that of Qing Post, and guarded all the way. Thus there was legal shield by this treaty for British setting up post organizations on China territory. Other western powers, such as France, USA, Japan, Germany all got the same privileges and set up their own post offices. These foreign post offices carried out their own post regulations, used stamps from their own countries, and stamped with post marks in foreign languages of Chinese names of places. They sent and received not oilly mails from China to foreign countries but also mails within China. This kind of foreign post organization set up on China territory seriously violated China's sovereignty.