Volume 124 Treatises 99: Food and Money 5, Coinage, Tea Administration, Mining Administration

志九十九

Treatise 99

=食貨五=

Food and Money, Part Five

錢法太祖初鑄「天命通寶」錢，別以滿、漢文為二品，滿文一品錢質較漢文一品為大。天聰因之。世祖定鼎燕京，大開鑄局，始定一品。於戶部置寶泉局，工部置寶源局。「順治通寶」錢，定制以紅銅七成、白銅三成搭配鼓鑄。錢千為萬，二千串為一卯，年鑄三十卯。每錢重一錢。二年，增重二分，定錢七枚准銀一分，舊錢倍之。民間頗病錢貴，已更定十枚准一分。各省、鎮遵式開鑄，先後開山西、陝西、密雲、薊、宣、大同、延綏、臨清、盛京、江西、河南、浙江、福建、山東、湖廣及荊州、常德、江寧三府鑄局。五年，停盛京、延綏二局。六年，移大同局於陽和。七年，開襄陽、鄖陽二府鑄局。八年，停各府、鎮鑄。十年，復開密雲、薊、宣、陽和、臨清鑄局。初戶部以新鑄錢足用，前代惟崇禎錢仍暫行，餘准廢銅輸官，償以直，並禁私鑄及小錢、偽錢，更申舊錢禁。嗣以輸官久不盡，通令天下，限三月期畢輸，逾限行使，罪之。

On coinage: In his early reign Taizu first cast Tianming Tongbao coins in two denominations distinguished by Manchu and Han inscriptions; the Manchu-inscription coin was the larger of the two. The Tiancong reign continued the same arrangement. After Shunzhi made Beijing the capital, minting was greatly expanded and a single standard denomination was adopted. The Baoquan mint was placed under the Board of Revenue and the Baoyuan mint under the Board of Works. Shunzhi Tongbao coins were specified to be cast from an alloy of seventy parts red copper to thirty parts brass. One thousand coins counted as ten thousand for accounting; two thousand strings constituted one production cycle (mao), and thirty such cycles were minted annually. Each coin weighed one mace (about 3.8 grams). In Shunzhi year 2 the weight was raised by two fen, seven new coins were set equal to one fen of silver, and old coins counted at half that rate. Because the public found cash too dear, the rate was revised to ten coins per fen of silver. Provinces and garrison towns opened mints to the prescribed standard; over time mints were established in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Miyun, Ji, Xuanfu, Datong, Yansui, Linqing, Shengjing, Jiangxi, Henan, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Huguang, and the prefectures of Jingzhou, Changde, and Jiangning. In year 5 the Shengjing and Yansui mints were shut down. In year 6 the Datong mint was relocated to Yanghe. In year 7 mints were opened in the prefectures of Xiangyang and Yunyang. In year 8 provincial and garrison minting was suspended. In year 10 the Miyun, Ji, Xuanfu, Yanghe, and Linqing mints were reopened. At first the Board of Revenue judged the new coinage sufficient; only Chongzhen coins from the Ming were temporarily permitted to circulate, while other old copper had to be surrendered to the state for compensation, and private minting, small coins, and counterfeits were banned along with a renewed prohibition on old currency. When surrender lagged, an empire-wide order set a three-month deadline for delivery; anyone who continued to use old coin after that was liable to punishment.

是年廷議疏通錢法，以八年增重一錢二分五釐為定式，幕左漢文「一釐」二字，右寶泉鑄一字曰「戶」，寶源曰「工」，各省、鎮並鑄開局地名一字，如太原增「原」字、宣府增「宣」字之類，錢千准銀一兩，定為畫一通行之制。禁私局，犯者以枉法贓論。時官錢壅滯，通以斂散法，酌定京、外局錢，配搭俸餉。錢糧舊制徵銀七錢三，皆著為令。而直省局錢不精，私鑄乘之，卒壅不行，悉罷鑄，專任寶泉、寶源，精造一錢四分重錢，幕用滿文，俾私鑄艱於作偽。現行錢限三月銷毀。更定私鑄律，為首及匠人罪斬決，財產沒官，為從及知情買使，總甲十家長知情不首，地方官知情，分別坐斬絞，告奸賞銀五十兩。

That year the court debated reform of the currency. The weight adopted in year 8—one mace two fen five li—became the standard. The reverse bore the Han characters for "one li" on the left; Baoquan coins showed the character for Revenue (hu), Baoyuan for Works (gong), and provincial mints one character for the locality, as Taiyuan with yuan or Xuanfu with xuan. One thousand cash equaled one tael of silver, fixed as the uniform standard of circulation. Private mints were outlawed; offenders were prosecuted under the statute on official corruption. Official coin had piled up in treasury, so a contraction-and-release policy was applied, allocating mint output from Beijing and the provinces to salary payments. The old grain-tax rate of seven mace three of silver per picul was codified in regulations. Provincial mints produced inferior coin, inviting counterfeiting until circulation stalled entirely. Provincial minting was abolished; only Baoquan and Baoyuan were retained to cast refined coins of one mace four fen with Manchu reverse inscriptions, making private forgery harder. Coins then in circulation had to be withdrawn and melted within three months. Penalties for private minting were tightened: ringleaders and craftsmen were beheaded and their property confiscated; accomplices and knowing buyers were punished by degree, as were neighborhood heads and ten-household chiefs who failed to report and local officials who knew but did nothing. Informants received fifty taels of silver.

十七年，復直省鑄，令准重錢式，幕兼用滿、漢文。康熙元年，鑄紀元錢，後凡嗣位改元，皆鑄如例。高宗內禪，鑄乾隆錢十二，嘉慶錢十八，非常例也。自改鑄一錢四分錢，奸民輒私銷，乃定律罪之比私鑄。遂禁造銅器，為私銷也。十八年，申嚴其禁，軍器、樂器之屬，許造用五斤以下者。時重錢銷益少，直苦昂。二十三年，允錢法侍郎陳廷敬糾復一錢舊制。久之，錢貴如故，乃申定錢直禁，銀一兩易錢毋得不足一千，然錢直終不能平。季年銀一兩易錢八百八十至七百七十。乃發五城平糶錢易銀以平其價。

In year 17 provincial minting resumed on the heavy-coin standard, with both Manchu and Han on the reverse. In Kangxi 1 reign-title coins were introduced; thereafter every new reign cast coins in the same way. When Qianlong abdicated in favor of Jiaqing, twelve Qianlong denominations and eighteen Jiaqing denominations were cast—an exceptional departure from precedent. Once the one-mace-four-fen coin was introduced, illicit melting became common, and the law made clandestine melting punishable on the same terms as private minting. Copperware manufacture was therefore banned to curb illicit melting. In year 18 the ban was tightened; only military weapons, musical instruments, and similar items under five jin were exempt. Heavy coins were melted less often, and their value rose painfully. In year 23 the court approved Vice Minister Chen Tingjing's memorial to restore the one-mace standard. Cash soon became dear again. A price floor was reissued: one tael of silver must buy at least one thousand cash—but the exchange rate never stabilized. By the end of the reign one tael bought only 880 to 770 cash. Relief funds from the Five Wards were used to sell cash for silver in order to stabilize the rate.

自舊錢申禁，而閩地僻遠，猶雜制錢行之。二十四年，巡撫金鋐以為言，學士徐乾學疏稱：「自古皆古今錢相兼行使，聽從民便。」因曆數歷代舊事，謂「自漢五銖以來，未嘗廢古而專用今。隋銷古錢，明天啟後盡括古錢充鑄，錢之變也。且錢法敝，可資古錢以澄汰，故易代仍聽流通。矧閩處嶺外，宜聽民行使」。上韙其言，盡寬舊錢廢錢之禁。是年定旗籍私鑄私銷罪如律。四十一年，以循舊制改輕錢，私鑄復起，廷臣請罷小制錢，仍鑄一錢四分重錢，新舊錢暫兼行，新錢千准銀一兩，舊錢准七錢。詔從之。然私鑄竟不能止。

Although old coin had been banned again, remote Fujian still circulated mixed old currency. In year 24 Governor Jin Qiao raised the issue. Academician Xu Qianxue memorialized: "From antiquity old and new coin have circulated side by side for the people's convenience." He cited historical precedents: "Since the Han wushu, no dynasty has abolished old coin in favor of the new alone. The Sui melted old coin; after Tianqi the Ming seized all old coin for recasting—each was a disruption of the currency. When the currency is debased, old coin can help sift out bad money, which is why each new dynasty has allowed old coin to circulate. Fujian lies beyond the mountains; the people there should be allowed to use old coin freely." The emperor approved, and restrictions on old and demonetized coin were broadly relaxed. That year Banner subjects who privately minted or melted were made subject to the same penalties as commoners. In year 41 a return to the lighter standard revived private minting. Ministers asked to abolish small coin and restore the one-mace-four-fen standard, with old and new circulating together at 1000 new or 700 old cash per tael of silver. The edict approved. Private minting nevertheless could not be stopped.

四十五年，山東請鑄大錢。會獲得常山私鑄，上以私鑄不盡大錢，必多私銷，宜先收後禁，乃令錢糧銀一兩折收二千文，錢盡，折收銅器。戶部以新錢不敷，請展至五年後毀舊鑄。越二年，襄陽私鑄錢潛貯漕艘入京，大理卿塔進泰奉命會查，疏請嚴禁收毀，再犯私鑄私販罪如律，船戶運弁罪同私鑄，地方官知情，斬決，沒其家；失察，奪職。法益加嚴。

In year 45 Shandong petitioned to cast large-denomination coins. When a private mint was uncovered at Changshan, the emperor reasoned that large coins would only encourage more illicit melting unless copper were collected first. Grain tax was henceforth collected at 2000 cash per tael of silver, then in copperware once cash ran out. The Board of Revenue, finding new coin insufficient, asked to postpone withdrawal of old coin for five years. Two years later, privately minted Xiangyang coin was found hidden aboard grain boats bound for the capital. Chief Minister Ta Jintai investigated and memorialized for stricter collection and destruction. Repeat offenders in minting and trafficking were punished by statute; boatmen and transport officers were treated as minters; knowing local officials were beheaded and their families confiscated; failure to detect led to dismissal. Penalties grew still harsher.

官局用銅，自四十四年兼采滇產。雍正元年，巡撫楊名時請歲運滇銅入京。廷議即山鑄錢為便，因開雲南大理、霑益四局，鑄運京錢，幕文曰「雲泉」。上以錢為國寶，更名「寶雲」，並令直省局錢，幕首「寶」字，次省名，純滿文。其後運京錢時鑄時罷。

From year 44 official mints partly drew copper from Yunnan. In Yongzheng 1 Governor Yang Mingshi petitioned for annual shipment of Yunnan copper to Beijing. The court decided that minting locally was cheaper. Four Yunnan mints were opened at Dali and Zhan Yi to cast coin for shipment to the capital, inscribed yunquan on the reverse. The emperor, treating coin as a national treasure, renamed the mint Baoyun and ordered all provincial coins to show bao followed by the province name in Manchu script alone. Thereafter coin minted for shipment to the capital was intermittently suspended.

乾隆二年，以錢價久不平，飭大興、宛平置錢行官牙以平錢價。上念私銷害尤甚，益厲行銅器禁。官非三品以上不聽用，舊有銅器限三年內輸官，逾限以私藏禁物論，已禁仍造，罪比盜鑄為從。遂通令禁造銅器。尋益嚴限制，惟一品始聽用，餘悉禁之，藏匿私用，皆以違禁論。十二年，上以錢重則私銷，輕則私鑄，令復一錢二分舊制。十三年，定翦錢邊律罪為絞監候。先是尚書海望以銅禁病民，疏陳四弊，高宗然之，遂罷禁銅收銅令。

In Qianlong 2, because the cash rate had long been unstable, Daxing and Wanping counties were ordered to set up official money brokers to stabilize it. The emperor judged illicit melting the greater evil and tightened the ban on copperware. Officials below third rank were forbidden copperware; existing pieces had to be surrendered within three years, after which possession was a crime; continued manufacture after the ban was punished as complicity in illicit minting. A general ban on copperware manufacture followed. Restrictions soon tightened further: only first-rank officials might keep copperware; all others were forbidden, and concealment was a punishable offense. In year 12 the emperor observed that heavy coin encouraged melting and light coin encouraged counterfeiting, and restored the one-mace-two-fen standard. In year 13 clipping coin edges was made a capital offense with reprieve (jiao jianhou). Earlier Minister Haiwang had memorialized that the copper ban harmed the people in four ways; Qianlong agreed and lifted both the copper ban and compulsory copper collection.

復以京師錢價昂，銀一兩僅易八百文，詔發工部節慎庫錢平價。御史陶正靖疏陳錢價不平，弊由經紀蠹害錢法，遽命革除之。浙江布政使張若震言錢貴弊在私毀。如使配合銅鉛，參入點錫，鑄成青錢，則銷者無利。試之驗，因采其議，鑄與黃錢兼行。定私鑄鉛錢禁，為首及匠人絞監候，為從及知情買使，減一等。申嚴販運及囤積制錢之禁，凡積錢至百千以上，以違例論。上諭廷臣曰：「今之言禁者，亦第補偏救弊，非能正本清源也。物之定直以銀不以錢，而官民乃皆便錢不便銀，趨利之徒，以使低昂為得計，何輕重之倒置也？嗣是宜重用銀，凡直省官修工程，民間總置貨物，皆以銀。」

Cash in the capital rose again to only 800 per tael of silver; an edict released Board of Works treasury coin to stabilize the rate. Censor Tao Zhengjing blamed brokers for distorting the cash rate; they were immediately abolished. Zhejiang Commissioner Zhang Ruozhen argued that dear cash was caused by illicit destruction. If coins were alloyed with copper, lead, and a trace of tin to produce green cash, melters would find no profit in destroying them. Trials succeeded; his proposal was adopted, and green cash circulated alongside yellow cash. Penalties for private lead coin were set: ringleaders and craftsmen received strangulation with reprieve; accomplices and knowing buyers one degree less. Trafficking and hoarding of demonetized coin were strictly forbidden; hoarding above one hundred strings was a regulatory offense. The emperor told the court: "Today's prohibitions only patch symptoms; they do not address the root cause. Goods are properly valued in silver, not cash, yet officials and commoners alike prefer cash to silver. Profiteers manipulate the rate for gain—how inverted are the true and false standards of value! Henceforth silver should be emphasized: all provincial public works and large private purchases should be settled in silver."

二十二年，兩廣總督李侍堯請禁舊錢、偽錢。上以民間雜用吳三桂「利用」、「洪化」、「昭武」諸偽錢，第聽自檢出，官為易之以充鑄，舊錢仍聽行使。二十四年，回部平，頒式於葉爾羌，鑄「乾隆通寶」，枚重二錢，幕鑄葉爾羌名，左滿文，右迴文，用紅銅，並毀舊普爾錢充鑄。越二年，阿克蘇請鑄，如葉爾羌例。復允西藏開鑄銀錢，重一錢與五分二種，文曰「乾隆寶藏」，幕用唐古忒字，邊郭識年分。以上二類錢，第行之回、藏，內地不用。二十九年，令回部鑄錢，永用乾隆年號。

In year 22 Liangguang Governor-General Li Shiyao petitioned to ban old and counterfeit coin. The emperor noted that Wu Sangui's Liyong, Honghua, and Zhaowu counterfeits circulated among the people; voluntary surrender would be exchanged for official coin to be recast, while old coin might still circulate. In year 24, after the Muslim regions were pacified, the standard was issued at Yarkand: Qianlong Tongbao of two mace, reverse with the Yarkand name in Manchu on the left and Uighur on the right, cast in red copper from melted old Pul coin. Two years later Aksu petitioned to mint on the Yarkand model. Tibet was also permitted to mint silver coins of one mace and five fen, inscribed Qianlong Baozang, with Tangut script on the reverse and the year on the rim. These two types circulated only in the Muslim west and Tibet, not in China proper. In year 29 the Muslim regions were ordered to use the Qianlong reign title permanently on their coinage.

時至中葉，錢直昂，直省皆增爐廣鑄，價暫趨於平。會銅運遲滯，市儈居奇增直，害錢法，通飭督撫毋得輕請停爐減卯。季年私鑄益多，四川、雲、貴為淵藪，流布及江、浙。雲、貴官錢亦以不善罷鑄。又自律嚴私鑄，常寬之以收毀，莠民恃以行詐，私錢日出不窮。五十七年，湖廣總督畢沅請收買毋立限。上謂湖北乃私鑄總匯，不圖禁絕而預思所以卸過，命嚴稽私販，仍予寬限二年。五十九年，以官私錢錯出，錢賤，乃暫罷直省鑄，私錢通限一年收繳，而吏胥緣為奸。嘉慶元年，復直省鑄。至十年，直省未盡復卯，錢復貴，通飭各督撫按卯鼓鑄。然嗣是局私私鑄相踵起，京局錢至輪郭肉好糢糊脆薄，「寶蘇」鑄中雜沙子，擲地即碎，而貴州、湖廣私鑄盛行，江蘇官局私局秘匿。至道光間，閩、廣雜行「光中」、「景中」、「景興」、「嘉隆」諸夷錢，奸民利之，輒從仿造。貴陽大定官局亦別鑄底大錢，錢法自是益壞。

By mid-dynasty cash was dear; provinces added furnaces and increased output, and the rate briefly stabilized. When copper shipments lagged, speculators hoarded and raised prices, harming the currency. Governors were ordered not to suspend mints or cut production cycles without strong cause. By the late reign private minting flourished, centered in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou and spreading to the lower Yangtze. Official minting in Yunnan and Guizhou was also suspended for poor quality. Although private minting was strictly forbidden, lenient collection policies let criminals exploit the gap, and counterfeit coin proliferated daily. In year 57 Huguang Governor-General Bi Yuan petitioned for open-ended purchase of private coin. The emperor replied that Hubei was the main conduit for private coin and that Bi was planning evasion rather than suppression; he ordered strict inspection of trafficking but granted a two-year grace period. In year 59 official and private coin became indistinguishable and cash depreciated; provincial minting was suspended and private coin ordered collected within one year—but clerks exploited the policy for graft. In Jiaqing 1 provincial minting resumed. By year 10 many provinces had not restored full production cycles; cash rose again, and all governors were ordered to meet their minting quotas. Thereafter official and private minting alike deteriorated: Beijing coin had blurred rims and thin, brittle metal; Jiangsu Baosu coin mixed in sand and shattered when dropped; private minting flourished in Guizhou and Huguang while Jiangsu hid both official and illicit operations. By the Daoguang era Fujian and Guangdong circulated foreign coins such as Guangzhong, Jingzhong, Jingxing, and Jialong; criminals profited by imitating them. The Guiyang and Dading mints also cast thick-based large coins, and the currency deteriorated further.

時華洋互市，以貨易銀，番船冒禁，歲漏出以千萬計，御史黃中模、章沅咸以為言。而大髻、小髻、蓬頭、蝙蝠、雙柱、馬劍各種番銀，亦潛輸內地以規利，自閩、廣通行至黃河以南。而洋商復挾至各省海口，陽置貨而陰市銀，至洋銀日多，紋銀日少而貴。上患之，命粵督申嚴禁約，然所禁不及洋銀，仿鑄之廣板、福板、杭板、吳庄、行庄，耗華銀如故。御史黃爵滋請並禁使出洋，更立專條，議從重科。十七年，詔沿江沿海督撫、海關監督，飭屬嚴稽偷漏，定功過，行賞罰，而海內銀卒耗竭，每兩易錢常至二千。廷臣謀所以重錢以殺銀之勢，而議格不行。

As Sino-Western trade exchanged goods for silver, foreign ships smuggled out tens of millions of taels annually; Censors Huang Zhongmo and Zhang Yuan both memorialized on the matter. Various foreign silver dollars—large and small queue, disheveled head, bat, double pillar, and horse sword types—were also smuggled inland for profit, spreading from Fujian and Guangdong to all regions south of the Yellow River. Foreign merchants also carried them to every coastal port, ostensibly trading goods but secretly buying silver, until foreign dollars proliferated and sycee grew scarce and costly. The emperor was alarmed and ordered the Guangdong governor to tighten enforcement, but foreign silver was not banned; counterfeit Guangban, Fuban, Hangban, Wuzhuang, and Xingzhuang types continued to drain domestic silver as before. Censor Huang Juezi petitioned to ban silver export entirely and establish a separate statute with heavier penalties. In year 17 an edict ordered coastal governors and customs officials to crack down on smuggling with merit-based rewards and punishments, but domestic silver was exhausted and one tael often bought only 2000 cash. Ministers debated strengthening cash to curb silver, but the proposal never took effect.

先是道光中葉，銀外泄而貴，朝野皆欲行大錢以救之。廣西巡撫梁章鉅疏言其利。文宗即位，四川學政何紹基力請行大錢以復古救時。上意初不謂然，卒與官票、寶鈔行焉。鈔嘗行於順治八年，歲造十二萬八千有奇。十年而罷。嘉慶間，侍講學士蔡之定請行鈔。咸豐二年，福建巡撫王懿德亦以為請。廷議以窒礙難行，卻之。是時銀虧錢匱重，而軍需河餉糜帑二千數百萬，籌國計者，率以行官票請。次年，命戶部集議。惠親等請飭部製造錢鈔與銀票相輔並行。票鈔制以皮紙，額題「戶部官票」，左滿、右漢，皆雙行，中標二兩平足色銀若干兩，下曰「戶部奏行官票」。凡原將官票兌換銀錢者，與銀一律，並准按部定章程，搭交官項。偽造者依律治罪。邊文龍。鈔額題「大清寶鈔」，漢字平列，中標準足制錢若干文，旁八字為「天下通寶，平準出入」，下曰「此鈔即代制錢行用，並准按成交納地丁錢糧一切稅課捐項，京、外各庫一概收解」。邊文如票。大錢當千至當十，凡五等，重自二兩遞減至四錢四分。當千、當五百，淨銅鑄造，色紫；當百、當五十、當十，銅鉛配鑄，色黃。百以上文曰「咸豐元寶」，以下曰「重寶」，幕滿文局名。四年，以乏銅，兼鑄當五鐵錢及制錢。已而更鑄鉛制錢。乾隆間，京局用銅，滇、洋兼資，後專行滇運。時以道梗銅滯，故權宜出此。定議票銀一兩抵制錢二千，鈔二千抵銀一兩，票鈔亦準是互相抵，民間完納丁糧稅課及一切官款，亦准五成，京、外應放庫款如之。大錢上下通行如票鈔，抵銀如制錢之數，輸官以三成，鐵錢通用如大錢。阻撓罪以違制，偽造鈔票斬監候，私鑄加嚴。通飭京、外設置官錢局。尋以直省延不奉行，嗣後議於各府置鈔局，發大錢於行店，俾錢鈔通融互易以便民，丁糧搭收票鈔，零星小戶銀鈔尾零，搭交銅鐵大錢，皆先從直隸、山東實行。官吏折勒骫法，商民交易不平價，從嚴處治。七年，令順天直隸各屬錢糧，自本年上忙始，以實銀四成、寶鈔三成、當十銅鐵大錢三成搭交，一切用項，亦按成搭放。尋從戶部議，自本年下忙始，直隸照銀七票三徵收，大錢三成即納在鈔票三成內，交票交錢聽便。

Earlier in mid-Daoguang, as silver drained abroad and rose in value, both court and public favored issuing large-denomination coins as a remedy. Guangxi Governor Liang Zhangju memorialized in favor of the policy. When Xianfeng ascended the throne, Sichuan Education Commissioner He Shaoji strongly urged large coins to restore ancient practice and save the currency. The emperor was initially unconvinced but eventually authorized official notes and treasure notes alongside large coins. Paper notes had been issued in Shunzhi 8, with annual production exceeding 128,000. They were abolished after ten years. During Jiaqing, Hanlin Bachelor Cai Zhiding petitioned to issue paper notes. In Xianfeng 2 Fujian Governor Wang Yide made the same request. The court judged it impracticable and rejected both petitions. Silver was scarce, cash exhausted, and military and river works consumed over twenty million taels; fiscal planners overwhelmingly urged official notes. The following year the Board of Revenue was ordered to deliberate. Prince Hui and others urged the ministry to issue cash notes alongside silver notes. Notes were printed on parchment, headed "Board of Revenue Official Note" in Manchu on the left and Han on the right; the center stated the amount in standard sycee of two taels; the footer read "Official Note Issued by Memorial of the Board of Revenue." Official notes were redeemable for silver or cash on the same terms as silver itself and could be used for official payments per ministry regulations. Counterfeiting was punishable by statute. The border bore a dragon design. Treasure notes were headed "Great Qing Treasure Note"; the center stated the amount in standard cash; the margin bore eight characters: "Treasure circulating under Heaven, balanced in and out"; the footer declared that the note substituted for regulated cash and was acceptable for land tax, grain tax, and all levies at every treasury. The border design matched that on the official note. Large coins ranged from 1000-cash to 10-cash denominations in five grades, weight decreasing from two taels to four mace four fen. The 1000- and 500-cash denominations were cast in pure copper with a purple tint; the 100-, 50-, and 10-cash denominations were cast from copper-lead alloy with a yellow tint. Coins of 100 cash and above were inscribed Xianfeng Yuanbao; lower denominations read Zhongbao; the reverse bore the mint name in Manchu. In year 4, for lack of copper, 5-cash iron coins and standard cash were also minted. Lead standard cash was added later. Under Qianlong the capital mints drew on Yunnan and imported copper; later only Yunnan shipments were used. Blocked transport routes delayed copper shipments, making these expedients necessary. One tael of note silver equaled 2000 cash; 2000 in notes equaled one tael of silver; notes and cash notes were mutually convertible. Private tax payments and all official dues could be paid half in notes; treasury disbursements followed the same rule. Large coins circulated like notes at the standard cash rate; thirty percent of official payments could be in large coins; iron coins circulated on the same terms. Obstruction was a regulatory offense; counterfeiting notes carried the death penalty with reprieve; private minting penalties were tightened. Capital and provinces were ordered to establish official money bureaus. When provinces delayed compliance, note bureaus were proposed for each prefecture and large coins distributed to shops for exchange. Land tax accepted notes; small taxpayers with fractional balances paid in copper and iron large coins—Zhili and Shandong implemented first. Official extortion and unfair trading were severely punished. In year 7 Zhili grain tax from the first harvest season was payable forty percent in silver, thirty percent in treasure notes, and thirty percent in 10-cash copper and iron large coins; all official payments followed the same ratio. Following Board deliberation, from the second harvest season Zhili collected seventy percent silver and thirty percent notes, with large coins counted within the thirty-percent note quota; payers could choose notes or cash.

然鈔法初行，始而軍餉，繼而河工，搭放皆稱不便，民情疑阻。直省搭收五成，以款多抵撥既艱，搭放遂不復肯搭收。民間得鈔，積為無用，京師持鈔入市，非故增直，即匿貨，持向官號商鋪，所得皆四項大錢，不便用，故鈔行而中外兵民病之。其後京師以官號七折錢發鈔，直益低落，至減發亦窮應付，鈔遂不能行矣。大錢當千、當五百，以折當過重最先廢，當百、當五十繼廢，鐵錢以私票梗之而亦廢，乃專行當十錢。盜鑄叢起，死罪日報而不為止。局錢亦漸惡，雜私鑄中不復辨，奸商因之折減挑剔，任意低昂。商販患得大錢，皆裹足，三成搭收，徒張文告，屢禁罔效。法弊而撓法者多，固未有濟也。當十錢行獨久，然一錢當制錢二，出國門即不通行。咸豐之季，銅苦乏，申禁銅、收銅令。同治初，鑄錢所資，惟商銅、廢銅，當十錢減從三錢二分。光緒九年，復減為二錢六分。

When notes were first issued, military pay and river works disbursements in notes were widely resisted, and public confidence was low. Provinces that accepted fifty percent in notes found large-sum settlement difficult and stopped accepting notes in disbursement. The public hoarded notes as worthless. In the capital, note-holders faced inflated prices or hidden goods; official shops paid out only the four large-coin types, which were hard to use. Notes thus harmed soldiers and civilians alike. Later Beijing shops issued notes at seventy percent of face value; the rate fell further until even reduced issuance could not meet demand, and notes ceased to circulate. The 1000- and 500-cash large coins were abolished first as overvalued; the 100- and 50-cash followed; iron coins were driven out by private notes; only the 10-cash denomination remained. Counterfeiting proliferated despite daily death sentences. Official coin deteriorated until it was indistinguishable from counterfeits; merchants exploited the confusion with arbitrary discounts. Merchants refused large coins; the thirty-percent acceptance rule remained on paper only, and repeated prohibitions failed. The law was broken and widely evaded; nothing was achieved. Only the 10-cash coin circulated for long, worth two standard cash per mace, but it did not circulate outside the capital. In late Xianfeng copper was desperately scarce, and copper bans and collection orders were renewed. In early Tongzhi minting relied only on merchant and scrap copper; the 10-cash coin was reduced to three mace two fen. In Guangxu 9 it was further reduced to two mace six fen.

時孝欽顯皇后銳意欲復製，下廷臣議，以滇銅運不如額，姑市洋銅，交機器局試鑄。戶部奏稱機器局鑄錢並京局開爐之不便，懿旨罪其委卸，卒命直隸總督李鴻章於天津行之，重准一錢，遂賞唐炯巡撫銜，專督雲南銅政。十四年，廣東試鑄機器錢，以重庫平七分識於幕。二十四年，命直省鑄八分錢。而京師以制錢少，行當十錢如故。三十二年，鑄銅幣當十錢，民不樂用，於是創鑄銀、銅圓，設置銀行，思劃一幣制，與東西洋各國相抗衡。

Empress Dowager Cixi was determined to restore standard coinage. With Yunnan copper shipments below quota, foreign copper was purchased for trial minting at the machine bureau. The Board of Revenue objected to machine-bureau and capital minting; the empress dowager blamed their evasion and ordered Li Hongzhang to mint at Tianjin at one mace weight. Tang Jiong was given governor rank to supervise Yunnan copper. In year 14 Guangdong trial-minted machine coins marked on the reverse with a weight of seven fen treasury scale. In year 24 provinces were ordered to mint eight-fen coins. Beijing, short of standard cash, continued the 10-cash coin as before. In year 32 copper 10-cash coins were minted but rejected by the public. Silver and copper dollars and banks were then introduced to unify the currency and compete with Western powers.

初，洋商麕集粵東，西班牙、英吉利銀錢大輸入，總督林則徐謀自鑄圖抵制，以不適用而罷。嗣是墨西哥、日本以國幣相灌輸。光緒十四年，張之洞督粵，始用機器如式試鑄，李鴻章繼任續成之，文曰「光緒元寶，庫平七錢二分，廣東省造」，幕絞龍。並鑄三錢六分、一錢四分四釐、七分二釐、三分六釐四種小銀圓。中國自行銀錢自此始。湖北、江西、直隸、浙江、安徽、奉天、吉林以次開鑄。尋以廣東、湖北、江西所鑄最稱便用，許以應解京餉撥充鑄本。直省未開鑄者，飭從附鑄。京、外收放庫款，准搭三成。因命劉坤一、張之洞、陶模籌議三局造鑄事宜。已復由戶部核定，七省所鑄規模成色苦參差，不利通行。會造幣總廠成，擬撤其三，而留江南、直隸、廣東為分廠。初鑄准重墨圓，議者頗非之。之洞始於湖北試行一兩銀幣。戶部亦以中國立算，夙准兩錢分釐，因定主幣為庫平一兩，而以五錢、一錢小銀幣暨銅圓、制錢輔助之，令總分廠如式造行。

When foreign merchants gathered in Guangdong, Spanish and British silver flooded in. Governor Lin Zexu planned domestic coinage to counter it but abandoned the effort as impractical. Mexico and Japan then flooded the market with their national coinage. In Guangxu 14 Zhang Zhidong as Guangdong governor began machine trial minting; Li Hongzhang completed it. The coin read "Guangxu Yuanbao, seven mace two fen treasury scale, made in Guangdong Province" with a coiled dragon on the reverse. Four subsidiary silver denominations were also minted: 3 mace 6 fen, 1 mace 4 fen 4 li, 7 fen 2 li, and 3 fen 6 li. This marked the beginning of China's machine-minted silver coinage. Hubei, Jiangxi, Zhili, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fengtian, and Jilin opened mints in turn. Guangdong, Hubei, and Jiangxi coin proved most acceptable and were allowed to use capital tribute funds as minting capital. Provinces without mints were ordered to contract with existing ones. Treasury receipts and payments could include thirty percent in the new coinage. Liu Kunyi, Zhang Zhidong, and Tao Mo were ordered to plan minting at three bureaus. The Board of Revenue then found that the seven provinces' coins varied in size and fineness, hindering circulation. When the central mint was completed, three provincial mints were to close, leaving Jiangnan, Zhili, and Guangdong as branches. The initial heavy ink-round design was widely criticized. Zhang Zhidong first trial-minted one-tael silver coins in Hubei. The Board fixed the main coin at one treasury-scale tael, with five-mace and one-mace subsidiary silver, copper dollars, and standard cash, and ordered central and branch mints to produce accordingly.

銅元鑄始閩、廣，江蘇繼之。時京局停鑄，命各運數十萬入京，由戶部發行備用。沿江、沿海省分，並飭籌款附鑄。而直省陸續開鑄，造幣總廠反後成。總廠擬鑄之幣凡三品：曰金，曰銀，曰銅。最先鑄銅幣。自當制錢二十降至當二，自重四錢降而四分，凡四種，文視直省小異大同。直省曰「光緒元寶」，總廠初同直省，嗣定曰「大清銅幣」，皆識某所造，幕皆龍文，紫銅鑄，直省間亦用黃銅。凡私造銅幣、偽造紙幣，罪視制錢加等。初鑄銅元，為補制錢之不足，旋艷其餘利，新政餉需皆取給焉，競鑄爭售，乃至不能敷鑄本。兩江總督周馥首疏其弊，戶部為立法限制之。繼與政務處上補救八事。旋以開鑄者多至十七省，省至二三局，恐終難言畫一，乃令山東歸併直隸，湖北歸併湖南，江南、安徽歸併江寧，浙江歸併福建，廣西歸併廣東，合奉天、河南、四川、雲貴為九廠，由部派員會辦，遣大臣周曆察核，與戶部籌定會辦事宜。顧銅元以積賤，當十錢僅能及半數，民私局私頗叢奸弊。應准銀者，銅元折合，類致虧損，物價翔貴，民生日益凋敝。省與省復相軋，至不相流通。山東巡撫袁樹勛繼陳十害。時總廠初鑄銅幣，尚留寶泉鑄六分制錢。廣東請改鑄一文錢，由總廠頒式通行。三十四年，命各銅元廠加鑄一文新錢，如銅圓式，蓋存一文舊制，藉為銅圓補救也。

Copper dollars were first minted in Fujian and Guangdong, then Jiangsu. With capital minting suspended, provinces were ordered to ship hundreds of thousands to Beijing for Board distribution. Coastal provinces were also ordered to fund contracted minting. Provinces opened mints one after another while the central mint was completed later. The central mint planned three metals: gold, silver, and copper. Copper was minted first. Denominations ranged from 20 to 2 cash, weight from four mace to four fen, in four types; inscriptions varied slightly by province. Provincial coins read Guangxu Yuanbao; the central mint initially matched them, then adopted Da Qing Copper Coin; all bore the mint name and a dragon reverse in purple copper, though some provinces used brass. Private copper minting and paper counterfeiting carried penalties one degree heavier than for standard cash. Copper dollars were first minted to supplement scarce standard cash, but mints soon competed for profit; New Policy military funds depended on them until minting costs could not be covered. Liangjiang Governor-General Zhou Fu first memorialized on the abuses; the Board legislated restrictions. Eight remedial measures were then submitted to the Bureau of Government Affairs. With seventeen provinces operating two or three mints each, unification seemed impossible. Shandong merged into Zhili, Hubei into Hunan, Jiangnan and Anhui into Jiangning, Zhejiang into Fujian, Guangxi into Guangdong; Fengtian, Henan, Sichuan, and Yunnan-Guizhou formed nine mints under joint ministry management, with grand ministers inspecting and coordinating with the Board. Copper dollars depreciated until 10-cash coins traded at half value; private mints proliferated with fraud. Payments due in silver converted to copper dollars at a loss; prices soared and livelihoods deteriorated. Provinces obstructed one another until their coins would not circulate across borders. Shandong Governor Yuan Shuxun then memorialized ten further harms. When the central mint began copper coinage, Baoquan still minted six-fen standard cash. Guangdong petitioned to mint one-wen coins under a standard issued by the central mint. In year 34 all copper-dollar mints were ordered to add one-wen coins in the dollar style, preserving the old denomination as a remedy for copper-dollar inflation.

自大理少卿盛宣懷奏設通商銀行，議者以東西洋各國皆有國立銀行，能持國內外財政，二十九年，允戶部請，設置官銀行，以部專其名，糾合官商資本四百萬，通用國幣、發行紙幣、官款公債皆主之。尋為發行紙幣，並開紙、印刷二廠。會戶部改度支，更銀行名曰「大清」，設正副監督各一，造幣總廠亦如之。銀行內並附設儲蓄銀行。畫一幣制，載入各國新定商約。部議宜先審定銀幣，試行效，則積金鑄幣三品之制，可使同條共貫。第計元計兩，尚持兩端。德宗下其事於督撫。適有以實行商約速定幣制請者，下政務處核議，各督撫亦先後議上。主兩者至十一省，主圓者僅八省。度支部前亦頒布用兩，遂定一兩為主幣。復由部設幣制調查局，而審慎於鑄造推行、畫一成色分量之間。至宣統二年，仍前定名曰「圓」，銀幣一圓為主幣，五角、二角五、一角三種，鎳幣五分一種，銅幣二分、一分、五釐、一釐四種，為輔幣。銀幣重七錢二分，餘遞降。並撤直隸銀銅造幣廠，而留漢口、廣東、成都、雲南四廠。前所鑄大小銀元，暫照市價行使，將來由總廠銀行收換改鑄。

After Sheng Xuanhuai's memorial for a commercial bank, reformers noted that Western nations all had national banks sustaining domestic and foreign finance. In year 29 the Board's request was approved: an official bank with four million in official and merchant capital would manage national coinage, paper notes, official funds, and public bonds. It soon issued paper notes and opened paper and printing factories. When the Board of Revenue became the Board of Finance, the bank was renamed Da Qing with chief and deputy superintendents; the central mint followed suit. A savings bank was attached within the main bank. Currency unification was written into newly concluded commercial treaties. The ministry held that silver coin should be standardized first; once proven, the three-metal system could be unified. Only the question of yuan versus tael accounting remained unresolved. Emperor Guangxu referred the matter to provincial governors. A petition to implement commercial treaties and fix the currency promptly went to the Bureau of Government Affairs; governors submitted opinions in turn. Eleven provinces favored the tael; only eight favored the yuan. The Board of Finance had already mandated the tael, so one tael was adopted as the main coin. The ministry also established a Currency Investigation Bureau to deliberate carefully on minting, circulation, and standardization of fineness and weight. By Xuantong 2 the name yuan was retained: one silver yuan as the main coin, with subsidiary denominations of fifty, twenty-five, and ten cents in silver; five cents in nickel; and two, one, five-li, and one-li in copper. The silver yuan weighed seven mace two fen; subsidiary silver coins decreased proportionally. The Zhili mint was closed, leaving Hankou, Guangdong, Chengdu, and Yunnan. Previously minted silver dollars circulated at market rates pending exchange and recasting by the central mint and bank.

三品之制，首金，次銀。光緒中葉，英金磅歲騰長，每磅自華銀四兩一錢六分五釐增至八兩有奇。御史王鵬運、通政司參議楊宜治嘗建議積金仿鑄。三十年，戶部疏請備造幣之用，納官者皆準金。出使大臣汪大燮極言用金之利。孫寶琦則請對內用銀，對外必預計用金。廷臣之論國幣者，亦以不臻至用金，幣制不為完善，皆請速定用本位金，卒未能實行雲。

In the three-metal system, gold ranked first, silver second. In mid-Guangxu the British gold pound rose yearly from about 4.165 taels of Chinese silver to over eight taels. Censor Wang Pengyun and Secretariat Councillor Yang Yizhi once proposed accumulating gold for minting. In year 30 the Board memorialized for gold reserves for minting and accepted gold for official payments. Envoy Wang Daxie strongly advocated adopting gold. Sun Baoqi urged silver domestically but gold reserves for foreign transactions. Ministers debating national currency held that without a gold standard the system was incomplete and urged rapid adoption—but gold never was implemented.

茶法我國產茶之地，惟江蘇、安徽、江西、浙江、福建、四川、兩湖、雲、貴為最。明時茶法有三：曰官茶，儲邊易馬；曰商茶，給引徵課；曰貢茶，則上用也。清因之。於陝、甘易番馬。他省則召商發引納課，間有商人赴部領銷者，亦有小販領於本籍州縣者。又有州縣承引，無商可給，發種茶園戶經紀者。戶部寶泉局鑄刷引由，備書例款，直省預期請領，年辦年銷。茶百斤為一引，不及百斤謂之畸零，另給護帖。行過殘引皆繳部。凡偽造茶引，或作假茶興販，及私與外國人買賣者，皆按律科罪。

On tea administration: China's chief tea-producing provinces were Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Sichuan, Huguang, Yunnan, and Guizhou. Under the Ming there were three tea systems: official tea, stored on the frontier to trade for horses; merchant tea, licensed and taxed; and tribute tea for imperial use. The Qing followed the same arrangement. In Shaanxi and Gansu tea was traded for frontier horses. Other provinces licensed merchants and collected duties; some merchants obtained licenses from the ministry, others from local counties. When no merchant was available, counties issued licenses to tea-garden households and brokers. The Board's Baoquan Bureau printed license forms with statutory provisions; provinces requested them annually for issue and cancellation. One license covered one hundred jin; fractional lots received a separate transit permit. Used licenses were surrendered to the ministry. Forging licenses, trafficking fake tea, and private trade with foreigners were all punishable by statute.

司茶之官，初沿明制。陝西設巡視茶馬御史五：西寧司駐西寧，洮州司駐岷州，河州司駐河州，庄浪司駐平番，甘州司駐蘭州。尋改差部員，又令甘肅巡撫兼轄，後歸陝甘總督管理。四川設鹽茶道。江西設茶引批驗大使，隸江寧府。

Tea officials initially followed the Ming system. Shaanxi had five tea-horse inspecting censors: Xining at Xining, Taozhou at Minzhou, Hezhou at Hezhou, Zhuanglang at Pingfan, and Ganzhou at Lanzhou. The post was later filled by dispatched ministry officials, then supervised by the Gansu governor, and finally by the Shaanxi-Gansu governor-general. Sichuan established a Salt and Tea Circuit intendant. Jiangxi had a tea-license inspection commissioner under Jiangning prefecture.

歲徵之課，江蘇發引江寧批發所及荊溪縣屬張渚、湖汊兩巡檢司。安徽發引潛山、太湖、歙、休寧、黟、宣城、寧國、太平、貴池、青陽、銅陵、建德、蕪湖、六安、霍山、廣德、建平十七州縣。江西發引徽商及各州縣小販。此三省稅課，均於經過各關按則徵收。浙江由布政使委員給商，每引徵銀一錢，北新關徵稅銀二分九釐二毫八絲，匯入關稅報解。又每歲辦上用及陵寢內廷黃茶共百一十餘簍，由辦引委員於所收茶引買價內辦解。湖北由咸寧、嘉魚、蒲圻、崇陽、通城、興國、通山七州縣領引，發種茶園戶經紀坐銷。建始縣給商行銷。坐銷者每引徵銀一兩，行銷者徵稅二錢五分，課一錢二分五釐，共額徵稅課銀二百三十兩有奇。行茶到關，仍行報稅。湖南發善化、湘陰、瀏陽、湘潭、益陽、攸、安化、邵陽、新化、武岡、巴陵、平江、臨湘、武陵、桃源、龍陽、沅江十七州縣行戶，共徵稅銀二百四十兩。陝、甘發西寧、甘州、庄浪三茶司，而西安、鳳翔、漢中、同州、榆林、延安、寧夏七府及神木廳亦分銷焉。每引納官茶五十斤，餘五十斤由商運售作本。每百斤為十篦，每篦二封，共徵本色茶十三萬六千四百八十篦。改折之年，每封徵折銀三錢。其原不交茶者，則徵價銀共五千七百三十兩有奇。亦有不設引，止於本地行銷者，由各園戶納課，共徵銀五百三十兩有奇。四川有腹引、邊引、土引之分。腹引行內地，邊引行邊地，土引行土司。而邊引又分三道，其行銷打箭爐者，曰南路邊引；行銷松潘廳者，曰西路邊引；行銷邛州者，曰邛州邊引。皆納課稅，共課銀萬四千三百四十兩，稅銀四萬九千一百七十兩，各有奇。雲南徵稅銀九百六十兩。貴州課稅銀六十餘兩。凡請引於部，例收紙價，每道以三釐三毫為率。盛京、直隸、河南、山東、山西、福建、廣東、廣西均不頒引，故無課。惟茶商到境，由經過關口輸稅，或略收落地稅，附關稅造銷，或匯入雜稅報部。此嘉慶前行茶事例也。

Jiangsu issued licenses at the Jiangning distribution office and the Zhangzhu and Hucha inspection posts under Jingxi county. Anhui issued licenses in seventeen counties including Qianshan, Taihu, She, Xiuning, Yi, Xuancheng, Ningguo, Taiping, Guichi, Qingyang, Tongling, Jiande, Wuhu, Lu'an, Huoshan, Guangde, and Jianping. Jiangxi issued licenses to Huizhou merchants and local peddlers. These three provinces collected duties at transit customs posts per regulations. Zhejiang's provincial commissioner issued licenses at one mace per license; Beixin Pass collected 2.928 fen of tax silver remitted as customs revenue. Over 110 baskets of imperial and mausoleum yellow tea were supplied annually from license purchase funds. Hubei issued licenses in seven counties—Xianning, Jiayu, Puqi, Chongyang, Tongcheng, Xingguo, and Tongshan—to tea-garden households and brokers for local sale. Jianshi county issued licenses to merchant firms. Local sale paid one tael per license; transit sale paid 2.5 fen tax and 1.25 mace duty, totaling over 230 taels. Transit tea still paid tax at customs posts. Hunan issued to transit merchants in seventeen counties totaling 240 taels in tax. Shaanxi and Gansu issued through Xining, Ganzhou, and Zhuanglang tea bureaus, with seven prefectures and Shenmu also distributing. Each license required fifty jin of official tea; merchants sold the remaining fifty jin as their margin. Each hundred jin equaled ten baskets of two packets each; total tea levy was 136,480 baskets. In commutation years each packet paid three mace of silver. Those exempt from tea delivery paid over 5,730 taels in commutation silver. Areas without licenses collected over 530 taels from garden households selling locally. Sichuan had interior, frontier, and native-territory license types. Interior licenses served inland markets, frontier licenses the borderlands, native licenses tribal territories. Frontier licenses divided into three routes: those for Dajianlu were southern frontier licenses; those for Songpan were western frontier licenses; those for Qiongzhou were Qiongzhou frontier licenses. All paid duties totaling about 14,340 taels and taxes about 49,170 taels. Yunnan collected 960 taels in tax. Guizhou collected over 60 taels in duties and taxes. Ministry licenses charged paper fees at 3.3 hao per license. Shengjing, Zhili, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi issued no licenses and collected no tea duties. Tea merchants paid transit customs, minor landing taxes attached to customs reports, or miscellaneous taxes remitted to the ministry. Such were the tea regulations before Jiaqing.

厥後泰西諸國通商，茶務因之一變。其市場大者有三：曰漢口，曰上海，曰福州。漢口之茶，來自湖南、江西、安徽，合本省所產，溯漢水以運於河南、陝西、青海、新疆。其輸至俄羅斯者，皆磚茶也。上海之茶尤盛，自本省所產外，多有湖廣、江西、安徽、浙江、福建諸茶。江西、安徽紅綠茶多售於歐、美各國。浙江紹興茶輸至美利堅，寧波茶輸至日本。福州紅茶多輸至美洲及南洋群島。此三市場外，又有廣州、天津、芝罘三所，洋商亦麕集焉。蓋茶之性喜燠惡寒，喜濕惡燥，又必避慓烈之風，最適於中國。泰西商務雖盛，然非其土所宜，不能不仰給於我國，用此駸駸遍及全球矣。

Western trade thereafter transformed the tea business. The three major markets were Hankou, Shanghai, and Fuzhou. Hankou tea came from Hunan, Jiangxi, and Anhui plus local production, shipped up the Han to Henan, Shaanxi, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. Exports to Russia were all brick tea. Shanghai was the largest market, drawing tea from Huguang, Jiangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang, and Fujian as well as local production. Jiangxi and Anhui red and green tea sold mainly to Europe and America. Shaoxing tea went to the United States; Ningbo tea to Japan. Fuzhou black tea exported mainly to the Americas and Southeast Asia. Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Zhifu also attracted foreign merchants. Tea thrives in warmth and moisture and cannot endure cold, dryness, or fierce wind—conditions found chiefly in China. Though Western commerce flourished, their lands could not grow tea; they depended on China, and Chinese tea spread worldwide.

其業此者，有總商，有散商。領引後，行銷各有定域。亦有兼行票法者，如四川自乾隆五十二年開辦堰工茶票後，名目甚繁，然第行於產多或銷暢之區，非遍及各州縣也。惟甘商舊分東、西二櫃，東櫃多籍隸山西、陝西，西櫃則回民充之。自咸豐中回匪滋事，繼以盜賊充斥，兩櫃均無人承課。總督左宗棠勘定全省，乃奏定章程，以票代引。遴選新商採運湖茶，是曰南櫃。時領票止八百餘張。嗣定為三年一案，領票准加不準減。計自光緒十三年至二十七年，逐案加增。三十年，又於湖票外更行銷伊、塔之晉票。迄於宣統二年，茶務日盛。

The trade included wholesale merchants and retailers. Licensed merchants each had fixed sales territories. Some regions used ticket systems; Sichuan introduced irrigation-work tea tickets in Qianlong 52 with many variants, but only in productive or high-volume areas. Gansu merchants were formerly divided into eastern and western guilds: eastern merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi, western merchants mostly Hui. After Hui rebellions in mid-Xianfeng and widespread banditry, neither guild could fulfill tax contracts. After pacifying the province, Governor-General Zuo Zongtang memorialized to replace licenses with tickets. New merchants were selected to transport Huguang tea as the southern guild. Initially only about 800 tickets were issued. A three-year cycle was adopted; ticket quotas could increase but not decrease. From Guangxu 13 to 27 quotas increased each cycle. In year 30 Shanxi tickets for Ili and Tacheng were added beyond Huguang tickets. By Xuantong 2 the tea trade was thriving.

茶之與鹽，辦法略相似。惟鹽為歲入大宗，故掌國計者第附於鹽而總核之。其始但有課稅，除江、浙額引由各關徵收無定額外，他省每歲多者千餘兩，少祗數百兩或數十兩。即陝、甘、四川號為邊引，亦不滿十萬金。咸豐以來，各省次第行釐，光緒十二年，福建冊報至十九萬餘兩，他省款亦漸多，未幾收數復絀。宣統三年豫算表所載，茶稅特百三十餘萬而已。

Tea administration resembled salt administration in broad outline. Salt was a major revenue source, so fiscal officials grouped tea revenue under salt accounts. Initially only duties were collected; except Jiangsu and Zhejiang with variable customs collection, other provinces yielded at most over 1,000 taels annually, some only hundreds or tens. Even Shaanxi, Gansu, and Sichuan frontier licenses yielded less than 100,000 taels. Since Xianfeng provinces imposed likin; Fujian reported over 190,000 taels in Guangxu 12; other provinces' receipts grew but soon declined again. The Xuantong 3 budget listed tea tax at only about 1.3 million taels.

順治初元，定茶馬事例。上馬給茶篦十二，中馬給九，下馬給七。二年，差御史轄五茶馬司。時商人多越境私販，番族利其值賤，趨之若鶩。兼番僧馳驛往來，夾帶私茶出關，吏不能詰。戶部奏言：「陝西以茶易馬，明有照給金牌勘合之例。今可勿用，但定價值。至番僧所至，如官吏縱容收買私茶，聽巡按御史參究。」茶馬御史廖攀龍又言：「茶馬舊額萬一千八十八匹，崇禎三年增解二千匹，請永行蠲免。」並從之。四年，命巡視茶馬滿、漢御史各一，直隸河寶營地當張家口之西，明時鄂爾多斯部落曾於此交易茶馬，旋封閉。至是，戶部差理事官履勘，以狀聞。諭仍准互市。七年，以甘肅舊例，大引篦茶，官商均分，小引納稅三分入官，七分給商。諭嗣後各引均由部發，照大引例，以為中馬之用。又舊例大引附六十篦，小引附六十七斤。定為每茶千斤，概准附百四十斤，聽商自賣。

In early Shunzhi tea-horse regulations were established. Superior horses received twelve baskets of tea, medium horses nine, inferior horses seven. In year 2 a censor was dispatched to supervise five tea-horse bureaus. Merchants often smuggled tea across borders; frontier peoples flocked to buy at low prices. Tibetan monks traveling by courier also smuggled tea through passes beyond official control. The Board of Revenue memorialized: "Shaanxi trades tea for horses; the Ming issued gold plaques and tallies for this purpose. These need no longer be used; fix prices instead. Where Tibetan monks travel, officials who connive at private tea purchases shall be investigated by touring censors." Tea-horse censor Liao Panlong also memorialized: "The old quota was 11,088 horses; Chongzhen 3 added 2,000; I request permanent exemption from the addition." The memorial was approved. In the fourth year, one Manchu and one Han tea-horse censor were appointed. The Hebao garrison camp in Zhili, west of Zhangjiakou, had been a Ming-era tea-horse market for the Ordos tribes before it was shut down. The Board of Revenue then sent an official to inspect the site and report back. The court authorized the market to reopen. In the seventh year, under Gansu's old rules, large licenses covered brick tea split evenly between the state and merchants; on small licenses, thirty percent of the levy went to the government and seventy percent to the merchant. Thereafter all licenses were to be issued by the Board of Revenue under the large-license rule for horse procurement. Under the old rule, a large license also permitted sixty supplementary tea bricks and a small license sixty-seven jin of supplementary tea. The rule was set at one hundred forty jin of supplementary tea per thousand jin of licensed tea, which merchants could sell on their own.

十三年，以甘肅所中之馬既足，命陳茶變價充餉。十四年，復以廣寧、開成、黑水、安定、清安、萬安、武安七監馬蕃，命私馬私茶沒入變價。原留中馬支用者，悉改折充餉。十八年，從達賴喇嘛及根都台吉請，於雲南北勝州以馬易茶。康熙四年，遂裁陝西苑馬各監，開茶馬市於北勝州。七年，裁茶馬御史，歸甘肅巡撫管理。十九年，以軍需急，加福建茶課銀三百五十九兩，至二十六年豁免，併除湖廣新增茶稅銀。時四川產茶多，其用漸廣，戶部議增引，迄康熙末，天全土司、雅州、邛、榮經、名山、新繁、大邑、灌縣並有所增。

In the thirteenth year, with Gansu's horse quota already met, surplus aged tea was ordered sold for cash to cover military pay. In the fourteenth year, with herds again overflowing at the seven pastures of Guangning, Kaicheng, Heishui, Anding, Qing'an, Wan'an, and Wu'an, private horses and smuggled tea were confiscated and sold off. Tea previously reserved for horse procurement was converted entirely to cash payments for military pay. In the eighteenth year, at the request of the Dalai Lama and Gendu Taiji, a horse-for-tea market was opened at Beisheng Prefecture in Yunnan. In Kangxi 4, Shaanxi's horse pasture offices were abolished and the tea-horse market was moved to Beisheng Prefecture. In the seventh year, the tea-horse censors were abolished and tea affairs passed to the Gansu governor. In the nineteenth year, an emergency levy of 359 taels was added to Fujian's tea duty; by the twenty-sixth year it was waived, along with newly imposed Huguang tea taxes. As Sichuan tea production and consumption grew, the Board of Revenue approved more licenses; by the end of Kangxi, quotas had been raised for Tianquan, Yazhou, Qiong, Rongjing, Mingshan, Xinfan, Dayi, Guanxian, and other districts.

二十四年，刑科給事中裘元佩言洮、岷諸處額茶三十餘萬篦，可中馬萬匹。陳茶每年帶銷，又可中數萬匹。請遣員專管。三十六年，遂差部員督理茶馬事務。四十年，以陝西私茶充斥，令嚴查往來民人，凡攜帶私茶十斤以下勿問，其馱載十斤以上無官引者論罪。四十四年，以奸商恃有前例，皆分帶零運，私販轉多，飭照舊緝捕，停差部員，仍歸甘肅巡撫兼理。自康熙三十二年，因西寧五司所存茶篦年久浥爛，經部議准變賣。後又以蘭州無馬可中，將甘州舊積之茶，在五鎮俸餉內，銀七茶三，按成搭放。尋又定西寧等處停止易馬，每新茶一篦折銀四錢，陳茶折六錢，充餉。至六十一年，復增西寧、庄浪、岷州、河州茶引，各處所存舊茶，悉令變賣。

In the twenty-fourth year, Supervising Secretary Qiu Yuanpei of the Penalty Section reported that the allotted tea of more than 300,000 bricks in the Tao and Min districts could supply 10,000 horses. Annual sales from aged stock could supply tens of thousands more horses. He asked that a dedicated official be appointed to oversee the trade. In the thirty-sixth year, a Board of Revenue commissioner was sent to oversee tea-horse affairs. In the fortieth year, with smuggled tea flooding Shaanxi, travelers were strictly inspected: private tea of ten jin or less was ignored, but loads above ten jin without an official license were penalized. In the forty-fourth year, merchants exploited the ten-jin exemption by splitting loads, and smuggling increased; enforcement was tightened, the ministry commissioner was withdrawn, and tea affairs reverted to the Gansu governor. From Kangxi 32, moldy tea bricks long stored by the Five Bureaus of Xining were approved for sale by the Board of Revenue. Later, with no horses available at Lanzhou, old tea stockpiled at Ganzhou was used to pay the five garrisons in a seven-to-three mix of silver and tea. Horse exchange at Xining and elsewhere was then halted; new tea was commuted at four mace per brick and aged tea at six mace to cover military pay. By the sixty-first year, tea licenses were expanded at Xining, Zhuanglang, Minzhou, and Hezhou, and all remaining old stock was ordered sold.

雍正三年，遂議自康熙六十一年始，五年內全徵本色，五年後即將舊茶變賣。嗣是出陳易新，總以五年為率。四年，定陝西行茶，改令產茶地方官給發船票，照商人引目茶數開明，如於部引外搭行印票，及附茶不遵定額者，照私鹽律論，查驗失察故縱，均加處分。八年，命陝西商運官茶，於舊例每百斤准附帶十四斤外，再加耗茶十四斤。又諭：「四川茶稅皆論園論樹，夫樹有大小，園有寬狹，豈能一致？若據以為額，未得其平。應照斤兩收納，著該撫詳議。」尋議：「舊例每斤徵課二釐五毫，今但徵四絲九忽有奇，前後懸絕，應酌減其半，無論邊、土、腹引，俱納銀一釐二毫五絲。」時川茶行銷，引尚不敷，於是復增，各府、州、縣再行給發。九年，命西寧五司復行中馬法。十年，又命中馬應見發茶。時安徽亦增引，照四川例，以餘引暫存司庫，遇不敷時，配給行運。十三年，復停甘肅中馬。始定雲南茶法，以七斤為一筒，三十二筒為一引，照例收稅。

In Yongzheng 3, it was decided that from Kangxi 61, tea duties would be collected in kind for five years, after which old stock would be sold off. Thereafter aged tea was rotated out and replaced with new stock on a five-year cycle. In the fourth year, Shaanxi tea transport rules were revised: producing districts issued shipping permits matching licensed quantities; extra permits or excess supplementary tea were punished like smuggled salt, and negligent or conniving inspectors were penalized as well. In the eighth year, Shaanxi merchants carrying official tea were granted an additional fourteen jin of wastage allowance on top of the usual fourteen jin per hundred jin. An edict also noted: "Sichuan's tea tax is levied by garden or by tree, but trees and gardens vary widely—how can one rate fit all? Using that as the standard would be unfair. Collect by weight instead, and let the governor submit a detailed plan." A follow-up proposal held: "The old rate was two and a half li per jin, but the current levy is only four si nine hu—a huge gap. Cut the rate in half: all frontier, local, and interior licenses should pay one liang two hao five si of silver per jin." Sichuan tea sales still outran available licenses, so quotas were raised again and reissued across the province. In the ninth year, the Five Bureaus of Xining resumed horse procurement. In the tenth year, tea for horse procurement was again to be drawn from stock on hand. Anhui also raised its quotas; following Sichuan's example, surplus licenses were held in treasury and issued when demand exceeded supply. In the thirteenth year, horse procurement in Gansu was suspended again. Yunnan's tea regulations were established at seven jin per tube and thirty-two tubes per license, with duties collected under the usual rules.

乾隆元年，令甘肅官茶改徵折色，每篦輸銀五錢。時西寧五司陳茶充牣，令每封減價二錢，刻期變賣。二年，以江西南昌等三十二州縣地不產茶，四川成都、彭、灌等縣滯銷，其引或停或減，並豁除課銀。七年，免甘肅地震處之課，乃命西寧五司徵本色。八年，免四川天全所欠乾隆七年前之羨餘截角，成都、彭、灌等縣之未完銀兩。十一年，甘肅巡撫黃廷桂奏言：「西寧、河州、庄浪三司，番、民錯處，惟茶是賴。邇年以糧易茶，計用茶六萬五千五百餘封，易雜糧三萬八千一百餘石，請著為例。」報可。十三年，定甘肅應徵茶封，每年收二成本色、八成折色，並申明水陸各路運商驗引截角法，推行安徽、浙江、四川、雲南、貴州。二十四年，從甘肅巡撫吳達善言，命西寧五司茶封，照康熙三十七年例，搭放各營俸餉。二十五年，吳達善又言：「甘省茶課向為中馬設。今其制已停，在甘、庄二司地處沖衢，西河二司附近青海，猶有銷路，惟洮司偏僻，商銷茶斤，歷年俱改別司售賣，而交官茶封，仍歸洮庫，往往積至數十萬封，始請疏銷。應將洮司額頒茶引，改歸甘、庄二司給商徵課，俟洮司庫貯搭餉完日，即行裁汰。」

In Qianlong 1, Gansu official tea duties were commuted to silver at five mace per brick. With aged tea overflowing at the Five Bureaus of Xining, each package was discounted two mace and ordered sold by deadline. In the second year, licenses were suspended or cut and duties waived in thirty-two Jiangxi counties that produced no tea and in Sichuan districts such as Chengdu, Peng, and Guan where sales had stalled. In the seventh year, tea duties were waived in earthquake-stricken parts of Gansu, and the Five Bureaus of Xining resumed collection in kind. In the eighth year, Tianquan was forgiven surplus license fees owed before Qianlong 7, along with unpaid duties in Chengdu, Peng, Guan, and other counties. In the eleventh year, Gansu Governor Huang Tinggui reported: "At Xining, Hezhou, and Zhuanglang, where frontier peoples and settlers live side by side, tea is indispensable. In recent years more than 65,500 packages of tea have been traded for over 38,100 shi of grain; I ask that this arrangement be made permanent." The request was approved. In the thirteenth year, Gansu tea duties were set at twenty percent in kind and eighty percent in silver, with license verification rules for land and water transport extended to Anhui, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou. In the twenty-fourth year, following Gansu Governor Wu Dashan, tea packages from the Five Bureaus of Xining were again used to pay garrison troops under the Kangxi 37 rule. In the twenty-fifth year, Wu Dashan added: "Gansu's tea levies were originally meant for horse procurement. That system has ended. Gan and Zhuang stand on major routes, and Xi and He near Qinghai still have markets; only Taozhou is remote. Merchants sell through other bureaus, yet official tea packages still go to Taozhou's warehouse, where stock often reaches hundreds of thousands before a clearance sale is requested. Taozhou's license quota should be reassigned to Gan and Zhuang for merchant issue and tax collection; once Taozhou's stored tea for pay is cleared out, the bureau should be abolished."

二十七年，陝甘總督楊應琚復條上疏銷事宜四：「一，官茶應改徵折價也。查甘肅庫貯官茶，向例如存積過多，改徵折色。今五司庫內，自乾隆七年至二十四年，已存百五十餘萬封。經前撫臣吳達善奏准每封作價三錢，搭放兵餉，已搭放四十餘萬封。在市肆官茶日多，非十年之久，不能全數疏銷。且每年商人又增配二十四萬封，商茶既多，官茶益滯。莫若將商交二成官茶五萬四千餘封，照例每封徵折價三錢，俟陳茶銷售將完，再徵本色。一，商茶應准減配也。查甘肅茶法，商人每引交茶五十斤，無論本折，即系額課。外有充公銀三萬九千餘兩，亦系按年交納，無殊正供。至商人自賣茶封，每引止應配正茶五十斤，連附茶共配售三十餘萬封，商人即以配售之茶納課。經吳達善奏准增配以紓商力，並無課項。第茶封既增，又有搭放兵餉之官茶，勢致愈積愈多，難免停本虧折。今商人原每引止五封，內應減無課茶十五萬八千三百十六封，共止配茶四十萬九千四百四十封，二成本色茶封既議改徵折價，無庸配運。一，陳積茶封應召商減售也。查各司俱有陳茶，而洮司為多。現每封四錢發售，商民裹足。請仍照原議，每封定價三錢，召商變賣。一，內地、新疆應一體搭放也。查乾隆二十四年吳達善奏准滿、漢各營以茶封搭餉。至新疆茶斤，向資內地。今官茶以沿途站車輓運，無庸腳費，其自肅州運至各處，將腳價攤入茶本之內，較之買自商賈，尚多減省。」疏入，議行。

In the twenty-seventh year, Governor-General Yang Yingju proposed four measures to clear surplus stock, beginning: "First, official tea should be commuted to cash. When Gansu's official tea stores grew excessive, precedent allowed commutation to silver. By Qianlong 24, the Five Bureaus already held more than 1.5 million packages accumulated since Qianlong 7. Former Governor Wu Dashan had them valued at three mace each for military pay; more than 400,000 packages have already been distributed that way. Official tea is flooding the market; clearing it all would take at least ten years. Merchants are also allotted another 240,000 packages each year, which only adds to the glut of official tea. Better to commute the 54,000-odd packages of the twenty-percent official tea levy at three mace each, and resume collection in kind once aged stock is cleared. Second, merchant tea allotments should be cut. Under Gansu law, merchants pay fifty jin of tea per license in kind or cash—that is the fixed duty. There is also an annual confiscation levy of more than 39,000 taels, no less binding than the regular duty. Merchants should receive only fifty jin of principal tea per license for their own sale; with supplementary tea, allotments totaled more than 300,000 packages, which merchants used to pay their duties. Wu Dashan had extra allotments approved to ease merchants' burdens, without adding any new levy. But as allotments grew and official tea was also used for military pay, stock piled up and merchants faced mounting losses. Merchants originally received five packages per license; cut 158,316 duty-free packages, leaving 409,440 in allotments. Since the twenty-percent in-kind levy is to be commuted to cash, those packages need no longer be issued. Third, accumulated aged tea should be sold off to merchants at reduced prices. Every bureau holds aged tea, but Taozhou has the largest stock. At four mace per package, buyers stay away. Restore the original price of three mace per package and invite merchants to buy up the stock. Fourth, tea should be apportioned for pay in the interior and Xinjiang alike. In Qianlong 24, Wu Dashan had tea packages approved as pay for Manchu and Han garrisons. Xinjiang's tea supply has always depended on the interior. Official tea now moves by relay cart without porter fees; transport from Suzhou is folded into the cost and still undercuts merchant prices." The memorial was submitted and approved.

二十九年，裁甘肅巡撫，茶務歸陝甘總督兼理。三十四年，以甘省庫貯官茶漸少，復徵本色一成。三十六年，又以伊犁等處安插投誠土爾扈特等眾，賞給茶封，仍議照舊徵收二成。三十八年，四川總督劉秉恬奏准三雜谷等處土司買茶，以千斤為率，使僅敷自食，不能私行轉售。四川設邊引，商人納稅領運於松潘等處銷售，無論土司蠻商，俱准赴邊起票販運。嘉慶七年，以陝西神木官銷茶引久經撥歸甘省商銷，令豁除舊存羨餘名目。四川教匪滋擾，蠲除大寧、廣元、太平、通江、南江五州縣茶稅。十年，復免大寧、太平、通江、巫山四縣廳稅課。十七年，以甘肅庫茶充羨，定商納官茶，全徵折色。二十二年，諭：「閩、皖、浙商人販運武夷、松羅茶赴粵銷售，向由內河行走，近多由海道販運，夾帶違禁貨物私賣。飭令茶商仍由內河行走，永禁出洋販運，違者治罪、茶入官。」

In the twenty-ninth year, the Gansu governorship was abolished and tea affairs passed to the Shaanxi-Gansu governor-general. In the thirty-fourth year, with Gansu's official tea stores running low, collection of ten percent in kind was restored. In the thirty-sixth year, tea packages granted to resettled Torghuts at Ili and elsewhere led to a return to the old twenty-percent levy. In the thirty-eighth year, Governor-General Liu Bingtian limited native offices at Sanzagu and elsewhere to one thousand jin of tea each—enough for subsistence but not for private resale. Sichuan issued frontier licenses for taxed transport to markets such as Songpan; native offices and frontier merchants alike could obtain border permits to trade. In Jiaqing 7, with Shenmu's official tea licenses long reassigned to Gansu merchants, old surplus categories on the books were canceled. During the White Lotus rebellion in Sichuan, tea taxes were waived in Daning, Guangyuan, Taiping, Tongjiang, and Nanjiang. In the tenth year, factory and office levies were again waived in Daning, Taiping, Tongjiang, and Wushan. In the seventeenth year, with Gansu's tea warehouses overflowing, merchants' official tea duties were commuted entirely to silver. In the twenty-second year, an edict noted: "Merchants from Fujian, Anhui, and Zhejiang who ship Wuyi and Songluo tea to Guangdong formerly used inland waterways; many now take the sea route and smuggle contraband. Tea merchants must return to inland routes; sea transport is permanently banned, with violators punished and their tea confiscated."

道光三年，諭：「那彥成奏定新疆行茶章程，經戶部議覆，烏里雅蘇台、科布多磚茶不得侵越新疆各城售賣。茲將軍果勒豐阿等奏，此項磚茶，由歸化城、張家口請領部票納稅而來，已六十餘年，未便遽行禁止。惟新疆既為官茶引地，商茶究有礙官引，令嗣後商民每年馱載磚茶一千餘箱，前赴古城，仍照例給票，無許往他處售賣。」六年，諭：「前因新疆各城運茶，前將軍等請給引招商納課。茲據慶祥等奏稱，各城無殷實之戶，若遽令承充官商，必致運課兩誤。著北路商民專運售雜茶，並在古城設局抽稅，即以所收銀抵蘭州茶商課。俟試行三年，再行定額。至附茶仍由甘商運銷。」八年，欽差大臣那彥成言：「甘肅官茶，年例應出關二十餘萬封。近來行銷至四五十萬封，皆以無引私茶影射，價復遞加，每附茶一封，售銀七八兩至十餘兩不等。請嗣後每封定價，阿克蘇不得過四兩，喀什噶爾不得過五兩，並於嘉峪關外及阿克蘇等處設局稽查。」詔如所請。九年，命甘肅茶務責成鎮迪道總司稽查，奇台縣就近經管。

In Daoguang 3, an edict cited Nayancheng's Xinjiang tea regulations: after Board of Revenue review, brick tea from Uliastai and Kobdo was barred from competing in Xinjiang's cities. Generals Guolefeng'a and others replied that this brick tea has entered with ministry licenses and taxes paid from Guihua and Zhangjiakou for more than sixty years and cannot be banned overnight. But since Xinjiang is reserved for official tea licenses, private trade does cut into them. Henceforth merchants may carry about a thousand boxes of brick tea annually to Gucheng under the usual permits, and nowhere else." In Daoguang 6, an edict recalled: "Earlier, generals in Xinjiang had asked to issue licenses and recruit merchants to collect tea duties. Qingxiang and others report that Xinjiang's cities lack wealthy merchants; forcing them to serve as official tea contractors would ruin both transport and revenue. Northern-route merchants alone should supply miscellaneous tea; a tax office at Gucheng will collect duties to offset Lanzhou merchants' levies. After a three-year trial, permanent quotas can be set. Supplementary tea will still be supplied by Gansu merchants." In Daoguang 8, Imperial Commissioner Nayancheng reported: "Under annual quota, more than 200,000 packages of Gansu official tea should cross the frontier. Sales now reach four or five hundred thousand packages, mostly smuggled tea passed off without licenses; prices keep climbing, with supplementary tea selling for seven to ten taels per package or more. I ask that prices be capped at four taels per package in Aksu and five in Kashgar, with inspection offices set up beyond Jiayu Pass and in Aksu and elsewhere." The throne approved the request. In Daoguang 9, responsibility for Gansu tea administration was assigned to the Zhendi Circuit intendant for overall supervision, with Qitai County handling local management.

咸豐三年，閩浙總督王懿德奏請閩省商茶設關徵稅。五年，福建巡撫呂佺孫復言：「閩茶向不頒給執照，徵收課稅。自道光二十九年，直隸督臣訥爾經額以閩商販運，官私莫辨，議由產茶之崇安縣給照，經過關隘，驗稅放行。嗣因產茶不止一處，商人散赴各縣購買，繞道出販，復經撫臣王懿德奏請，自咸豐三年為始，凡出茶之沙、邵武、建安、甌寧、建陽、浦城、崇安等縣，一概就地徵收茶稅，由各縣給照販運，先後下部議准。前歲因粵匪竄擾，江、楚茶販不前，暫弛海禁，各路茶販，遂運茶至省，不從各關經過，不特本省減稅，即浙、粵、江西亦形短絀。臣履任後，遍詢茶商獲利，較前不啻倍蓰。商利益厚，正賦轉虧。現粵匪未平，軍需孔急，眾商身擁厚貲，什一取盈，初無所損。且徵諸販客，不致擾累貧民，完自華商，無慮糾纏洋稅，以天地自然之利，為國家維正之供，迥非加增田賦者比。但閩茶不止數縣，必在附省扼要處所設關增卡，給印照以憑查核。連界各省，亦應一體設立，俾免趨避。請自咸豐五年始，凡販運茶斤，概行徵稅，所收專款，留支本省兵餉。惟創行伊始，多寡未能預定，俟行一二年後，再行比較定額。」自此閩稅始密。然至十年，猶未報部，經部飭催，乃按期奏報。六年，允伊犁將軍扎拉芬泰請，伊犁產茶，設局徵稅，充伊犁兵餉之用。十一年，廣東巡撫覺羅耆齡奏請抽收落地茶稅。

In Xianfeng 3, Min-Zhe Governor-General Wang Yide asked that commercial tea in Fujian be taxed at customs checkpoints. In Xianfeng 5, Fujian Governor Lü Qiansun submitted a further memorial: "Fujian tea has never been licensed or taxed. Since Daoguang 29, Zhili Governor Neerjing'e had proposed that, because Fujian merchants' traffic made official and private tea hard to tell apart, licenses be issued in tea-producing Chong'an County, with taxes verified at passes before release. Tea was soon grown in many counties, and merchants bought it locally and routed it around the checkpoints. Governor Wang Yide memorialized again that from Xianfeng 3 onward, all exporting counties—including Sha, Shaowu, Jian'an, Ouning, Jianyang, Pucheng, and Chong'an—should collect tea tax on the spot and issue transport licenses; the Board approved this in stages. The previous year, with Cantonese rebels on the move and Jiang and Huguang tea traders staying away, the maritime ban was briefly lifted. Tea merchants then brought tea straight to the province without passing the usual checkpoints, cutting not only Fujian's revenue but also leaving Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Jiangxi short. Since taking office, I have found tea merchants' profits running many times higher than before. Merchants were prospering while regular tax revenue suffered. The Cantonese rebels are still active and military needs are urgent; wealthy merchants would scarcely feel a ten-percent levy. The levy would fall on traveling merchants, not the poor; Chinese merchants would pay it, without entangling foreign-duty disputes; and turning nature's bounty into regular state revenue is nothing like raising the land tax. But Fujian tea is not confined to a few counties; checkpoints must be set at strategic points near the capital, with stamped licenses for inspection. Neighboring provinces should do the same to prevent merchants from routing around the tax. I ask that from Xianfeng 5 all transported tea be taxed, with the proceeds reserved for this province's military pay. At first the yield cannot be known; after a year or two of operation, fixed quotas can be set by comparison. From then on, Fujian's tea taxes grew stringent. Even by Xianfeng 10, however, returns had not reached the Board; only after repeated orders from the Board were reports filed on schedule. In Xianfeng 6, Ili General Zhala Fengtai's request was approved: an office was set up to tax tea produced in Ili for local military pay. In Xianfeng 11, Guangdong Governor Jioluo Qiling asked to levy a local tea tax at the point of sale.

同治元年，飭下湖南、湖北、江蘇、安徽、江西、浙江、福建各督撫，詳查本省產茶及設茶莊處所，妥議章程具奏。二年，兩江總督曾國籓疏，略言：「江西自咸豐九年，定章分別茶釐、茶捐。每百斤除境內抽釐銀二錢，出境又抽一錢五分有零外，向於產茶及設立茶莊處所勸辦茶捐，每百斤捐銀一兩四錢或一兩二錢不等，填給收單，准照籌餉事例匯齊請獎。臣仍照舊章辦理。本年據九江關署監督蔡錦青詳，請遵照戶部奏准，飭將鹽、茶、竹、木四項統徵關稅，已於三月起徵。江西茶葉運至九江，有華商、洋商之分。洋商既完子口半稅，固不抽釐，華商既納潯關正稅，亦未便再令完釐。臣即照部章，於義寧州開辦落地稅。惟原奏內大箱淨茶科則稍重，分別核減。參酌茶捐向章，每百斤，義寧州等處徵一兩四錢，河口鎮徵一兩二錢五分，概充臣營軍餉，由臣刊發稅單護票，委員經收。或業戶自行完納，或茶莊代為完稅領單，至發販時，統由茶莊繳銷稅單。華商換給護票，洋商即憑運照，販至各處銷售。除華商完納九江關稅、洋商完納子口半稅外，經過江西、安徽各釐卡，驗明放行。如此辦理，與戶部原奏、總理衙門條約，一一符合。稅單雖系茶莊經手，稅銀實為業戶所出。洋商不得藉口於子口半稅，而禁中國之業戶不完中國之地稅。華商既免逢卡抽釐，亦不至紛紛私買運照，冒充洋商。」得旨允行。

In Tongzhi 1, the throne ordered the governors of Hunan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian to survey tea production and brokerage sites in each province and submit proper regulations. In Tongzhi 2, Liangjiang Governor-General Zeng Guofan wrote in summary: "Since Xianfeng 9, Jiangxi has distinguished tea surtax from tea contributions. Besides two mace of inland surtax and one mace five candareens on export per hundred catties, contributions had been solicited at production sites and brokerages at one tael four mace or one tael two mace per hundred catties, with receipts issued and totals submitted for fundraising rewards under precedent. I continued to follow the old rules. This year Acting Jiujiang Customs Superintendent Cai Jinqing reported that, following the Board of Revenue's approved plan, unified customs duties on salt, tea, bamboo, and timber had begun in the third month. Tea from Jiangxi reaching Jiujiang was handled differently for Chinese and foreign merchants. Foreign merchants paid transit half-duty and were exempt from surtax; Chinese merchants paid regular Jiujiang duty and could not reasonably be surtaxed again. I therefore opened a local landing tax in Yining Prefecture under the Board's rules. The original tariff for large-chest net tea was somewhat high and was reduced by category. Drawing on past contribution rates, one tael four mace per hundred catties was levied at Yining and elsewhere, and one tael two mace five candareens at Hekou Town, all for my camp's military pay; I issued tax receipts and transit passes for collection by appointed officers. Growers might pay directly, or brokerages might pay and take receipts; on resale, brokerages would surrender the tax receipts. Chinese merchants received transit passes; foreign merchants used transport permits to sell wherever they traded. Once Chinese merchants had paid Jiujiang duty and foreign merchants transit half-duty, they passed Jiangxi and Anhui surtax stations on verification alone. This arrangement matched the Board of Revenue's original plan and the Zongli Yamen treaties point for point. Brokerages handled the receipts, but growers paid the tax. Foreign transit half-duty could not be used as a pretext to exempt Chinese growers from local Chinese taxes. Chinese merchants, freed from repeated checkpoint surtaxes, would no longer buy foreign transport permits in secret and pose as foreign traders. The throne approved the plan.

五年，戶部奏准甘省引滯課懸，暫於陝西省城設官茶總店，潼關、商州、漢中設分店。商販無引之茶，到陝呈報。上色茶百斤收課銀一兩，中色六錢，下色四錢。所收解甘彌補欠課。七年，議准歸化城商人販茶至恰克圖，假道俄邊，前赴西洋各國通商，請領部照，比照張家口減半，令交銀二十五兩，每票不得過萬二千斤。十一年，議准甘省積欠舊課，仍追舊商。召募之新商試新課。其雜課、養廉、充公、官禮四項緩徵。十三年，議准甘省仿淮鹽之例，以票代引，不分各省商販，均令先納正課，始准給票。其雜課歸併釐稅項下徵收。各項名色概予刪除。行銷內地者，照納正課三兩外，於行銷地各完釐稅，每引以一兩數錢為度，多不過二兩。出口之茶，則另於邊境局卡加完釐一次，以示區別。

In Tongzhi 5, the Board approved temporary official tea shops in Shaanxi— a main store in the provincial capital and branches at Tong Pass, Shangzhou, and Hanzhong—because Gansu licenses lagged and duties were in arrears. Unlicensed tea brought by merchants was reported on arrival in Shaanxi. Top-grade tea was taxed one tael per hundred catties, middle grade six mace, and lower grade four mace. Proceeds were sent to Gansu to cover arrears. In Tongzhi 7, Guihuacheng merchants carrying tea to Kyakhta via Russia to trade with Western countries were allowed Board licenses at half the Zhangjiakou rate—twenty-five taels per permit, capped at twelve thousand catties. In Tongzhi 11, it was ruled that Gansu's accumulated old duties would still be collected from the original merchants. Newly recruited merchants would pay under the new schedule. Miscellaneous duties, integrity-support fees, confiscation payments, and official courtesy fees were deferred. In Tongzhi 13, Gansu was approved to follow the Huai salt model, replacing transport permits with tickets; merchants from any province had to pay regular duty before receiving a ticket. Miscellaneous fees were folded into the surtax. Separate fee categories were abolished. For domestic sale, besides three taels of regular duty, surtax was paid where tea was sold—generally one-odd taels per permit, never more than two. Export tea paid one additional surtax at frontier checkpoints to mark the distinction.

光緒十年，戶部統籌財政，於茶法略言：「據總理衙門單開，光緒八、九等年出口茶數多至萬九千餘萬斤。查道光年間英國所收茶稅，約每百斤收銀五十兩，而我之出口稅僅納二兩五錢，不及十一。擬照甘肅茶封之例，每五十斤就園戶徵銀三錢。增課既多，洋人無所藉口。或照寧夏、延、榆、綏等處茶引每道徵銀三兩九錢之例，於產茶處所設局驗茶，發給部頒茶照，每照百斤，徵銀三兩九錢，經過內地關卡，另納釐稅，驗照蓋戳放行，不準重複影射。所有茶照，按年豫行赴督請領，原照一年後作廢。或於產茶處所驗茶發給部照，既完課三兩，再倍收銀三兩九錢，前後共徵七兩八錢，一切雜費均予豁除。惟於各海關及邊卡，凡應納洋稅，仍照向章完納。若在內地行銷販運，無論經過何省何處釐卡關榷，均免再徵。則改釐為課，改散為總，既便稽查，復免侵漁。惟園戶及販商若何防其走漏，應令各省參酌定章，覆奏辦理。」

In Guangxu 10, coordinating finances, the Board of Revenue summarized tea law: "The Zongli Yamen reported that in Guangxu 8–9 export tea exceeded 1.9 billion catties. In the Daoguang era Britain collected about fifty taels of tea tax per hundred catties, while China's export duty was only two taels five mace—less than one-eleventh as much. It was proposed to follow the Gansu tea-package model and levy three mace per fifty catties directly on growers. With a substantial increase, foreigners would have no grounds for complaint. Alternatively, following Ningxia, Yan'an, Yulin, and Suide, where each permit drew three taels nine mace, inspection offices at production sites would issue Board licenses at three taels nine mace per hundred catties; inland checkpoints would collect surtax separately, stamp the license, and forbid duplicate evasion. Licenses would be requested annually from the governor in advance and expire after one year. Alternatively, at production sites tea would be inspected and Board licenses issued: three taels of regular duty plus another three taels nine mace, seven taels eight mace in total, with all miscellaneous fees abolished. Foreign duties at maritime customs and frontier stations would still be paid under existing rules. For domestic sale and transport, no further levy would be collected at any provincial surtax station or pass. Converting surtax into regular duty and scattered levies into a single payment would ease inspection and curb extortion. Each province should decide how to prevent evasion by growers and traders and report back with regulations."

十二年，以山西商人在理籓院領票，詭稱運銷蒙古地方，實私販湖茶，侵銷新疆南北兩路。一票數年，循環轉運，往往逃釐漏稅。經部奏准，嗣後領票，註明「不準販運私茶」字樣。如欲辦官茶，即赴甘肅領票繳課完釐。倘復運銷私茶，查出沒官。

In Guangxu 12, Shanxi merchants were obtaining Lifan Yuan tickets claiming Mongol destinations while smuggling Hunan tea into both northern and southern Xinjiang. A single ticket might circulate for years, repeatedly evading surtax and duty. The Board approved that future tickets must bear the notation "private tea not permitted." Merchants handling official tea had to obtain Gansu tickets and pay duty and surtax there. Private tea found in transit would be confiscated.

是時泰西諸國嗜茶者眾，日本、印度、意大利艷其利厚，雖天時地質遜於我國，然精心講求種植之法，所產遂多。蓋印度種茶，在道光十四年，至光緒三年乃大盛。錫蘭、意大利其繼起者也。法蘭西既得越南，亦令種茶，有東山、建吉、富華諸園。美利堅於咸豐八年購吾國茶秧萬株，發給農民，其後愈購愈多，歲發茶秧至十二萬株，足供其國之用。故我國光緒十年以前輸出之數甚鉅，未幾漸為所奪。印度茶往英國者，歲約七十三萬二千石，價約二千四萬兩。吾國茶往者八十九萬八千石，價約千八百六十八萬兩。印度茶少於華，而價反多。迨二十二年我國運往，乃止二十一萬九千四百餘石而已。日本之茶，多售於美國，亦有運至我國者。光緒十三年，我茶往日本者萬二千餘石，而彼茶進口萬六千餘石。其專尚華茶取用宏多者惟俄。蓋自哈薩克、浩罕諸部新屬於彼，地加廣，人加眾，需物加多，而茶尤為所賴。光緒七年定約，允以嘉峪關為通商口岸，而往來益盛。十年後我國運往之茶，居全數三之一。十三年，並雜貨計，出口價九百二萬兩有奇，而進口價僅十一萬八千餘兩，凡輸自我者八百九十萬兩。然十二年茶少價多，十三年茶多價少，華商已有受困之勢，厥後亦兼購於他國，用此華茶之利驟減。蓋我國自昔視茶為農家餘事，惟以隙地營之，又採摘不時，焙制無術，其為他人所傾，勢所必至。

Western nations had grown tea-mad; Japan, India, and Italy, drawn by the profits, studied cultivation carefully despite inferior climate and soil, and their output rose sharply. India began planting tea in Daoguang 14; it did not flourish until Guangxu 3. Ceylon and Italy followed. After France took Vietnam, it ordered tea planted at estates such as Dongshan, Jianji, and Fuhua. In Xianfeng 8 the United States bought ten thousand tea seedlings from China for its farmers; purchases soon rose to twelve thousand seedlings a year, enough for domestic supply. China's exports were enormous before Guangxu 10, but were soon overtaken. India sent about 732,000 piculs of tea to Britain each year, worth roughly 2.4 million taels. China sent 898,000 piculs, worth about 18.68 million taels. India sent less tea than China, yet fetched higher prices. By Guangxu 22 China's shipments had fallen to just over 219,400 piculs. Most Japanese tea went to the United States, though some reached China. In Guangxu 13 China exported a little over 12,000 piculs of tea to Japan while importing over 16,000 piculs of Japanese tea. Only Russia still relied heavily on Chinese tea. With Kazakhstan and Kokand newly under Russian rule, its territory and population grew, demand rose, and tea above all remained essential. The Guangxu 7 treaty made Jiayu Pass a trading port, and traffic flourished. Ten years on, Chinese tea still accounted for one-third of Russia's supply. In Guangxu 13, including miscellaneous goods, exports were worth over 9.2 million taels against imports of just over 118,000 taels—a net outflow from China of 8.9 million taels. In Guangxu 12 tea was scarce and prices high; in Guangxu 13 supply rose and prices fell. Chinese merchants were already under pressure, and as Russia also bought elsewhere, China's tea profits collapsed. China had long treated tea as a sideline crop, grown on spare plots, picked at the wrong season, and poorly processed; being overtaken was inevitable.

三十三年，茶葉公會以狀陳於度支部，稅務司亦以茶稅減少為言，於是命籌整理之策。宣統初，農工商部遂有酌免稅釐之議。漢口、福州皆自外國購入制茶機器，且由印度聘熟練教師。江西巡撫又籌款貸與茶戶。自是銷入歐洲及北阿非利加洲者乃稍暢旺。

In Guangxu 33 the Tea Guild petitioned the Ministry of Finance, and the Tax Bureau reported falling tea revenues; the court ordered remedial measures drawn up. In early Xuantong the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce proposed tax and surtax relief. Hankou and Fuzhou imported tea-processing machinery and hired skilled instructors from India. The Jiangxi governor also raised funds to lend to tea growers. Sales to Europe and North Africa then improved somewhat.

夫吾國茶質本勝諸國，往往澀味中含有香氣，能使舌本回甘，泰西人名曰「膽念」，他國所產鮮能及此。故日本雖有茶，必購於我，荷蘭使臣克羅伯亦言爪哇、印度、錫蘭茶皆不如華茶遠甚。然則獎勵保護，無使天然物產為彼族人力所奪，是不能不有望於今之言商務者。

Chinese tea was inherently superior: its astringency often carried a fragrance that left a sweet aftertaste on the palate—what Westerners call "tanin"—a quality rarely matched elsewhere. Japan still had to buy Chinese tea despite its own production, and Dutch envoy Kolff declared Java, Indian, and Ceylon teas far inferior to China's. Encouragement and protection are needed so that nature's bounty is not lost to foreign industry—and much must be expected of those who speak for commerce today.

礦政清初鑒於明代競言礦利，中使四齣，暴斂病民，於是聽民採取，輸稅於官，皆有常率。若有礙禁山風水，民田廬墓，及聚眾擾民，或歲歉穀踴，輒用封禁。

Mining administration: Early in the Qing, mindful that the Ming had chased mining profits through eunuch agents who extorted the people, the court allowed private extraction with tax paid to the state at fixed rates. Mines were closed when they threatened protected mountains, geomantic sites, farmland, homes, or tombs; when crowds caused disorder; or when famine drove grain prices up.

世祖初開山東臨朐、招遠銀礦，順治八年罷之。十四年，開古北、喜峰等口鐵礦。康熙間，遣官監采山西應州、陝西臨潼、山東萊陽銀礦。二十二年，悉行停止。並諭開礦無益地方，嗣後有請開採者，均不準行。世宗即位，群臣多言礦利。粵督孔毓珣、粵撫楊文乾、湘撫布蘭泰、廣西提督田畯、廣東布政使王士俊、四川提督黃廷桂相繼疏請開礦，均不準行，或嚴旨切責。十三年，粵督鄂彌達請開惠、潮、韶、肇等府礦，下九卿議行。上以妨本務停止。蓋粵東山多田少，而礦產最繁，土民習於攻采。礦峒所在，千百為群，往往聚眾私掘，嘯聚剽掠。故其時礦東開礦，較他省尤為厲禁。

Early in Shunzhi's reign silver mines at Linqu and Zhaoyuan in Shandong were opened; they were shut in Shunzhi 8. In Shunzhi 14 iron mines at Gubei, Xifeng, and other passes were opened. Under Kangxi, officials supervised silver mining at Yingzhou in Shanxi, Lintong in Shaanxi, and Laiyang in Shandong. In Kangxi 22 all were shut down. The court also ruled that mining did local communities no good and denied all future petitions to open mines. When the Yongzheng Emperor ascended the throne, many officials urged the profit to be had from mining. Guangdong governor-general Kong Yuxun, Guangdong governor Yang Wenqian, Hunan governor Bulate, Guangxi military commander Tian Jun, Guangdong treasurer Wang Shijun, and Sichuan military commander Huang Tinggui petitioned in turn to open mines; all were refused, some with stern imperial rebukes. In Yongzheng 13, Guangdong governor-general E Midar petitioned to open mines in Huizhou, Chaozhou, Shaozhou, Zhaoqing, and other prefectures; the memorial was sent to the Nine Ministers, who recommended approval. The emperor halted the plan, holding that mining would distract from essential governance. Guangdong had more mountains than arable land and the richest mineral deposits; locals were skilled miners. At mining sites hundreds or thousands gathered, often mining illegally in bands that looted and pillaged. Opening mines in Guangdong was therefore banned more strictly than anywhere else.

滇銅自官為經理，嗣由官給工本。雍正初，歲出銅八九十萬，不數年，且二三百萬，歲供本路鼓鑄。及運湖廣、江西，僅百萬有奇。乾隆初，歲發銅本銀百萬兩，四五年間，歲出六七百萬或八九百萬，最多乃至千二三百萬。戶、工兩局，暨江南、江西、浙江、福建、陝西、湖北、廣東、廣西、貴州九路，歲需九百餘萬，悉取給焉。礦廠以湯丹、碌碌、大水、茂麓、獅子山、大功為最，寧台、金釵、義都、發古山、九度、萬象次之。大廠礦丁六七萬，次亦萬餘。近則土民遠及黔、粵，仰食礦利者，奔走相屬。正廠峒老砂竭，輒開子廠以補其額。故滇省銅政，累葉程功，非他項礦產可比。

Yunnan copper was initially state-managed; later the government supplied operating capital. Early in Yongzheng annual output was eight or nine hundred thousand jin; within a few years it rose to two or three million, supplying local mints. Shipments to Huguang and Jiangxi totaled just over one million jin. Early in Qianlong the state advanced one million taels of capital yearly; within four or five years output reached six to nine million jin annually, peaking at twelve or thirteen million. The Revenue and Works boards and nine provincial mint routes—Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shaanxi, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou—needed over nine million jin yearly, all drawn from Yunnan. The leading mines were Tangdan, Lulu, Dashui, Maolu, Lion Mountain, and Dagong; Ningtai, Jinchai, Yidu, Fagushan, Jiudu, and Wanxiang came next. Major works employed sixty or seventy thousand miners; smaller ones still had more than ten thousand. Locals and, from as far as Guizhou and Guangdong, those who lived off mining profits flocked there in steady streams. When main pits ran out, subsidiary mines were opened at once to meet quotas. Yunnan's copper administration, built up over generations, stood alone among mining enterprises.

是年海防議起，直隸總督李鴻章、船政大臣沈葆楨請開採煤鐵以濟軍需，上允其請，命於直隸磁州、福建台灣試辦。光緒八年，兩江總督左宗棠亦言北洋籌辦防務，製造船砲，及各省機器輪船所需煤鐵，最為大宗，請開辦江蘇利國驛煤鐵。報聞。嗣是以次修築鐵路，煤鐵益為當務之急。於是煤礦則吉林大石頭頂子、亂泥溝、半拉窩、雞溝、二道河、陶家屯、石牌嶺，黑龍江太平山、察漢敖拉卡倫，直隸開平、唐山，內丘縣之上坪、永固、磁窯溝、南陽寨，臨城縣之岡頭、石固、膠泥溝、楊家溝、新莊、竹壁、牟村、焦村，宣化府之雞鳴、玉帶、八寶寺山，阜平縣炭灰鋪村，曲陽縣白石溝、野北村，張家口廳海拉坎山、馬連圪達，宛平縣青龍澗、碑碣子，承德府榆樹溝，奉天海龍府遠來、義和、進寶、玉盛、永順、永益、萬利、人和、同德、順發，錦州府大窯溝，錦西廳碭石溝，本溪縣王乾溝，興京廳蜜蜂溝，遼陽州窯子峪，江西萍鄉、永新、餘干，山東嶧縣，安徽貴池、廣德、繁昌、東流、涇縣，湖北荊門，河南禹州，山西平定、鳳台，浙江桐廬、餘杭，江蘇上元、句容，湖南湘鄉、祁陽，廣西富川、賀縣、奉議、恩陽、南寧、那坡，陝西白水、澄城、同官、宜君、邠州、隴州、淳化。鐵礦則直隸遷安縣、灤州，湖北大冶，廣西永寧州，江西永新縣，雲南開、廣兩府，貴州青谿，皆先後開採，而秦、晉商民零星開採，尤難悉數。

That year the coastal-defense debate began; Zhili governor-general Li Hongzhang and naval minister Shen Baozhen petitioned to open coal and iron mines for military supply; the emperor agreed and ordered trial operations at Cizhou in Zhili and in Taiwan, Fujian. In Guangxu 8, Liangjiang governor-general Zuo Zongtang argued that northern coastal defense, shipbuilding, artillery, and the coal and iron consumed by provincial steam machinery made mining the top priority, and petitioned to open the Liguo postal station coal and iron works in Jiangsu. The memorial was noted. As railways were built one after another, coal and iron became more urgent than ever. Coal mines opened across the empire: in Jilin at Dashidingzi, Luannigou, Banlawo, Jigou, Erdaohe, Taojiatun, and Shipailing; in Heilongjiang at Taiping Mountain and Chahan Aolakalun; in Zhili at Kaiping and Tangshan; and at scores of sites in Neiqiu, Linqiu, Xuanhua, Fuping, Quyang, Zhangjiakou, Wanping, Chengde, Fengtian, Jinzhou, Jinxi, Benxi, Xingjing, Liaoyang, Jiangxi, Shandong, Anhui, Hubei, Henan, Shanxi, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hunan, Guangxi, and Shaanxi—as named in the text. Iron mines opened in turn at Qian'an County and Luanzhou in Zhili, Daye in Hubei, Yongning in Guangxi, Yongxin in Jiangxi, Kai and Guang prefectures in Yunnan, and Qingxi in Guizhou; small-scale mining by merchants from Shaanxi and Shanxi was too scattered to count.

二十二年，詔開辦各省金銀礦廠。自光緒初年，開直隸窯溝銀礦，甘肅西寧、甘、涼，黑龍江漠河觀音山、奇乾河各金礦外無聞焉。自明令頒行而後，金礦則直隸之平泉州屬轉山子，建昌縣屬金廠溝，撫寧縣屬雙山子，濼平縣屬寬溝，豐寧縣大營子、西碾子溝，翁牛特旗之紅花溝、水泉溝、拐棒溝，而遷安縣所產尤旺。奉天之鳳凰、安東、遼陽、通化、寬甸、懷仁、鐵嶺、開原、通化、海城、錦縣，蒙古之賀連溝、大小槽、碾溝、除虎溝、硃家溝、板橋子、珠爾琥珠、克勒司、布恭、特勒基、哈拉格囊圖、奎騰河、圖什業圖汗，四川之冕溝，湖南之平江，浙江之諸暨，黑龍江之黑河，新疆之和闐、焉耆。銀礦則四川之天全、盧山、大穴山頭，皆報明開採。

In Guangxu 22 an edict called for gold and silver mines to be opened in every province. Before the edict, only a few were known from early Guangxu: the Yaogou silver mine in Zhili; gold mines at Xining, Gan, and Liang in Gansu; and at Guanyin Mountain and Qi Gan River in Mohe, Heilongjiang. After the edict took effect, gold mines opened across Zhili—including Zhuanshanzi in Pingquan, Jinchanggou in Jianchang, Shuangshanzi in Funing, Kuangou in Luanping, Dayingzi and Xinianzigou in Fengning, and Honghuagou, Shuiquangou, and Guaibanggou in Ongniud Banner—with Qian'an County proving especially productive. Further gold mines opened in Fengtian (Fenghuang, Andong, Liaoyang, Tonghua, Kuandian, Huairen, Tieling, Kaiyuan, Haicheng, and Jin County), Mongolia (numerous sites including Heliangou, Daxiao Cao, and Tushiyetu Khan), Sichuan (Miangou), Hunan (Pingjiang), Zhejiang (Zhuji), Heilongjiang (Heihe), and Xinjiang (Hotan and Yanqi). Silver mines at Tianquan, Lushan, and Daxue Shantou in Sichuan were all registered and opened.

而銅、錫、鉛、銻、石油、硫磺、雄黃等礦，亦接踵而起。銅則雲南迤東湯丹、茂麓正廠六，子廠十一。迤西回龍、得寶正廠八，子廠九。楚雄永北及雲武所屬萬寶、雙龍，又永安順寧、臨安、開化、曲靖各廠，均招商承采。而江西贛州，陝西鎮安，湖南綏寧，新疆拜城、庫車亦有銅廠。錫則廣東儋州，廣西南丹土州、富川、賀縣。鉛則湖南常寧、湘鄉、臨武，四川會理，浙江鎮海、奉化、象山、寧海、太平。銻則湖南益陽、邵陽、新化、沅陵、慈利、湘鄉、祁陽、新安、漵浦，貴州銅仁，四川秀山，廣東曲江、防城、乳源，廣西南太、泗鎮、陵陽都。石油則陝西延長，甘肅玉門，新疆庫爾喀喇烏蘇。硫磺則山西陽曲，奉天遼陽、錦州。雄黃則湖南慈利。或官辦，或商辦，或官商合辦。或用土法，或用西法。

Copper, tin, lead, antimony, petroleum, sulfur, realgar, and other mines followed in quick succession. Copper: in eastern Yunnan, Tangdan and Maolu had six main mines and eleven subsidiaries. In western Yunnan, Huilong and Debao had eight main mines and nine subsidiaries. Yongbei in Chuxiong, Wanbao and Shuanglong under Yunwu, and mines at Yong'an, Shunning, Lin'an, Kaihua, and Qujing all recruited merchant contractors. Copper works also operated at Ganzhou in Jiangxi, Zhen'an in Shaanxi, Suining in Hunan, and Baicheng and Kuche in Xinjiang. Tin: Danzhou in Guangdong; Nandan, Fuchuan, and Hexian in Guangxi. Lead: Changning, Xiangxiang, and Linwu in Hunan; Huili in Sichuan; and Zhenhai, Fenghua, Xiangshan, Ninghai, and Taiping in Zhejiang. Antimony: Hunan (Yiyang, Shaoyang, Xinhua, Yuanling, Cili, Xiangxiang, Qiyang, Xin'an, Xupu); Tongren in Guizhou; Xiushan in Sichuan; Qujiang, Fangcheng, and Ruyuan in Guangdong; and Nantai, Sizhen, and Lingyangdu in Guangxi. Petroleum: Yanchang in Shaanxi, Yumen in Gansu, and Kuerkala Wusu in Xinjiang. Sulfur: Yangqu in Shanxi; Liaoyang and Jinzhou in Fengtian. Realgar: Cili in Hunan. Operations were government-run, merchant-run, or joint ventures. Some used traditional methods, others Western technology.

九年，詔各省煤礦招商集股舉辦。自是雲南、四川均設招商及礦務局，貴州設礦務公商局，山西設礦務公司。粵東瓊州之銅礦，浙江寧波之鉛礦，皆率招商集股開辦。開辦曆數十年，惟開平、萍鄉之煤，大冶之鐵，規模宏遠。次則平江之金，益陽之銻，常寧之鉛，猶為民利。漠河金礦所產雖富，歲解部銀僅二十萬兩。滇銅自十三年命唐蜅督辦，歲運京銅不過百餘萬，各省鼓鑄，猶以重直購洋銅。鐵產為漢陽廠鍊鋼造軌，略供輪路之需。粵、桂、晉出鐵雖饒，以提鍊不精，國內製造，仍多購自英廠。

In Guangxu 9 an edict called on provinces to develop coal mines through merchant investment and shareholding. Yunnan and Sichuan set up merchant-recruitment and mining bureaus; Guizhou a public-merchant mining bureau; and Shanxi a mining company. Copper mines at Qiongzhou in Guangdong and lead mines at Ningbo in Zhejiang were opened through merchant syndicates. After decades of operation, only Kaiping and Pingxiang coal and Daye iron had achieved true scale. Gold at Pingjiang, antimony at Yiyang, and lead at Changning also served the public good, though on a smaller scale. Despite rich output, the Mohe gold mine sent only two hundred thousand taels a year to the capital. Since Tang Jiong was put in charge in Guangxu 13, Yunnan copper shipped to Beijing never exceeded about one million jin; provinces still paid premium prices for imported copper to keep mints running. Hanyang's steelworks turned iron into rails, barely meeting railway demand. Guangdong, Guangxi, and Shanxi produced plenty of iron, but poor refining meant domestic industry still relied heavily on British mills.

二十四年，詔設礦務鐵路總局於京師，以王文韶、張廕桓主之。奏定章程二十二，准華商辦礦，假貸洋款，及華洋合股，設立公司。自是江西萍鄉煤礦則借德款，湖北大冶鐵礦則借日本款，浙江寶昌公司則借義款，直隸臨城煤礦則借比款。當其議定合同，於抵押息金外，輒須延聘礦師，甚者涉及用人管理。至直隸井陘、安徽宣城煤礦，山西盂平、澤、潞、平陽，四川江北煤鐵礦，新疆塔城，直隸霍家地、廠子溝金礦，廣西上思，貴州正安鉛鐵，福建邵武、建寧、汀州，直隸八道河，奉天尾明山，及吉林新舊礦，均華洋合辦，一經訂約，時生轇轕。若福公司之於晉礦，其尤甚者也。二十四年，河南豫豐公司以其專辦懷慶左右黃河以北各礦之權，山西商務局以其專辦盂平、澤、潞、平陽煤鐵各礦之權，同時讓與辦理。一公司壟斷兩省礦務，更議修鐵道自晉訖汴，因礦及路，利權損失，爭持三年，始允合辦。汴既侵攘華官主權，晉復干涉人民開採。全晉紳民，堅持廢約。遲之又久，始以銀二百七十餘萬贖回。他如陝西延長，四川富順、巴、萬石油礦，湖南常寧龍王山，湖北興國龍角山礦，均因商民私相授受，釀成交涉。

In Guangxu 24 a General Bureau of Mining and Railways was established in Beijing under Wang Wenshao and Zhang Yinhuan. Twenty-two regulations were approved, allowing Chinese merchants to mine, borrow foreign capital, enter Sino-foreign partnerships, and form companies. Pingxiang coal in Jiangxi took German loans; Daye iron in Hubei Japanese loans; Baochang Company in Zhejiang Italian loans; and Lincheng coal in Zhili Belgian loans. Loan contracts went beyond interest and collateral—foreign engineers had to be hired, and in the worst cases they controlled personnel and management. Chinese-foreign joint ventures at Jingxing coal in Zhili, Xuancheng in Anhui, Shanxi's Yu-Ping-Ze-Lu-Pingyang coal and iron, Jiangbei in Sichuan, Tacheng in Xinjiang, Huojiadi and Changzigou gold in Zhili, Shangsi and Zheng'an lead and iron, Fujian's Shaowu-Jianning-Tingzhou mines, Badaohe in Zhili, Weimingshan in Fengtian, and old and new Jilin mines all led to recurring disputes once contracts were signed. The Fu Company's grip on Shanxi mining was the worst case of all. In Guangxu 24 Henan's Yufeng Company—holding exclusive rights to mines north of the Yellow River around Huaiqing—and Shanxi's Bureau of Commerce—holding rights to coal and iron in Yu, Ping, Ze, Lu, and Pingyang—simultaneously transferred their concessions. A single company monopolized mining in two provinces and proposed a railway from Shanxi to Kaifeng; linking mines to rails cost China dearly; after three years of dispute joint operation was grudgingly allowed. In Henan it eroded Chinese official authority; in Shanxi it interfered with local mining. Shanxi gentry and commoners united to demand cancellation of the contract. Only after prolonged delay was the concession bought back for more than 2.7 million taels. Similar disputes arose over oil at Yanchang in Shaanxi and Fushun, Ba, and Wan in Sichuan; mines at Dragon King Mountain in Changning, Hunan, and Dragon Horn Mountain in Xingguo, Hubei—all from private transfers among merchants that led to diplomatic rows.

自議訂膠濟、東清路約，附路十三里內華人無開礦權。而開平煤礦，漠河觀音山金礦，復因內亂為外人所侵佔。開平煤礦，自光緒元年直隸總督李鴻章集官商之力，經營二十年，效力大著。二十六年，拳匪亂後，洋員德璀琳因督辦張翼委其保護，與礦師胡華私立賣約，而張翼亦即籤押移交，轉以加招洋股中外合辦奏聞。由是而唐山西山、半壁店、馬家溝、無水庄、趙各庄、林西各礦，秦皇島口岸地畝附屬之承平、建平、永平金銀礦，悉操於英公司。嚴詔責令收回，赴英控訴，卒未就緒。三十四年，籌辦灤州煤礦，英公司阻撓之。乃劫為營業聯合之法，合設開灤總局。觀音山金礦，亦因拳亂為俄人佔據。三十二年，始以俄銀萬二千盧布贖回。

The Jiaoji and Eastern Qing railway treaties barred Chinese from mining within thirteen li of the tracks. The Kaiping coal mine and Mohe's Guanyin Mountain gold mine were also seized by foreigners during domestic turmoil. Li Hongzhang had organized Kaiping as a joint official-merchant venture in Guangxu 1; after twenty years it was highly successful. After the Boxer uprising in Guangxu 26, foreign adviser Detring—entrusted by supervisor Zhang Yi to protect the mine—signed a secret sale with engineer Hoover; Zhang signed it over and reported a Sino-foreign joint venture with expanded foreign shares. Thereafter British interests controlled Tangshan mines at Xishan, Banbodian, Majiagou, Wushuizhuang, Zhaogezhuang, and Linxi, plus the Chengping, Jianping, and Yongping gold and silver mines tied to the Qinhuangdao port. Imperial orders demanded recovery and a lawsuit was filed in Britain, but the matter was never resolved. In Guangxu 34 plans for the Luanzhou coal mine were blocked by the British company. A compromise joint venture was imposed, creating the Kailuan Mining Administration. Guanyin Mountain gold mine was also seized by Russians during the Boxer crisis. It was finally repurchased in Guangxu 32 for twelve thousand rubles.

二十八年，外務部改定礦章，凡華洋商人得一體承辦礦務，惟必稟部批准，乃為允行之據。是年皖撫聶緝槼許英人凱約翰承辦歙、銅陵、大通、寧國、廣德、潛山礦產，嗣以專辦銅陵之銅官山，訂約定期百年，佔地三十八萬四千餘畝。皖中紳民合力爭之，始以銀四十萬兩贖回自辦。法人彌樂石亦於是年以勘辦全滇礦務請於滇督及外務部，皆拒之，仍獲澂江、臨安、開化、雲南、楚雄、元江、永北等府、廳、州礦權以去。繼是英商立樂德以合辦東、昭兩府金銀礦不獲，遂援彌樂石例，索廣南、曲靖、麗江、大理、順寧、普洱、永昌七府礦，亦堅拒未允。一時舉國上下，咸以保全礦產為言。由是蜀設保富公司，華洋承辦川省礦務，購地轉租事宜屬之。閩設商政局，旋奏設礦務總公司，凡請辦各礦場，查核准駁之權屬之。山西保晉公司，安徽礦務總局，類能集合殷富，鳩貲開辦。湘、鄂則於所屬礦地勘明圈購，以杜私售。

In Guangxu 28 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revised mining law: Chinese and foreign merchants could operate mines on equal terms, but only with ministry approval. That year Anhui governor Nie Zhigui granted the Englishman Caldwell rights to mines at She, Tongling, Datong, Ningguo, Guangde, and Qianshan—later narrowed to Tongguanshan in Tongling—under a hundred-year lease covering more than 384,000 mu. Anhui gentry and citizens mobilized against it and bought the concession back for four hundred thousand taels to run themselves. That year the Frenchman Milie petitioned the Yunnan governor and Foreign Ministry to survey all Yunnan mining; though rebuffed at the top, he still walked away with rights in Chenjiang, Lin'an, Kaihua, Yunnan, Chuxiong, Yuanjiang, Yongbei, and other districts. English merchant Raede then failed to partner on gold and silver mines in Dong and Zhao prefectures; citing Milie's precedent, he demanded seven prefectures—Guangnan, Qujing, Lijiang, Dali, Shunning, Pu'er, and Yongchang—and was firmly refused. For a time the whole country rallied around preserving mineral resources. Sichuan therefore set up the Baofu Company to handle Sino-foreign mining ventures and land purchase and leasing. Fujian created a commercial bureau and then a general mining company with authority to approve or reject all mining applications. Shanxi's Baojin Company and Anhui's mining bureau both pooled capital from wealthy investors to launch operations. Hunan and Hubei surveyed and preemptively purchased mining lands under their jurisdiction to block private sales.

二十五年，江南籌辦農工礦路各學堂，兩湖復籌設高等礦業學堂。三十一年，商部以洋商私占礦地礦山，疏請申明約章，以維權限。尋奏設各省礦政調查局，以勘明全國礦產、嚴禁私賣為先務。鄂督張之洞條上礦務正章七十四，附章七十三。蓋自二十四年以來，礦章屢易，每因礦務齟齬，洋商輒引為口實。二十九年，商約大臣呂海寰與各國議訂商約，許以開採礦產之利，但必須遵守中國礦章。而中國礦章，則比較各國通行者為之準則，特詔張之洞擬定。乃取英、美、德、法、比利時、西班牙礦章參互考證，區別地面地腹，釐定礦界礦稅，分晰地股銀股，暨華洋商，限制至周；尤注重於中國主權，華民生計，地方治理。閱數年乃成，下部議行，中國礦章始具云。

In Guangxu 25 Jiangnan planned schools for agriculture, industry, mining, and railways; Hunan and Hubei planned advanced mining academies. In Guangxu 31 the Ministry of Commerce, citing foreign encroachment on mines, asked that treaty provisions be clarified to protect sovereignty. It then proposed provincial mining survey bureaus to map national resources and strictly ban unauthorized sales. Hubei governor-general Zhang Zhidong submitted seventy-four main mining regulations with seventy-three supplementary articles. Mining regulations had changed repeatedly since Guangxu 24; foreign merchants seized every dispute as a pretext. In Guangxu 29 commercial commissioner Lü Haihuan negotiated treaties granting mining rights—but only under Chinese mining law. Chinese mining law was to be drafted by Zhang Zhidong using international standards as reference. Drawing on British, American, German, French, Belgian, and Spanish mining codes, he distinguished surface from subsurface rights, set boundaries and taxes, defined land and capital shares, and imposed exhaustive limits on Chinese and foreign operators— with special emphasis on sovereignty, Chinese livelihoods, and local administration. Completed after several years and sent to ministries for enactment, China's mining code was finally in place.

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