Shi jiu shi ji Sichuan Nanbu Xian de yan ye yu di fang she hui bian qian =: Salt and society in nineteen-century Nanbu County, Sichuan

M.Phil.The Nanbu County in Baoning Prefecture of Sichuan is a rich mine for historical research. The Nanbu Salt Office archives, in particular, are of great value. This thesis uses the Nanbu Salt Office archives to study the dynamics of state governance, economic activities, and social transformation in Nanbu from the late 18th to late 19th centuries. On the side of the state, this thesis explores the institutional framework of the salt administration and points out that the local officials took a number of factors into consideration when settling disputes: salt regulations, legal code, customs, their own sense of justice and discretion, cost of administration and security. On the side of the society, this thesis explores how various social groups or agents or actors made their moves to reap profit or recoup losses in the complex game with each other and with the state.This research focuses on three issues: first, how the demand for salt taxation led to the emergence of multiple political brokers and local social organizations, during the salt well tax collection reform in Jiaqing-Daoguang reign, the salt lijin collection in Tongzhi reign, and salt ticket lijin collection reform in Guangxu reign. Second, how the people, groups, and officials on the “marketing counties” used two types of salt regulatory arbitrage to change the tendency of salt trade from the monopoly system to the market forces. Third, in the litigation documents of county-level archives, how the common people seized the opportunity to use various strategies to enter the document system of the state.清代四川保寧府南部縣，保存的衙門檔案甚為豐富。其中的鹽房檔案，成為本文主要史料。本文以之探討十八世紀末至十九世紀末南部縣鹽業與地方社會之互動，將逐一介紹清代四川的鹽法框架、州縣與上級衙門對鹽商和灶民的治理、鹽釐總局的成立，分析制度轉變期間，各種利益群體、經紀人在官府框架中的博弈。本文指出，一方面，州縣官在處理鹽務糾紛時，會廣泛考慮鹽法、律例、習俗、情理，以及治安、行政成本、財政穩定等因素。另一方面，百姓主動利用各種由王朝國家認可的標籤、身份──包括灶民、井首、引商、鹽釐首事、鹽局首事、鹽房書吏、差役等，作出行動，其策略乃至庇護關係，相當複雜。他們的「制度套利」與反擊，反映了王朝統治、經濟活動、社會變遷的互動關係。本研究有三個關注點：一、在嘉道年間的幫輸銀、同治年間的鹽釐承包、光緒年間的票釐局改革的稅收方式轉變時，鹽業稅收的需求如何引致多重政治經紀人出現、以及催生了地方社會組織；二、在銷岸的人、團體與官員如何通過兩類鹽法套利行為，使本來的「專商專賣」制度改變為實際上傾向以市場分配食鹽，官府如何默認這種現象；三、在縣級檔案的訴訟文書中，百姓如何把握機會使用種種策略進入國家文書體系。呂卓遙."2020年9月".Parallel title from added title page.Thesis M.Phil. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2020.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-177).Abstract also in English.Title from PDF title page (viewed on March 17, 2022).Lu Zhuoyao