| Since the mid-19th century,there have been two changes in the grain tribute system in Qing Dynasty: first,the grain tribute system was concentrated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces;second,the grain taxes were transported to Beijing via sea instead of the Grand Canal,and became the main way of grain tribute in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.In 1852,due to the delay of the last year tribute grain,Zhejiang Governor Huang Zonghan initiated sea transport.He got permission that the funds of Grand Canal were used for the sea transport,so that the tribute grain of Zhejiang Province could be transported to Tianjin under the transportation obstruction and Insufficient expenses.Until 1860,the grain tribute system was temporarily ceased because of the Taiping Rebellion.In the early Tongzhi Reign,Zhejiang Province proposed to reduce the quota of land tax focusing on reducing the tax collection and decreasing the excessive collection,restarting sea transport of grain tribute.However,since Xianfeng period,the problem of long-term deficit of tribute grain in Zhejiang province still existed.In the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods,the amount of tribute grain in Zhejiang province can only reach 60-70% of the levy,and the grain tribute system had been in a state of struggling to support.After the decrease of the land tax,Zhejiang prefectures and counties either accept the grain,or receive both the grain and silver,and the phenomenon that grain tax were converted from grain to silver became "legalized" and more and more universal,which provides an important condition for the emergence of grain purchase.In fact,a considerable part of the tribute grain shipped from Shanghai came from temporary purchase,that is,every October of the lunar calendar,Zhejiang prefectures and counties sent someone to Wuxi and other rice trade centers to sign purchase contracts with local agencies,or only buy rice,or transport rice to Shanghai after purchase.The purchase of tribute grain had become a key link between the levy and inspection of tribute grain reflecting the deepening degree of tribute grains marketization.Between 1894 and 1901,the huge war reparations broke the long-term balance of Finance and plunged the Qing government into unprecedented financial difficulties.Under the pressure of repaying foreign debts,the central government repeatedly weighed the food security in the capital and fund-raising strategies.Finally,in 1901,the central government decided that Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces should ship at least 1 million piculs of tribute grain.Zhejiang province should ship 400,000 piculs of tribute grain,and the rest of the tribute grain would be converted into silver.In the late Qing Dynasty,after the reform of purchasing and transporting to Beijing for sea transport and levying grain tax in currency,the grain tribute system was still not completely separated from the tribute system of the dynasty,but its internal operation principle was dominated by the market. |
