The Late Qing Dynasty Financial Finishing Study (1908-1911)

During the warning days of Kuang Hsu and the whole Xuantong years, the Qing government implemented a nationwide Financial Consolidation for the sake of saving the fate of its rule and easing the financial crisis, under the background full of internal and external problems. This Financial Consolidation, at the slogan of cleaning up the finance, played not only an important role in the late Qing Dynasty financial history, but also as an important part of the late Qing New Deal. In order to implement the Financial Consolidation, the Qing government set up a clearing financial office in the central, and the clean-up finance bureau at the local. In addition, the government synchronously dispatched financial supervisors on behalves of the central to oversee the local, completing the Financial Consolidation from top to bottom. During the Financial Consolidation, the Qing government promulgated a series of initiatives, including promulgating Stamp Duty to make up the loss of Opium Tax; conducting Currency Reform, and amending currency standard system, straightening out the Qing Bank as well as Notes Issue; increasing pounds of salt to enhance the Financial revenues; dividing national tax and local tax to distinguish the boundaries of the two taxes; compiling the budget-making and final accounts to standardize Financial operation mechanism; issuing bonds to raise reparations and military expenditure, and so on.The fundamental purpose of this reform was to withdraw the financial power from the local to the centre, and to increase central government's revenues However, in the context of the loss of government authority and various interests conflicts, it was very difficult to implement Financial Consolidation, the process of which was full of many contradictions among the central and the local, as well as each central department. Because of these unresolved contradictions, the Financial Consolidation didn't gain its end and frustrated finally. From this aspect, it reflected the Qing dynasty's ineluctability. On the other hand, despite the Financial Consolidation failed at last, there were many positive measures, which played a guide role for the later development of the financial foundation, From the perspective of modern financial history, it also had a few positive meanings.