Thelikinorlijinwas a form of domesticcustomstax in theChinese EmpireandRepublic,which was first introduced as a means of financing the largely locally recruited armies to suppress theTaiping Rebellion.
| Likin | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | Li kim | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | Li kim | ||||||||
| Postal | likin | ||||||||
| |||||||||
History
editThe likin tax was first introduced in 1853 by censor Lei Yixian[1] in the area aroundYangzhouas a way of raising funds in the campaigns against local rebels. As the central government was short of revenue, the imperial court sanctioned the tax and it quickly became an important source of funds for the campaign against theTaipingandNianrebellions.
The tax was levied on anad valorembasis on goods in transit between provinces and on shops,[citation needed]with rates ranging from 2 to 10 per cent.[2]After the Taipings were suppressed in 1864, the likin became a permanent feature of the Chinese tax system and it became an important source of revenue for local government. In many ways, the tax signified the decentralization of state authority in the wake of the Taiping rebellion.
TheTreaty of Nanjingending theFirst Opium War,themost favored nationclauses in subsequent "unequal treaties"withimperialistEurope,and the disorder of theTaiping Rebellionreduced China's ability to impose or levy their own external tariffs (customs), with theChinese Maritime Customs Serviceunder European control after 1854. Foreign merchants protested against the likin as a violation of China's treaties and raised the issue repeatedly, including at theChefoo Convention.As it was imposed on all goods both foreign and domestic, however, it survived the fall of theQing dynastyinto theWarlord Eraand was not ended until 1 January 1931.
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^Wright, Mary Clabaugh (1962),The Last Stand of Chinese Conservatism: The T'ung-chih Restoration, 1862-1874,Volume 13 of Stanford studies in history, economics, and political science, Stanford University Press, pp. 53, 167,ISBN0804704759
- ^Kuhn, Philip A. (1978), "The Creation of the Treaty System",The Cambridge History of China,vol. 10,Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, p. 289.
Bibliography
edit- Beal, Edwin George.The Origin of Likin, 1853–1864.Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1958.
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