晚清时期韩江航运陋规及风险

Objectionable Practices and Risks of Shipping in Hanjiang River in the Late Qing Dynasty

据韩江航运石碑以及地方报纸的记载,晚清时期韩江航运陋规主要针对商船户和旅客。商船户从停泊船只、船只过关、商品纳税等各个环节,都面临关口巡役和兵丁的各种额外索求,总计费用远远超过商品所应缴纳的税费。同时还需面对地方的恶棍、小偷、乞丐等各个阶层的骚扰,承担一定的损失。针对旅客的陋规主要涉及返乡的侨民,从驳船、行李检验、码头行李搬运等等环节对侨民进行盘剥。这些行为在整个晚清时期虽然被官员们三令五申的禁止,但是始终难以彻底根除,成为加剧地方矛盾的痼疾。

According to the stone tablet recording shipping in Hanjiang River and local newspapers,objectionable practices of shipping in Hanjiang River in the late Qing Dynasty mainly targeted merchant shippers and passengers. Merchant shippers were faced with various additional demands from customs patrols and soldiers in every link,such as ship berthing,clearance of ships,commodity tax payment,etc. The total cost far exceeded the taxes and fees payable on commodities.At the same time, they also faced the harassment from other classes including local villains, thieves, and beggars and suffered certain losses. The objectionable practices targeting passengers mainly involved returning overseas Chinese,who were exploited in terms of barges,baggage inspection,port baggage handling and so on. Although such acts were banned by officials in the late Qing Dynasty, they were always difficult to be eradicated completely,and thus became a chronic illness that aggravated local conflicts.