REGIONAL APPROACH TO CHINESE HISTORY
17
year. So serious was the rice shortage that the Chinese officials were put in the humiliating position of having to ask the westerners if they would import rice from the south.21 To make matters worse, even the temperature played unkind tricks on the suffering people, for the local histories record a number of cold spells and heavy snow falls during these years.22 Both Chinese and western sources describe the swarms of beggars in and around Canton. In 1834 The Canton Register estimated the number of beggars in Canton at 5,000 and “it may be even twice that number.”23
Is there any wonder that banditry and brigandage were abroad in the land?
Finally, there was the opium traffic, and here the "foreign impact" may have had some relevance for the area. It is generally thought that since the traffic was illegal, it caused a significant outflow of silver. This, in turn, is believed to have brought about a decline in the value of copper “cash” in terms of silver and thus a general inflationary trend. Furthermore, since land taxes were fixed in terms of silver, the amount of "cash" required for taxes would, of course, have been increased. The effect of this upon the lower income groups is obvious. In addition, the traffic itself in this kind of smuggling operation must have had a powerful attraction for every pirate and brigand along the river and coast, and may have been a major cause of the increase of this kind of activity during the 1830's.
In short, there existed in this part of Kwangtung province all the ingredients that usually go into the making of open revolt and rebellion: a weak and discredited government, a series of unforeseen natural calamities, a disintegrating economy, and an alarming spread of banditry (which, of course, fed upon the first three).
This, then, was what was "going on" along the Canton River during these years. The foreigner and his trade were only a small part of the picture. In fact, I would hazard a guess that the Ch'ing Government's determination to stamp out the opium trade in 1839 was not so much an effort to eliminate opium as such but was, rather, a drastic attempt to do something to help restore order and authority in the land. Opium was only a part of a much
REGIONAL APPROACH TO CHINESE HISTORY
17
year. So serious was the rice shortage that the Chinese officials were put in the humiliating position of having to ask the westerners if they would import rice from the south.21 To make matters worse, even the temperature played unkind tricks on the suffering people, for the local histories record a number of cold spells and heavy snow falls during these years.22 Both Chinese and western sources describe the swarms of beggars in and around Canton. In 1834 The Canton Register estimated the number of beggars in Canton at 5,000 and “it may be even twice that number."23
Is there any wonder that banditry and brigandage were abroad in the land?
Finally, there was the opium traffic, and here the "foreign impact" may have had some relevance for the area. It is generally thought that since the traffic was illegal, it caused a significant outflow of silver. This, in turn, is believed to have brought about a decline in the value of copper “cash” in terms of silver and thus a general inflationary trend. Furthermore, since land taxes were fixed in terms of silver, the amount of "cash" required for taxes would, of course, have been increased. The effect of this upon the lower income groups is obvious. In addition, the traffic itself in this kind of smuggling operation must have had a powerful attraction for every pirate and brigand along the river and coast, and may have been a major cause of the increase of this kind of activity during the 1830's.
In short, there existed in this part of Kwangtung province all the ingredients that usually go into the making of open revolt and rebellion: a weak and discredited government, a series of unforeseen natural calamities, a disintegrating economy, and an alarming spread of banditry (which, of course, fed upon the first three).
This, then, was what was "going on" along the Canton River during these years. The foreigner and his trade were only a small part of the picture. In fact, I would hazard a guess that the Ch'ing Government's determination to stamp out the opium trade in 1839 was not so much an effort to eliminate opium as such but was, rather, a drastic attempt to do something to help restore order and authority in the land. Opium was only a part of a much
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.