Stretching the Qing Bureaucracy in the 1826 Sea-transport Experiment / Jane Kate Leonard.

• Author: Leonard, Jane Kate.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, , Boston : : BRILL,, 2019.
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Series: Monies, Markets, and Finance in East Asia, 1600-1900 12.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (205 pages).

In a new study of the Qing government’s 1826 experiment in sea transport of government grain in response to the collapse of the Grand Canal (1825), Jane Kate Leonard highlights how the Daoguang Emperor, together with Yinghe, his chief fiscal adviser, and Qishan, Governor-General of Liangjiang, devised and implemented this innovative plan by temporarily stretching the Qing bureaucracy to include local “assistant” officials and ad hoc bureaus ( ju ) and by recruiting ( zhaoshang ) private organizations, such as merchant shippers, dockside porters, and lighterage fleets. This is significant because it explains how the Qing leadership was able to respond successfully to crises and change without permanently expanding the reach and expense of the permanent bureaucracy.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- Copyright page -- Dedication -- Acknowledgments -- Illustrations -- Sea Transport Chronology -- The Challenge of Innovation. The 1826 Sea-Transport Experiment -- Linqing and Grand Canal Conditions in Northern Jiangsu -- Imagination at the Center: The Daoguang Emperor and Yinghe -- The Deepening Crisis and Yinghe’s Second Memorial -- Qishan and Disaster Assessment in Jiangsu -- Stretching the Bureaucracy for Sea Transport -- Sea-Transport Regulations and Coastal Defense -- Nayancheng and Regulations for Zhili -- Bai Chun and Low-Level Grain Transfers and Storage in Zhili -- Conclusions -- Back Matter -- Glossary -- References -- Index.