清雍乾時期八旗米局的興革：制度史的考察

Abstract

滿洲入關之後，統治者面對新的情勢，為使八旗制度能夠繼續運作，乃以八旗制度為基礎，設計出若干新措施，八旗米局即為其中之一。雍正六年(1728)，雍正皇帝為避免京師旗人因糶賤糴貴蒙受損失，特別設立八旗米局；至乾隆十七年(1752)，乾隆皇帝卻以弊端叢生為由，下令停止，前後不過維持二十五年，迥異於其他養贍旗人的措施。然而，從八旗米局的制度運作來看，其辦理項目增加、經營成效尚佳、管考亦稱嚴謹，竟不能行之久遠；若檢視其制度設計，實存在著功能與既有的京師五城米局重疊、用人忽略政務的輕重緩急、無視旗人糧食消費的實際狀況等缺失，則米局遭裁汰的原因，未必是官方宣稱的辦理未善與奸民射利所致。因此，本文擬從八旗米局與糧價波動、監督考核、旗人生計的互動切入，透過官書與檔案的相互參照，期能呈現制度的動態變化，並分就八旗米局的經營型態、行政管理，及其存廢對旗人的影響等方面，進行比較、分析的研究，用以探討八旗米局的制度變遷，以及八旗米局與雍、乾時期經濟、政治、社會的關係。

In order to adapt to the new situation after 1644 and keep the Eight Banners System continuously operating, the rulers of the Ch’ing dynasty devised many new measures, one of which was the creation of the Eight-banner Bureau of Rice (Ba chí mi jyu). Emperor Yung-cheng established the Ba chí mi jyu in 1728 especially to prevent bannermen in Beijing from suffering losses while buying and selling rice. However, his successor, Emperor Ch’ien-lung, thought that this institution suffered from systematic problems and ordered the closure of the Ba chí mi jyu in 1725. It is very unusual that an institution that aimed to take care of bannermen only remained in existence for twenty-five years. From the perspective of the operations of the Ba chí mi jyu, the scope of its work increased alongside excellent management and strict assessment, and it seemed that the institution could carry on. On the other hand, from the perspective of its institutional structure, the Ba chí mi jyu had numerous flaws: its function overlapped with the Rice Bureau of the Five Administrative areas of the Capital (Wu chen mi jyu); the emperor dispatched officers to the Ba chí mi jyu without considering the relative importance of their duties in their former positions, and the institution had little understanding of bannermen’s actual grain consumption. These defects were probably the reasons why the institution was discontinued, rather than the officially stated reasons that officers were slack in their work or could not bear the competition from nongovernmental merchants. Therefore, this article will analyze the business model and administrative management of the Ba chí mi jyu and the influence of its preservation and abolishment on the lives of bannermen. Through comparative analysis, this study discusses the evolution of the Ba chí mi jyu and its relationship to the economy, politics, and society of the Ch’ing Dynasty in the mid-eighteenth century.