Macartney–MacDonald Line - Revision history

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			{{Short description\|Sino-Indian boundary proposal}}
	{{Use Indian English\|date=September 2017}}		{{Use Indian English\|date=September 2017}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2017}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2017}}
	{{Too few opinions\|discuss=Talk:Sino-Indian War#Sources\|date=September 2017}}		{{Too few opinions\|discuss=Talk:Sino-Indian War#Sources\|date=September 2017}}

	[[File:Aksai Chin Sino-Indian border map.svg\|350px\|thumb\|right\|The ~~map shows the~~ Macartney–MacDonald line dashed in green colour]]		[[File:Aksai Chin Sino-Indian border map.svg\|350px\|thumb\|right\|The Macartney–MacDonald line is dashed in green colour.]]
	The '''Macartney–MacDonald Line''' is a ~~proposed~~ boundary in the ~~disputed area~~ of [[~~Aksai Chin~~]]. It was proposed by [[British India\|British Indian Government]] to China in 1899 via its envoy to China, Sir [[Claude MacDonald]]. The Chinese Government never gave any response to the proposal. The Indian Government believed that, subsequently British India reverted to its traditional boundary, the [[Johnson–Ardagh Line]]. Independent scholars have not confirmed the claim.{{sfn\|Hoffmann, India and the China Crisis\|1990\|pp=12–13}}<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Lintner\|first=Bertil\|title=China's India War: ~~Collission~~ Course on the Roof of the World\|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]\|year=2018\|isbn=9780199091638\|location=New Delhi\|chapter=The Line\|quote=According to Indian sources, by the end of World War I, the British Government had accepted the Ardagh-Johnson Line rather than MacCartney-MacDonald Line as the official boundary.}}</ref>		The '''Macartney–MacDonald Line''' was a boundary proposal by the [[British Raj]] for the border between the princely state of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)\|Jammu and Kashmir]] and the Chinese territories of [[Xinjiang]] and [[Tibet]]. Broadly, it represented the watershed between the [[Indus River]] system and the rivers draining into the [[Tarim Basin\|Tarim basin]] (the [[Yarkand River\|Yarkand]] and [[Karakash River\|Karakash]] rivers). The line was proposed by [[British India\|British Indian Government]] to China in 1899 via its envoy in China, Sir [[Claude MacDonald]]. The Chinese Government never gave any response to the proposal. The Indian Government believed that, subsequently British India reverted to its traditional boundary, the [[Johnson–Ardagh Line]]. Independent scholars have not confirmed the claim.{{sfn\|Hoffmann, India and the China Crisis\|1990\|pp=12–13}}<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Lintner\|first=Bertil\|title=China's India War: Collision Course on the Roof of the World\|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]\|year=2018\|isbn=9780199091638\|location=New Delhi\|chapter=The Line\|quote=According to Indian sources, by the end of World War I, the British Government had accepted the Ardagh-Johnson Line rather than MacCartney-MacDonald Line as the official boundary.}}</ref>

			It remains relevant today as a possible resolution for the [[Sino-Indian border dispute]] in the region of [[Aksai Chin]].

	== History ==		== History ==
	[[File:Map of Tibet detail from China old map 1936 (cropped).jpg\|350px\|thumb\|right\|1936 map of the [[Republic of China]], which appears to show the Macartney-MacDonald Line as the Kashmir border; both the Yarkand and Karakash river valleys are included in Xinjiang.]]		[[File:Map of Tibet detail from China old map 1936 (cropped).jpg\|350px\|thumb\|right\|1936 map of the [[Republic of China]], which appears to show the Macartney-MacDonald Line as the Kashmir border; both the Yarkand and Karakash river valleys are included in Xinjiang.]]
	[[William Johnson (surveyor)\|William Johnson]], a ~~civil servant with the [[Survey of India]] proposed~~ the "[[Johnson Line (boundary)\|Johnson Line]]" ~~in 1865, which~~ put Aksai Chin in Kashmir. ~~This~~ was accepted by China ~~until~~ 1893, ~~when~~ Hung Ta-chen, ~~a senior~~ Chinese ~~official~~ at [[St. Petersburg]],{{efn\|{{harvnb\|Mehra, An "agreed" frontier\|1992\|p=103}}: "Huang Tachin (also Hung Chun or Hung Tajen) was a Chinese diplomat accredited to Russia as well as Germany, Austria-Hungary and Holland in 1887-90. During these years he rendered into Chinese a series of thirty-five maps, relating for the most part to the Sino-Russian borders."}} gave maps of the region to [[George Macartney (British consul)\|George Macartney]], the British consul at Kashgar, which coincided with it in broad details.<ref>{{harvnb\|Woodman, Himalayan Frontiers\|1970\|pp=73, 78}}: "Clarke added that a Chinese map drawn by Hung Ta-chen, Minister in St. Petersburg, confirmed the Johnson alignment showing West Aksai Chin as within British (Kashmir) territory."</ref>		The [[Survey of India]] surveyor [[William Johnson (surveyor)\|William Johnson]], who was asked to survey the Kashmir area up to the "Chinese boundary", drew a border line that later came to be called the "[[Johnson Line (boundary)\|Johnson Line]]". This line put the [[Aksai Chin]] region in Kashmir. The border was accepted by China for several decades. In 1893, Hung Ta-chen, the Chinese envoy at [[St. Petersburg]],{{efn\|{{harvnb\|Mehra, An "agreed" frontier\|1992\|p=103}}: "Huang Tachin (also Hung Chun or Hung Tajen) was a Chinese diplomat accredited to Russia as well as Germany, Austria-Hungary and Holland in 1887-90. During these years he rendered into Chinese a series of thirty-five maps, relating for the most part to the Sino-Russian borders."}} gave maps of the region to [[George Macartney (British consul)\|George Macartney]], the British consul at Kashgar, which coincided with it in broad details.<ref>{{harvnb\|Woodman, Himalayan Frontiers\|1970\|pp=73, 78}}: "Clarke added that a Chinese map drawn by Hung Ta-chen, Minister in St. Petersburg, confirmed the Johnson alignment showing West Aksai Chin as within British (Kashmir) territory."</ref>

	However, by 1896, China showed interest in Aksai Chin, reportedly with Russian instigation.{{sfn\|Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground\|1963\|pp=68–69}} As part of [[The Great Game]] between Britain and Russia, Britain ~~decided on~~ a ~~revised~~ boundary ceding underpopulated border territory to be "filled out" by China. It was initially suggested by Macartney in Kashgar and developed by the Governor General of India [[Lord Elgin]]. The new boundary placed the Lingzi Tang plains, which are south of the Laktsang range, in India, and Aksai Chin proper, which is north of the Laktsang range, in China.<ref name=Calvin>{{cite web		However, by 1896, China showed interest in Aksai Chin, reportedly with Russian instigation.{{sfn\|Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground\|1963\|pp=68–69}} As part of [[The Great Game]] between Britain and Russia, Britain favoured a revision of the prevailing boundary, ceding underpopulated border territory to be "filled out" by China. It was initially suggested by Macartney in Kashgar and developed by the Governor General of India [[Lord Elgin]]. The new boundary placed the Lingzi Tang plains, which are south of the Laktsang range, in India, and Aksai Chin proper, which is north of the Laktsang range, in China.<ref name=Calvin>{{cite web
	\| last =Calvin		\| last =Calvin
	\| first =James Barnard		\| first =James Barnard

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2021-07-16T05:00:35Z

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{{Use Indian English|date=September 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Too few opinions|discuss=Talk:Sino-Indian War#Sources|date=September 2017}}

[[File:Aksai Chin Sino-Indian border map.svg|350px|thumb|right|The map shows the Macartney–MacDonald line dashed in green colour]]
The '''Macartney–MacDonald Line''' is a proposed boundary in the disputed area of [[Aksai Chin]]. It was proposed by [[British India|British Indian Government]] to China in 1899 via its envoy to China, Sir [[Claude MacDonald]]. The Chinese Government never gave any response to the proposal. The Indian Government believed that, subsequently British India reverted to its traditional boundary, the [[Johnson–Ardagh Line]]. Independent scholars have not confirmed the claim.{{sfn|Hoffmann, India and the China Crisis|1990|pp=12–13}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lintner|first=Bertil|title=China's India War: Collission Course on the Roof of the World|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2018|isbn=9780199091638|location=New Delhi|chapter=The Line|quote=According to Indian sources, by the end of World War I, the British Government had accepted the Ardagh-Johnson Line rather than MacCartney-MacDonald Line as the official boundary.}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Map of Tibet detail from China old map 1936 (cropped).jpg|350px|thumb|right|1936 map of the [[Republic of China]], which appears to show the Macartney-MacDonald Line as the Kashmir border; both the Yarkand and Karakash river valleys are included in Xinjiang.]]
[[William Johnson (surveyor)|William Johnson]], a civil servant with the [[Survey of India]] proposed the "[[Johnson Line (boundary)|Johnson Line]]" in 1865, which put Aksai Chin in Kashmir. This was accepted by China until 1893, when Hung Ta-chen, a senior Chinese official at [[St. Petersburg]],{{efn|{{harvnb|Mehra, An "agreed" frontier|1992|p=103}}: "Huang Tachin (also Hung Chun or Hung Tajen) was a Chinese diplomat accredited to Russia as well as Germany, Austria-Hungary and Holland in 1887-90. During these years he rendered into Chinese a series of thirty-five maps, relating for the most part to the Sino-Russian borders."}} gave maps of the region to [[George Macartney (British consul)|George Macartney]], the British consul at Kashgar, which coincided with it in broad details.<ref>{{harvnb|Woodman, Himalayan Frontiers|1970|pp=73, 78}}: "Clarke added that a Chinese map drawn by Hung Ta-chen, Minister in St. Petersburg, confirmed the Johnson alignment showing West Aksai Chin as within British (Kashmir) territory."</ref>

However, by 1896, China showed interest in Aksai Chin, reportedly with Russian instigation.{{sfn|Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground|1963|pp=68–69}} As part of [[The Great Game]] between Britain and Russia, Britain decided on a revised boundary ceding underpopulated border territory to be "filled out" by China. It was initially suggested by Macartney in Kashgar and developed by the Governor General of India [[Lord Elgin]]. The new boundary placed the Lingzi Tang plains, which are south of the Laktsang range, in India, and Aksai Chin proper, which is north of the Laktsang range, in China.<ref name=Calvin>{{cite web
| last =Calvin
| first =James Barnard
| date = April 1984
| url = http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/CJB.htm
| title =The China-India Border War
| publisher = Marine Corps Command and Staff College
| accessdate =14 October 2011
}}</ref> The British presented this line, currently called the Macartney–MacDonald line, to the Chinese in a note by Sir [[Claude MacDonald]], the British envoy in Peking.<ref name=Calvin /> The Qing government did not respond to the note. Scholars Fisher, Rose and Huttenback comment:
{{quote|This proposed border agreement would have entailed major territorial concessions by the British, since the Government of India had demonstrated both on maps and through the exercise of authority in the Aksai Chin that they considered the Kunlun range to be the de facto boundary between Sinkiang and Kashmir. Indeed, most of the territory currently in dispute between New Delhi and Peking would have been conceded to China under this settlement. The Chinese Communists must indeed find it galling that the Ch'ing Court did not even formally reply to the British offer, thus rejecting it by default.{{sfn|Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground|1963|p=69}}}}

The Macartney–MacDonald Line is a partial basis of the [[Sino-Pakistan Agreement]]. It has been suggested that a solution to the [[Sino-Indian border dispute]] could also be based on the Macartney–MacDonald Line.<ref name=middlepath>{{cite web|last=Verma|first=Colonel Virendra Sahai|title=Sino-Indian Border Dispute At Aksai Chin - A Middle Path For Resolution|url=http://chinaindiaborderdispute.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/virendravermapaperborderdispute.pdf|accessdate=28 August 2013}}</ref><ref> [https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/china-was-the-aggrieved-india-aggressor-in-62/282579 "China was the Aggrieved; India, Aggressor in '62", Kai Friese interview Neville Maxwell], Outlook, 22 October 2012.
</ref>

{{clear left}}

== Description ==
The Macartney–MacDonald line is described as follows:
{{quote|"From the Karakoram Pass the crests of the range run nearly east for about half a degree, and then turn south to a little below the 35th parallel.. Rounding... the source of the Karakash, the line of hills to be followed runs north-east to a point east of Kizil Jilga and from there, in a south-easterly direction, follows the Lak Tsung (Lokzhung) Range until that meets a spur.. which has hitherto been shown on our maps as the eastern boundary of Ladakh."<ref name=Calvin />}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{citation |last1=Fisher |first1=Margaret W. |last2=Rose |first2=Leo E. |last3=Huttenback |first3=Robert A. |title=Himalayan Battleground: Sino-Indian Rivalry in Ladakh |date=1963 |publisher=Praeger |isbn= |ref={{sfnref|Fisher, Rose & Huttenback, Himalayan Battleground|1963}}}}
* {{citation |last=Hoffmann |first=Steven A. |title=India and the China Crisis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BpSRwC5_EPUC |year=1990 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-06537-6 |ref={{sfnref|Hoffmann, India and the China Crisis|1990}}}}
* {{citation |last=Mehra |first=Parshotam |title=An "agreed" frontier: Ladakh and India's northernmost borders, 1846-1947 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mIduAAAAMAAJ |year=1992 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195627589 |ref={{sfnref|Mehra, An "agreed" frontier|1992}}}}
* {{citation |last=Woodman |first=Dorothy |title=Himalayan Frontiers: A Political Review of British, Chinese, Indian, and Russian Rivalries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tkCAAAAAIAAJ |year=1970 |orig-year=first published 1969 by Barrie & Rockliff, The Cresset Press |publisher=Praeger |ref={{sfnref|Woodman, Himalayan Frontiers|1970}}}}

==Further reading==
* {{citation |last=Noorani |first=A.G. |author-link=A. G. Noorani |title=India–China Boundary Problem 1846–1947: History and Diplomacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GoAyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT79 |year=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press India |isbn=978-0-19-908839-3 |ref={{sfnref|Noorani, India–China Boundary Problem|2010}}}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macartney-MacDonald Line}}
[[Category:China–India border]]
[[Category:1893 in international relations]]
[[Category:1959 in international relations]]
[[Category:Eponymous border lines]]