近代东北地区城市居民收入问题考略

Investigation on the Income of Urban Residents in Modern Northeast China

在近代东北地区的城市居民中,社会上层的城市居民年收入是最高的,其生活状况是最好的,也是最优越的;社会中层的城市居民年收入次之,其生活状况低于社会上层,但高于社会下层,位居中间地位,且能够达到温饱水平;社会下层的城市居民年收入最低,其生活状况仅仅勉强能够维持温饱,如遇到不好的年景,就会出现艰难窘迫、生计困难的状况。繁重的税收、上涨的物价、严重的通胀和混乱的币制则成为拉低城市居民收入水平的主要因子。而城市居民收入的变化情况是衡量城市居民生活水平变化的一个主要标尺,通过对它的调查考量可以更好地揭示近代东北地区城市社会生活兴衰变化的内部原因。

Among the urban residents of modern Northeast China, the upper level has the highest annual income and the best living conditions; the middle level has the second highest annual income and their living conditions are lower than that of the upper level but higher than that of the lower level, being able to meet the need of food and clothing; the lower level has the lowest annual income and the worst living conditions, barely maintaining the adequate food and clothing, or even worse in the event of a bad harvest. Heavy taxes, rising prices, serious inflation and the chaos of the currency are the main factors to lower the income of urban residents. Since the changes in the income of urban residents can reflect the living standard of urban residents,the investigation involved will better reveal the internal causes of the vicissitudes of urban life in modern Northeast China.