State finance, merchant stake, and foreign interests

The certificate system in the Chinese salt administration, 1912–1949

Bibliographic Data

ID8418513
AuthorsXiaoqun Xu (0009-0006-6787-2788, Christopher Newport University, corresponding author), Yin Xu (0000-0003-3718-4715, College of Charleston)
Year2024
Volume66
Issue4
Pages807-828
Publication date2024-05-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBusiness History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-6791 • E-ISSN: 1743-7938
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00076791.2022.2105836
OpenAlexW4293171319
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited27

The certificate system was a tax farming system that originated in the imperial era. During the Republic of China (1912–1949) the practice largely continued, despite being much criticised. Aiming to explore how and why the system was able to survive until the late 1940s, this article addresses three related issues: the role of the foreign-managed Chief Inspectorate of Salt Revenue in the Chinese state finance, the fiscal relationship between the central and provisional/local governments, and the interactions between the state and salt merchants. These factors contextualise the resistance of salt merchants against the abolition of the certificate system. The Chinese state did not abolish the system due to a concern about possible disruptions to salt revenues. During the wartime Japanese occupation (1937–1945), the concern became irrelevant, with the collapse of the prewar salt transport and revenue collection-remittance. After the war ended, the state simply ruled out a revival of the system

Administration (probate law · Business · Certificate · China · Economic policy · Economics · Economy · Market economy · Political science · Revenue · State (computer science · Asian Studies and History · Finance · Law · Scottish History and National Identity · Socioeconomic Development in Asia

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