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清代鹽專賣制之特點-一個制度面的剖析

Defining Features of the Qing Salt Monopoly: An Institutional Analysis

摘要


鹽專賣制在清朝政治社會之重要性,夙為清人及精研中國史之學者所深知。因此,不僅清鹽法的史料汗牛充棟,有關論著亦為數不少。然而,我們對清朝鹽專賣制依然一知半解。其原因有二:一、清鹽法本身極為複雜難解;二、在現有研究中,對清鹽法的一些關鍵之處認識不清,甚至錯誤。本文旨在剖析界定清鹽專賣制運作的幾個制度安排,及藉此釐清現有研究中對清鹽法誤解或忽略之處。全文大致可分兩部份:第一部份,簡介清代鹽區的制度和探討它的起源。依筆者之見,鹽區的形成主要是受第八至第十一世紀期間政治因素的影響。此外,鹽區固然在宋代已成型,但在清代,由於鹽區制度與綱法結合,導致了一個前所未見的發展,即鹽商利益的領域化,這使得鹽商成為日後鹽法改革的一大阻力。本文的第二部份,在檢視清綱法運作上的機制,及凸顯各鹽區運作方式的差別。其中最重要的是,淮南綱岸「引窩」佔有式與其他鹽區「引地」佔有式的不同,及由此衍生出來更多的差異,如用銀或用銅錢為交易媒介、各區鹽商與清政府的關係有別。此外,運商與場商的產銷關係也是鹽區之問一個重要的分歧點。河東是個典型的例子。由於一個獨特的安排,使河東的運商受制於「坐商」(場商在河東的名稱),令聞名清朝的山西商人視承辦河東鹽務為畏途。筆者在文中的分析,除了解釋何以揚州商人為清代鹽商之牛耳、長蘆和河東鹽商差強人意甚至窘困的處境外,更在揭示一點:如果我們想透過清鹽法或鹽商的研究,展開有關國家與社會及中國資本主義發展等議題的討論,那麼對清鹽專賣制如何運作清楚的認識,是最重要的基石。

關鍵字

清代 鹽政 鹽專賣 鹽法 綱法 鹽商 錢賤銀貴 鹽區 引窩 引地 引岸 制度 財政

並列摘要


During the Qing dynasty, the salt monopoly, along with the grain tribute system and management of the Yellow River, was considered the most important matter to both state finance and the livelihood of people and at the same time the most difficult to administer. Because of its importance, the Qing salt monopoly has received much attention from scholars. The sizable body of work on the Qing salt monopoly notwithstanding, we still do not have a clear understanding of how the system worked and what it meant to the history of late imperial China. The reason is twofold: first, the Qing salt monopoly was a system of bewildering complexities; second, despite the admirable efforts of many scholars, there are critical mistakes and oversights in the extant literature. This article attempts to sort out the ”rules of the game” of the Qing salt monopoly, which differed fundamentally from previous salt monopoly institutions, by examining the mechanisms and features that defined its operation and by identifying errors in existing studies. It begins with a brief introduction to the Qing salt zone system, followed by an analysis of its historical origins. This author argues that the emergence of the salt zone system was shaped mainly not by economic considerations but by the political circumstances during the period from the eighth to the eleventh centuries and that in consequence there were built-in elements that ran against economic reasoning. While the salt zone system had been in place since the Song dynasty, the combination of this system and the hereditary franchise system (gangfa) in the Qing led to a development unseen in previous dynasties, i.e., the territorialization of salt merchants' interests, which became a major cause of resistance to reform in later times. The greater part of the article explores the operational aspects of the monopoly, focusing on the differences in the modes of operation in different salt zones. The most significant among these differences was that between the monopoly of ”salt certificates” practiced in the Huainan sector of the Lianghuai salt zone and the monopoly of ”franchised salt territories” found in the majority of salt zones. This institutional divergence gave rise to further differences between Huainan and other salt zones, particularly in the medium of exchange-silver or copper cash-used in business transactions, and in salt merchants' relationships with the Qing government. The relationship between transport merchants and merchants engaged in salt production was another major difference with serious ramifications. Here we look at the example of the Hedong salt zone, whose unique arrangement had adverse effects on the transport merchants and salt trade there. In addition to explaining the power and wealth of Yangzhou salt merchants and the less enviable conditions in which Changlu and Hedong salt merchants found themselves, our analysis suggests that a sound understanding of how the Qing salt monopoly operated is imperative if we were to use aspects of the monopoly as the empirical basis for proposing views and theories on issues pertaining to state-society relations, the nature of Chinese society, the (under)development of capitalism in China, and the modernization of China.

參考文獻


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被引用紀錄


陳鳳虹(2006)。清代臺灣私鹽問題研究--以十九世紀北臺灣為中心〔碩士論文,國立中央大學〕。華藝線上圖書館。https://www.airitilibrary.com/Article/Detail?DocID=U0031-0207200917341557

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