清末滇督李经羲与云南盐斤加价案的纠葛

The Entanglement between the Governor Li Jingxi of Yunnan and the Case of Raising the Price of Salt in Yunnan in the Late Qing Dynasty

庚子之乱后,清政府为了推行新政,不得不进一步从社会资源中吸取血液,多次实施盐斤加价政策,由民众“共担其荷”。其中云南因1908年清政府实施禁烟后,税收负担全部积压在了盐税身上,使得滇省盐价昂贵,为各省所无。李经羲接任滇督之后,计划从整顿盐税开始为新政筹集资金,但却因遭到咨议局的反对而失败。咨议局有感于加价导致的民艰,而总督却对新政时期财政的窘迫有更深的体会,二者立场不同,渐行渐远,直至提交院议。此次事件正是清末地方督抚在推行新政时两难局面的一个缩影。

After the Gengzi Rebellion,in order to implement the new administration,the Qing government had to further draw blood from social resources by increasing the price of salt for many times.In Yunnan,after the central government banned opium trading in 1908,all the tax burdens were accumulated on the salt tax,which made the salt in Yunnan Province very expensive.When Li Jingxi took over as the governor of Yunnan,he planned to raise funds for the new administration by rectifying the salt tax.However,his plan failed because the opposition of the newly established Consultative Council.The Council was sensitive to the hardships caused by the price increase,while the Governor has a deeper understanding of the financial difficulties.This incident is a microcosm of the dilemma faced by local governors in the late Qing Dynasty when they implemented the new administration.