A Study Of The Characteristics Of Tax Levy In Jiangsu And Gansu During The Reign Of Shunzhi And Kangxi

The reign of Shunzhi and Kangxi was a transitional era from a minority rule to anational rule in the Qing Dynasty, which had to face the mess left by the corrupted MingDynasty and the peasant risers. The society was nearly in ruins. Even after entering intothe inland, the Qing Dynasty was still involved in continual wars, which were inevitablysupported by a large amount of materials and manpower. Jiangsu whose tax amount wasmuch higher than other regions appeared to be the major tax-paying region in the QingDynasty,Heavy tax became a conspicuous characteristic of tax levy in Jiangsu Province,so that it provided a huge sum of military expenditure for the wars during the reign ofShunzhi and Kangxi. However, it was natural that excessive taxes brought about people’sdissatisfaction and resistance, which even had an influence on the government’s revenueand caused some social problems. Therefore, both Shunzhi and Kangxi paid muchattention to the heavy taxes in Jiangsu area in order to mitigate the burden of the farmersto some extent and improve their living standard gradually. It was of great significancefor the unification of the whole nation and the stability of the reign of the Qinggovernment.The condition of Gansu area was relatively poor, so it was very small that the regionpaid tax to the Qing government. But, the taxation on people in Gansu was extremelyheavy because the wars were never ending during the reign of Shun and Kang, and thepreparation, transportation and retention of the military materials could only fulfilled bylabor. Gansu was a major region levied by Qing Dynasty. Therefore, heavy tax becamethe characteristic of tax levy in Gansu. The burden was so heavy that people could notbear it so that they fled from their hometown.The ruler was aware of this problem andtook measures to change the situation. As a result, people’s living condition in Gansuarea was ameliorated in a certain way. Thanks to governmental regulation andrectification，Gansu area remained relatively stable under the warring circumstance. Allof these guaranteed the victory of the wars during the reign of Shun and Kang and laidthe foundation for the" Kangxi and Qianlong Prosperity".