开滦煤矿是我国近代史上最先一批使用机器开采的大型煤矿，也是近代史上经营得卓有成效的煤矿。它起初是洋务运动中兴办起来的工业企业，在庚子年间被英国商人占据，再后来又兼并了与之相抗衡的华资滦州煤矿，最后成为中英合办的煤矿企业。 一方面由于开滦煤矿历史悠久，几乎与中国现代化进程同时起步并且见证了中国近代经济成长的整个历程，另一方面由于其自身保留有自20世纪以来约4万卷的原始档案资料，所以关于开滦煤矿的研究过去一直是中国近代企业史研究的热点。 然而受历史和时代的局限性，过去的研究侧重于矿权的丧失、帝国主义对中国的经济侵略以及工人阶级状况等方面，对于其作为外资企业在后进国家经济发展中的作用和影响认识尚不充分。而当前中国市场经济的发展，现代化进程的加快，经济领域的进一步敞开，需要我们对外资企业有更全面和更充分的认识，近代开滦煤矿正提供了一个很好的历史先例。 本文认为，近代开滦煤矿从国人自办到沦落于外商之手，固然是民族矿业的一大损失，但利权丧失的另一面，是改革了企业的经营管理制度，建立了一套真正意义上的近代企业制度，而这对于企业制度进步具有重要的垂范意义。并且，开滦煤矿的经营，带动和推动了相关地区和产业的发展，刺激了近代经济成长和社会变革，因而对中国的近代化又产生间接的积极作用。在中国近代史上，外资曾经大量涌入，占据了相当的市场份额。历史经验告诉我们，现代化事业的进行，既不能完全依赖外国资本从而让利权旁落，也不能在封闭的状态下孤立进行。如何才是合理的发展之路，是需要人们不断思考的，本文希望通过对近代开滦煤矿的再研究能对此提供出一些有益的启示。
The Kailuan Mining Administation (KMA, or Kailuan) was among the earliest collieries which employed modern machineries and western methods and proved to be a successful one. It dates its origin back to the Kaiping Mining Bureau, established in 1878 in the Yang Wu Yun Dong (Foreign Affairs Movement) in late Qing dynasty. In 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, the Kaiping Mining Bureau was taken over by a British Syndicate. Then, the British won a price war over Luanzhou Mining Company which originally aimed at recovering the Kaiping mine. The two companies merged in 1912 and formed the Sino-British Kailuan Mining Administration. Partly because the KMA has a long history which almost accompanied the whole process of China’s modernization, partly because it boast a very large amount-almost 40,000 volumes-of archival materials which is available for scholars researching the history of the KMA (actually few companies in China can boast such systematically preserved records), the KMA has been always on spotlight in studies of company history. Former studies largely focused on mining rights, foreign privileges，economic encroachment , labour and wages, and etc. However, the role which the KMA played, as a sino-foreign company in the process of China’s modernization, is far from being fully recognized. Today, with the rapid pace of market-oriented development in China and further opening-up to the world in economic sector, full recognition are required with regard to foreign capitals. The KMA just offered a very good historical case. This study holds that it is indeed a loss for native mining industry that the KMA fell into the hands of foreigners. On the other hand, however, the old method of administration was removed and a series of modern enterprise rules of management and administration in the real sense were set up, which consequently proved to bring important new developments into the KMA. What’s more, the long-period prosperity of the KMA promoted economic development in relevant cities and areas, stimulated the formation of some new sectors and industries, and brought about transformations in various levels. Thus, they indirectly pushed forward modernizing process of China. In China’s modern history, foreign capitals once poured in and occupied quite a large portion of a market. Historical experience is indicative of the fact that the modernization could neither depend too much on foreign capitals while making native interests unpreserved, nor isolate itself from the outside world and develop independently. Reasonable ways of modernization require constant thoughts and explorations. Thereafter, this study will provide some implications on this point through a re-study on the KMA in modern times.
