The Salt Industry Economy And Local Society Of Hubei Province In Qing Dynasty(1664-1849)

The spatial size of the salt area of Hubei during the Qing dynasty was approximately180,000 square kilometers of land area.Based on some research findings in demography,the total annual salt demand in Hubei Province in the early and middle Qing dynasty was estimated for each period as well as the annual salt demand for each prefecture in Hubei for each period.Generally speaking,Hubei Province was purely a non-salt-producing area in the early and middle Qing dynasty,and the province’s salt demand depended on the official or private distribution of Huai salt,Sichuan salt,Lu salt and so on.The Shinan prefecture and the Hefeng and Changle counties in the Yichang prefecture were the"Ji An"(计岸)for the consumption of Sichuan salt,and were part of the Sichuan salt area.Although Badong,Guizhou,Xingshan and Changyang counties in Yichang prefecture were also considered to be the market for Sichuan salt,they were not the"Ji An"all the time,but were used to buy Sichuan salt in the name of"borrowed food"(借食).In addition to the"Ji An"salt market,other prefectures and counties in Hubei Province were all Huainan salt market.The most important specialized agency and official in the salt administration of Hubei was the Yan-fa-dao(盐法道),with specific areas having a Yan-bu-tong-zhi(盐捕同知)or Yan-bu-tong-pan(盐捕通判)if necessary.The salt duties of the general magistrates in Hubei Province can be seen through Ze-Li-Bian-Lan which was a best-selling daily book at the time.Eight counties in southwestern Hubei were able to change to eat Sichuan salt in the early years of the Qianlong era and have remained unchanged,that was a rare exception in the history of the salt industry in Qing dynasty,and it was the result of many factors.The saltworks and transport routes used by the eight counties to transport and sell Sichuan salt show a complex and nuanced historical process.The establishment of the"Ji An"contributed to the development of the grassroots market,the regional market and the Chuan-Chu border trade in the region.The switch to the sale of Sichuan salt in Badong,Xingshan,Guizhou and Changyang counties was never successful,but the vast majority of the salt market in these counties was dominated by Sichuan salt(including illegal salt).The two misunderstood features of the"Yi-li-tong-xiao"(一例通销)system in the Huai salt area of Huguang are not valid,and the issue of free transport and sale by Shuifan(水贩)and the"Yi-li-tong-xiao"system are also two different things.In the early Qing dynasty,the entanglement between"Zhenglun"(整轮)and"Sanlun"(散轮)was not prominent,but during the Daoguang era,the dispute between"Zhenglun"and"Shanlun"became intense.It reflected the complex market environment,distribution of interests and institutional design.In Hubei Province,there were several types of illegal salt:merchant illegal salt(ship illegal salt),Sichuan illegal salt,Lu illegal salt,Cao illegal salt,Bei illegal salt(ticket illegal salt),official illegal salt,gangster illegal salt and Meng illegal salt.The ships that carried copper and lead often took advantage of the traffic to and from Hankow to carry illegal salt,it seemed the bulk of Sichuan illegal salt’s invasion of the salt area of Hubei.The intrusion of Meng illegal salt into Hubei is a notable example of the long-distance travel and trafficking of smuggled salt,but it only lasted for a short period of time,and the quantities are not likely to have been huge.The price of salt was only part of the burden of salt on the people of Hubei,there were also a number of hidden salt tax burdens(such as Hu-kou-shi-yan-chao(户口食盐钞)),and it is impossible to count the additional burdens caused by official and commercial irregularities for favouritism in the transportation and sale of salt.There is no substantial difference between the Huai merchants,Hui merchants and Han merchants that existed in Hubei Province;the Huai merchants and Sichuan merchants were the two major salt merchant powers in Hubei.Salt merchants contributed greatly to the local public sector in Hubei in all aspects of sponsoring local education,donating to local charities,helping to run local infrastructure,and donating to local military activities.As a non-salt-producing area,Hubei Province does not have the same complex salt interests as the major salt-producing regions,but the transportation and sale of salt is closely related to the national financial interests,the interests of the local Hubei and its officials,the interests of the salt merchants,the interests of the people,and so on.