茶税、等级与现代世界体系——试论清末到民国的边茶与印茶之争

Tea Tax,Hierarchy and the Modern World System——A Discussion of the Competition between Border Area Tea and Yin Tea from the Late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China

本文通过对清末至民国时期输入西藏的边茶与印茶的比较分析展示帝国内部贸易体系与现代世界体系遭遇的个案。边茶与印茶之争其实质是现代世界体系的大宗商品贸易挑战着帝国内部维系边疆封建等级形态的奢侈品贸易。边茶作为奢侈品再生产了西藏社会的等级,而印茶作为现代世界体系生产的大宗商品将社会大众作为其目标群体,力图打破等级的区隔。

Based on a comparative analysis of border area tea and Yin Tea imported into Tibet during the period of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, this paper makes a case study of the conflict between the imperial internal trading system and the modern world system. The competition between border area tea and Yin Tea actually reflected the challenge of commodity trade of the modern world system to the luxury trade which maintained the feudal hierarchy of the empire. As luxuries, border area tea reproduced the social hierarchy in Tibet, while as commodities produced by the modern world - system, Yin Tea tried to break the social hierarchy by taking the social masses as its consumers.