清中后期西南边疆田赋蠲缓与国家财政治理

Research on the Deferment and Exemption of Land Tax in the Southwestern Border and the State Financial Governance in the Middle and Late Qing Dynasty

清代西南边疆田赋虽在国家财政收入中占比不大,但关系国计民生,事涉边疆安全与稳定发展。清廷对其财政治理主要表现在应对灾荒与战乱的田赋蠲缓、减轻民众赋税负担的普免积欠和整治田赋征缴积弊。1799-1911年清廷蠲缓云南田赋总额近乎免除该省17年田赋之额征,其中荒田赋额占蠲缓总额的95%,且历经多年未能规复。户部认为外省田赋征缴积弊严重,清廷因此加强财政治理,在西南边疆推行钱粮征信册制度,但受多种因素困扰,实行十年收效甚微。尽管地方官员多否认田赋征缴积弊,但西南边疆普遍存在土地清丈未行、册籍缺失不实、制度执行走样、例荒例灾捏报、官吏因循疲玩等弊端,且延续至民国时期。

Although the land tax of the southwestern border didn’t take up a large proportion in the country’s revenue,it concerned the national economy,people’s livelihood,and the safety,stability and development of the border areas.The Qing government’s financial governance in this area was mainly embodied in its deferred collection of land tax in response to famines and wars,its exemption of land tax in order to lighten the tax burden on farmers and its regulation of local maladministration in the collection of land tax.The total sum of land tax deferred and exempted in Yunnan in 1799-1911was close to exempting its land tax for 17years,of which the land tax of wastelands accounted for 95%,and was not reclaimed in the following years.The Ministry of Revenue criticized other provinces for the accumulated maladministration.As a consequence,the Qing government implemented a credit reference system in the southwestern border in order to strengthen financial governance,which,in practice,failed to bring expected effects in the following decade because of various reasons.Although many local officials denied the accumulated maladministration in the collection of land tax,malpractices generally existed in the southwestern border,such as lack of land measurement,absence and falsehood of record,distortions in system execution,fake reports on famines and disasters,and conformism as well as malpractices of the bureaucrats.These problems remained unsolved through the period of the Republic of China.