Shi Zhihong, Institute of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
The Silver Treasury of the Ministry of Revenue was the most important central government store in the Qing dynasty. It held all capital funds submitted to Beijing by provinces and was responsible for the release of all central government expenditures. This book is mainly based on Qing archives pertaining to the Silver Treasury, notably the Yellow Register copies of the Treasury, now held by the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. As it is the first monograph on the subject of the Silver Treasury to be published in English, as well as giving a brief introduction to the history of its successive management systems, it also presents comprehensive tables of monthly revenues/expenditures and yearend inventories for the period 1667 to 1899.
Biographical note
Readership
Table of contents
List of Figures and Tables ... viii
Emperors of the Qing Dynasty ... xiv
Chinese Terms ... xv
Currencies Used during the Qing Dynasty ... xxii
Introduction ... 1
1 The Central Government’s Silver Treasury ... 4
1.1 Set-up and Evolution of the Three Stores ... 4
1.2 Management of the Silver Treasury ... 7
2 Silver Treasury Registers and Their Copies ... 14
2.1 Yellow Registers of the Silver Treasury ... 14
2.2 Copies of the Yellow Registers of the Silver Treasury ... 18
2.3 Use in this Book of Copies of Yellow Registers ... 23
2.3.1 Annual Aggregate Revenues, Expenditures and Their Surpluses/Defijicits ... 24
2.3.2 Annual Inventories of the Silver Treasury ... 25
3 Silver Treasury Revenues during the Qing Dynasty ... 27
3.1 Provisions to the Capital and Silver Treasury Revenues ... 27
3.2 Silver Treasury Revenues from Kangxi to Daoguang: 1662–1850 ... 35
3.3 Silver Treasury Revenues during Xianfeng and Tongzhi: 1851–1874 ... 45
3.4 Silver Treasury Revenues during Guangxu: 1875–1908 ... 52
4 Silver Treasury Expenditures and Payment Surpluses/Defijicits during the Qing Dynasty ... 64
4.1 From Kangxi to Daoguang ... 64
4.2 The Xianfeng – Tongzhi Period ... 79
4.3 Guangxu Period ... 86
5 Fluctuations in Inventories of the Silver Treasury during the Qing Dynasty ... 96
5.1 From Kangxi to Daoguang ... 96
5.2 Xianfeng, Tongzhi and Guangxu ... 102
Appendix A: Tables of Aggregate Revenue/Expenditure of the Silver Treasury ... 109
Appendix B: Inventories of the Silver Treasury under Diffferent Reigns ... 217
References ... 245
Index ... 250