清代东南地方小市场中的凭票与信用

Pingpiao and Credit in Grass-roots Market in Southeast of Qing Dynasty

在清代中叶以后的东南乡村地方小市场中,通行一种具有金融工具性质的“凭票”。其中既有立票人承诺在未来某一日付谷或付款给持票人兑付的本票型凭票,也有立票人向第三方发出命令,令其在未来某一日付谷或付款给持票人的支票型凭票;还有一种立票人向第三方发出命令,令其在未来某一日付谷或付款给确定的持票人的汇票型凭票。三种凭票皆以立票人的偿付能力为信用基础,融资期限较短,流通范围有限。凭票的流通导致了凭票市场的形成。凭票市场就是乡村的信用市场。

From the mid-Qing on,rural markets in the southeast began to circulate a kind of note known as“pingpiao(凭票)”These financial instruments included promissory notes,which committed the issuer to redeeming the notes at a given date by paying a specified amount in grain or financial funds.They also included notes similar to modern-day bank checks,in which the issuer of a note committed a third party to redeeming it on behalf of the issuer.Finally,another type of note,known as a remittance note,committed a third party to paying out grain or financial funds at a specified date to a specified individual.The credit worthiness of these classes of rural pingpao were all based primarily on the ability of the issuer to redeem the notes.They were used for short-term financing,and circulated within a limited catchment area.The circulation of pingpiao led to the rise of a market in pingpiao.Indeed,the pingpiao market was none other than the rural credit market.