清代直隷省の治水政策 : 乾隆前期の子牙河治水を中心として

Abstract

The Ziya 子牙河 is one of the five major rivers of Zhili. The Ziya flows on from the convergence of the Hutuo 滹沱河, which rises in Shanxi, and the Fuyang 滏陽河, whose source is in Guangpingfu in Zhili. The river then flows north to Tianjin, where it enters the Gulf of Bohai. The Ziya was an unreliable waterway due to silting, and it was characterized by the serious damage caused by frequent flooding and overflowing of its banks. On the other hand, the river functioned as a transport route for the saltworks of Changlu and for rice and grains. From the Ming to the early Qing there had been no flood control of the Ziya, but the following the 30th year of Kangxi era, the Qing government instituted a flood control policy. The most important goals of the policy were to find solutions for the dual problems of agricultural production and housing and transport of materials without causing a conflict between them. When viewing flood control of the Ziya in terms of the transformation of the policy over the long term, the changes in policy can be organized along the following lines. The first period is that of the formation of the system, when in the Kangxi era the central government systematically constructed a series of dikes; the second period is from the time of Yongcheng to the early Qianlong when the framework for the largely bureaucratic control of the system was completed; and the third is the early Qianlong period when the system operated smoothly for the most part (although minor adjustments were made). Due to smooth functioning of economic circulation between north and south that sustained the Chinese empire, there was no question of a self-sufficient northern China as appeared at the end of the Ming and Qing when circulation broke down. The policy proceeded instead in a form designed to deal with the various problems that actually arose in Zhili. Flood control of the Ziya was carried out extremely effectively during the term (1749-1768) of Fang Guangcheng 方觀承 as governor-general of Zhili during the later half of the early Qianlong period. It was operated promptly and efficiently even in times of disaster. As a result, dikes played an effective role as social capital in the region around the Ziya, and land suited for cultivation or housing increased and a growing population was successfully absorbed. In addition, flood control of the Ziya and construction of waterworks functioned to sustain employment. What made these measures possible were the thriving economy of the time and the direct influence of the despotic dynasty that exercised relatively powerful influence on individual components of society, thereby creating a stable society. In this political process, the cooperation in the form of intimate personal relations between the emperor and the governor-general of Zhili left no room for the involvement of other political actors. The decision making process of Fang Guangcheng as governor-general of Zhili became vital, and it is clear that role of the Board of Works in particular decreased in relation to others in the central decision making process on the policy. Moreover, after Qianlong 30 one finds that the Salt Commissioner centered at Tianjin and the profit-seeking salt traders who supported it emerged as active players in the administration of flood control. These expansions of the power of governor-general and increase of the relative influence of regional interest groups can be judged to be the initial stages of the division of power and its transfer to local regions, which continued until the end of the Qing.