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Cross-Jurisdictional Trade and Contract Enforcement in Qing China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2019

Maura Dykstra
Maura Dykstra*
Affiliation:
California Institute of Technology
*
*Corresponding author. Email: maura@caltech.edu
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Abstract

This article argues that claims about the different economic trajectories of early modern Europe and late imperial China have incorrectly focused on the importance of formal contract enforcement mechanisms. As a first step toward more productive conversations about the history of economic development across world regions, this article provides a look at the factors in the development of the late imperial Chinese economy that led to the emergence of contract enforcement mechanisms not based on codified contract law. Several case studies from the Qing dynasty Chongqing archives are presented to illustrate how the mechanisms of contract enforcement operated.

Keywords

contractbrokeryahangMing and Qing economic institutionslaw and economy
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , July 2019 , pp. 99 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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Footnotes

The research for this article was conducted with the support of the UCLA Center for Economic History, a Fulbright-Hays DDRA grant, and the Harvard Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. The author would especially like to thank Devin Fitzgerald, R. Bin Wong, Jean-Laurent Rosenthal, and the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

References

References

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Chiu, Pengsheng 邱澎生 (2007). “The Insolvency and Negligence Discourses in the Eighteenth Century China.” In Writing and Law in Late Imperial China: Crime, Conflict, and Judgment, eds. Hegel, Robert E. and Carlitz, Katherine, pp. 125–42. Seattle: University of Washington Press.Google Scholar
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Gelderblom, Oscar (2013). Cities of Commerce: The Institutional Foundations of International Trade in the Low Countries, 1250–1650. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Hansen, Valerie (1995). Negotiating Daily Life in Traditional China: How Ordinary People Used Contracts, 600–1400. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Hu, Tieqiu 胡铁球 (2007). “‘Xiejia yahang’ jingying moshi de xingcheng yu bianqian 歇家牙行’经营模式的形成与演变.” Lishi yanjiu 历史研究 3, pp. 88–106.Google Scholar
Huang, Philip C. C. (1993). “Between Informal Mediation and Formal Adjudication: The Third Realm of Qing Civil Justice.” Modern China 19:3, pp. 251–98.Google Scholar
Katō, Shigeshi (1936). “On the Hang or the Associations of Merchants in China, with Especial Reference to the Institution in the T'ang and Sung Periods.” Research Department of the Toyo Bunko (The Oriental Library) 8, pp. 45–83.Google Scholar
Komachi, Tatsuya 小野 達哉 (2015). “Shinmatsu Baken satomura bu no chōzei ukeoi to soshou no kankei: Tokuni taitei wo megutte” 清末巴縣鄕村部の徴税請負と訴訟の關係:特に抬墊をめぐって. Tōyōshi kenkyū 東洋史研究 74:3, pp. 36–64.Google Scholar
Li, Zan 里赞 (2009). “Sifa huo zhengwu: Qingdai zhouxian susong zhong de shenduan wenti” 司法或政务:清代州县诉讼中的审断问题. Faxue yanjiu 法学研究 5, pp. 195–207.Google Scholar
Liu, Zhengyun 劉錚雲 (2003). “Guanji sitie yu yahang yingchai – Guanyu Qingdai yahang de jidian guancha 官給私帖與牙行應差—關於清代牙行的幾點觀察.” Gugong xueshu jikan 故宮學術季刊 21:2, pp. 107–23.Google Scholar
Lufrano, Richard (2013). “Minding the Minders: Overseeing the Brokerage System in Qing China.” Late Imperial China 34:1, pp. 67–107.Google Scholar
Ma, Debin and van Zanden, Jan Luiten eds. (2011). Law and Long-term Economic Change: A Eurasian Perspective. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, Jean-Laurent and Wong, R. Bin (2011). Before and Beyond Divergence: The Politics of Economic Change in China and Europe. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Shiga, Shūzō 滋賀 秀三 (2009). Shindai chūgoku no hō to saiban. Zoku 清代中国の法と裁判. 続. Tokyo: Sōbunsha.Google Scholar
Shiga, Shūzō 滋賀 秀三 (1987). “Shindai shūken gamon ni okeru soshō o meguru jakkan no shoken – Tanshintōan o shiryō to shite 清代州県衙門における訴訟をめぐる若干の所見ー淡新档案を史料として.” Hōseishi Gakka 法制史研究 37:3, pp. 37–71.Google Scholar
Shiba, Yoshinobu 斯波 義信 (1968). Sōdai shōgyōshi kenkyū 宋代商業史研究 (“Research on Commerce in the Song”). Tokyo: Kazama Shobō.Google Scholar
Tanii, Yōko 谷井 陽子 (2015). “Shindai chūki no Chonchin shōgyō ka to sono chitsujo” 清代中期の重慶商業界とその秩序. Tōyōshi kenkyū 東洋史研究 74:3, pp. 519–51.Google Scholar
Twitchett, Denis (1966). “The T'ang Market System.” Asia Major, new series, 12:2, pp. 202–48.Google Scholar
Yamamoto, Susumu 山本 進 (2002a). Shindai zaiseishi kenkyū 清代財政史研究 (Kyūko Sōsho, 35). Tokyo: Kyūko Shoin.Google Scholar
Yamamoto, Susumu 山本 進 (2002b). Min Shin jidai no shōnin to kokka 明清時代の商人と國家. Tokyo: Kenbun Shuppan.Google Scholar
Yamamoto, Susumu 山本 進 (1993). “Shindai Kōnan no gakō” 清代江南の牙行. Tōyō gakuhō 東洋學報 74:1, pp. 27–58.Google Scholar
Yūji, Muramatsu 村松 祐次 (1949). Chūgoku keizai no shakai taisei 中國經濟の社會態制. Tokyo: Tōyō Keizai Shinpōsha (reprint 1975 of Gendai keizaigaku sōsho, 1949).Google Scholar
Zhou, Lin 周琳 (2013). “‘Bianshang’ yihuo ‘haishang’ – Cong zhongjie maoyi jiufen kan Qianlong zhi Daoguang shiqi Chongqing de ‘guanyazhi’” 「便商」抑或「害商」── 從仲介貿易糾紛看乾隆至道光時期重慶的「官牙制」. Xinshixue 新史學 24:1, pp. 59–106.Google Scholar
Grand Council Archives 內閣大庫檔案. Accessed via the Academia Sinica Online Portal at http://archive.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/ttsweb/html/index.htm.Google Scholar
Sichuan Provincial Archives of Ba County [四川省档案馆巴县文献]. Available at the Sichuan Provincial Archives.Google Scholar
Hongwu yuannian daming ling 洪武元年大明令 in Yifan, Yang 杨一凡 ed. Zhongguo zhenxi falü dianji jicheng 中国珍稀法律典籍集成, Yi edition (乙编) vol. 1, 1994.Google Scholar
Da gao xubian 大誥續編 in Yifan, Yang 杨一凡 ed. Zhongguo zhenxi falü dianji jicheng 中国珍稀法律典籍集成, Yi edition (乙编) vol. 1, 1994.Google Scholar
Yuzhi da gao sanbian 御製大誥三編 in Yifan, Yang 杨一凡 ed. Zhongguo zhenxi falü dianji jicheng 中国珍稀法律典籍集成, Yi edition (乙编) vol. 1, 1994.Google Scholar
Hongzhi wenxing tiaoli 弘治問刑條例 in Yifan, Yang 杨一凡 ed. Zhongguo zhenxi falü dianji jicheng 中国珍稀法律典籍集成, Yi edition (乙编) vol. 2, 1994.Google Scholar
Shizong xianhuangdi shilu 世宗憲皇帝實錄 (“Yongzheng Veritable Records”). Accessed via the National Institute of Korean History portal at http://sillok.history.go.kr/mc/main.do.Google Scholar
Gaozong chunhuangdi shilu 高宗純皇帝實錄 (“Qianlong Veritable Records”). Accessed via the National Institute of Korean History portal at http://sillok.history.go.kr/mc/main.do.Google Scholar
Qinding Da Qing Huidian Shili 欽定大清會典事例, 1899 edition. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1990.Google Scholar
Xue, Yunsheng 薛允升. Du lu cunyi 讀例存疑, 1905. Modern digital edition prepared by Terada Hiroaki 寺田浩明 available at http://www.terada.law.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dlcy/index.htm.Google Scholar
Xue, Yunsheng 薛允升. Xiaofeng, Huai 懷效鋒, ed. Tang Ming lü hebian 唐明律合編 in Zhongguo lüxue congkan 中國律學叢刊. Beijing: Falü chubanshe, 1999Google Scholar
Adachi, Keiji 足立 啓二 (2012). “Gakō keiei no kōzō” 牙行經營の構造. In Keiji, Adachi, Min Shin Chūgoku no keizai kōzō 明清中國の經濟構造 (Kyūko sōsho 99), pp. 569–90. Tokyo: Kyūko Shoin.Google Scholar
Aramiya, Manabu 新宮 学 (2017). Min Shin toshi shōgyōshi no kenkyū 明清都市商業史の研究 (Kyūko sōsho 142). Tokyo: Kyūko Shoin.Google Scholar
Chiu, Pengsheng 邱澎生 (2007). “The Insolvency and Negligence Discourses in the Eighteenth Century China.” In Writing and Law in Late Imperial China: Crime, Conflict, and Judgment, eds. Hegel, Robert E. and Carlitz, Katherine, pp. 125–42. Seattle: University of Washington Press.Google Scholar
Chiu, Pengsheng 邱澎生 (2005). “Shiba shiji Zhongguo shangye falü zhong de zhaifu yu guoshi lunshu” 18世纪中国商业法律中的债负与过失论述. In Gudai Zhongguo: chuantong yu biange 古代中国：传统与变革 Fudan shixue jikan 复旦史学集刊 vol. 1, ed. Shuzhi, Fan 樊树志, pp. 211–46. Shanghai: Fudan Daxue chubanshe.Google Scholar
Chiu, Pengsheng 邱澎生 (1998). “You shichan lüli yanbian kanming Ming-Qing zhengfu dui shichang de falü guifan 由市廛律例演變看明清政府對市場的法律規範.” In Shixue: chuancheng yu biaqian xueshu yantaohui lunwen ji 史學：傳承與變遷學術研討會論文集, ed. Gangbo, Shen 沈剛伯, pp. 291–334. Taipei: Guoli Taiwan daxue lishi xuexi.Google Scholar
Dykstra, Maura (2014). “Complicated Matters: Commercial Dispute Resolution in Chongqing, 1750–1911.” Ph.D. dissertation, UCLA.Google Scholar
Fan, Jinmin 范金民 (2009). “Bachi yu yingchai: Baxian susong dang'an kan Qingdai Chongqing de shangmao xingwei 把持与应差:从巴县诉讼档案看清代重庆的商贸行为.” Lishi yanjiu 历史研究 3, pp. 59–81.Google Scholar
Gelderblom, Oscar (2013). Cities of Commerce: The Institutional Foundations of International Trade in the Low Countries, 1250–1650. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Hansen, Valerie (1995). Negotiating Daily Life in Traditional China: How Ordinary People Used Contracts, 600–1400. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Hu, Tieqiu 胡铁球 (2007). “‘Xiejia yahang’ jingying moshi de xingcheng yu bianqian 歇家牙行’经营模式的形成与演变.” Lishi yanjiu 历史研究 3, pp. 88–106.Google Scholar
Huang, Philip C. C. (1993). “Between Informal Mediation and Formal Adjudication: The Third Realm of Qing Civil Justice.” Modern China 19:3, pp. 251–98.Google Scholar
Katō, Shigeshi (1936). “On the Hang or the Associations of Merchants in China, with Especial Reference to the Institution in the T'ang and Sung Periods.” Research Department of the Toyo Bunko (The Oriental Library) 8, pp. 45–83.Google Scholar
Komachi, Tatsuya 小野 達哉 (2015). “Shinmatsu Baken satomura bu no chōzei ukeoi to soshou no kankei: Tokuni taitei wo megutte” 清末巴縣鄕村部の徴税請負と訴訟の關係:特に抬墊をめぐって. Tōyōshi kenkyū 東洋史研究 74:3, pp. 36–64.Google Scholar
Li, Zan 里赞 (2009). “Sifa huo zhengwu: Qingdai zhouxian susong zhong de shenduan wenti” 司法或政务:清代州县诉讼中的审断问题. Faxue yanjiu 法学研究 5, pp. 195–207.Google Scholar
Liu, Zhengyun 劉錚雲 (2003). “Guanji sitie yu yahang yingchai – Guanyu Qingdai yahang de jidian guancha 官給私帖與牙行應差—關於清代牙行的幾點觀察.” Gugong xueshu jikan 故宮學術季刊 21:2, pp. 107–23.Google Scholar
Lufrano, Richard (2013). “Minding the Minders: Overseeing the Brokerage System in Qing China.” Late Imperial China 34:1, pp. 67–107.Google Scholar
Ma, Debin and van Zanden, Jan Luiten eds. (2011). Law and Long-term Economic Change: A Eurasian Perspective. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, Jean-Laurent and Wong, R. Bin (2011). Before and Beyond Divergence: The Politics of Economic Change in China and Europe. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Shiga, Shūzō 滋賀 秀三 (2009). Shindai chūgoku no hō to saiban. Zoku 清代中国の法と裁判. 続. Tokyo: Sōbunsha.Google Scholar
Shiga, Shūzō 滋賀 秀三 (1987). “Shindai shūken gamon ni okeru soshō o meguru jakkan no shoken – Tanshintōan o shiryō to shite 清代州県衙門における訴訟をめぐる若干の所見ー淡新档案を史料として.” Hōseishi Gakka 法制史研究 37:3, pp. 37–71.Google Scholar
Shiba, Yoshinobu 斯波 義信 (1968). Sōdai shōgyōshi kenkyū 宋代商業史研究 (“Research on Commerce in the Song”). Tokyo: Kazama Shobō.Google Scholar
Tanii, Yōko 谷井 陽子 (2015). “Shindai chūki no Chonchin shōgyō ka to sono chitsujo” 清代中期の重慶商業界とその秩序. Tōyōshi kenkyū 東洋史研究 74:3, pp. 519–51.Google Scholar
Twitchett, Denis (1966). “The T'ang Market System.” Asia Major, new series, 12:2, pp. 202–48.Google Scholar
Yamamoto, Susumu 山本 進 (2002a). Shindai zaiseishi kenkyū 清代財政史研究 (Kyūko Sōsho, 35). Tokyo: Kyūko Shoin.Google Scholar
Yamamoto, Susumu 山本 進 (2002b). Min Shin jidai no shōnin to kokka 明清時代の商人と國家. Tokyo: Kenbun Shuppan.Google Scholar
Yamamoto, Susumu 山本 進 (1993). “Shindai Kōnan no gakō” 清代江南の牙行. Tōyō gakuhō 東洋學報 74:1, pp. 27–58.Google Scholar
Yūji, Muramatsu 村松 祐次 (1949). Chūgoku keizai no shakai taisei 中國經濟の社會態制. Tokyo: Tōyō Keizai Shinpōsha (reprint 1975 of Gendai keizaigaku sōsho, 1949).Google Scholar
Zhou, Lin 周琳 (2013). “‘Bianshang’ yihuo ‘haishang’ – Cong zhongjie maoyi jiufen kan Qianlong zhi Daoguang shiqi Chongqing de ‘guanyazhi’” 「便商」抑或「害商」── 從仲介貿易糾紛看乾隆至道光時期重慶的「官牙制」. Xinshixue 新史學 24:1, pp. 59–106.Google Scholar