TWO ESSAYS ON THE CH'ING ECONOMY OF HSIN-AN
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Hsin-An." How it relates to the dissolution of li-chia divisions is made clear in the following account, quoted in the 1921 edition of the Tung-Kuan Gazetteer:
In the past, the fang (✈) and tu divisions were known by name. Now, for the most part, these old divisions no longer exist. In the recent past, when military activity necessitated the imposition of corvée (), the village areas themselves were utilized in the apportionment and collection of the duties. For this reason, several small villages grouped together to form a large district; other villages attached themselves to more powerful villages. The various changes are too numerous to record in detail; however, on the basis of experience, the county was divided into nine large areas. Yet, despite this method, inequalities remained, on account of the all-pervasive corruption.18
When one considers, in addition, the substantial demographic movements through the area in the eighteenth and nineteenth century,19 and the geographic limitations on the efficiency of local civil administrators, it is not difficult to imagine the total inability of local magistrates to implement viable alternatives to local self-governmental structures. Hence, Krone's comment: "The mandarins in Sanon district have very little power. The people pay their taxes, but do not allow the mandarins to interfere with their own local government."20 Official acquiescence gradually became implicit approval, and the collection of land tax by means of farms granted to local magnates was institutionalized at the local level. By the time southern Hsin-An came within Britain's imperial orbit, taxlordism was well entrenched in the agricultural sector.
The position of taxlord carried responsibilities as well as benefits. By maintaining the relatively small taxable base, the taxlord was able to increase his own share of the revenue without having to pay over collected surpluses. Yet, under customary agreement, the taxlord was obligated to perform certain services for the privilege of extracting his commission. One of the most important of these was the protection offered against “unreasonable” squeeze. One measure of the Tang's dominant landlord and taxlord status was their apparent ability to avoid payment of squeeze under certain circumstances. Other services included supervision of local paramilitary and police forces, maintenance of roads and bridges, and provision of festivals and operas.22