Flexibility in Provincial Government on the Eve of the Taiping Rebellion

FLEXIBILITY IN PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT ON THE EVE OF THE TAIPING REBELLION Robert N. Weiss U n iv e r s it y o f Washington A d m in is t r a t iv e f l e x i b i l i t y was an e s ta b lis h e d p a r t o f p r o v in c ia l government in China w e ll b e fo re 1850. In c e r t a i n c r u c ia l areas such as c o n t r o l o f s u b o rd in a te s and f i n a n c i a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , a p a t t e r n o f p r e r o g a tiv e s had e v o lv e d th a t p r o v id e d o f f i c i a l s in th e p r o v in c e s w it h a g r e a t deal o f room t o maneuver v l s - a - v is th e a u t o c r a t i c power o f the c e n t r a l governm ent. Many o f these powers were once th o u g h t to have developed d u rin g the T a ip in g R e b e llio n ,^ b u t e x te n s iv e re search in a r c h iv a l m a te r ia ls has shown t h a t t h i s k in d o f a u t h o r i t y was r o u t in e th ro u g h o u t the o p e r a t io n s o f p r o v i n c i a l government w e ll b e fo re the p e r io d o f r e b e llio n s in th e 1850s and 1860s. These d i s c r e t i o n a r y powers f a l l in t o two general c a te g o r ie s : those s a n c tio n e d by the a d m in is t r a t iv e codes and th o se th a t were n o t. The f i r s t arose from the n e c e s s ity o f g r a n t in g o f f i c i a l s in the p r o v in c e s a c e r t a in amount o f leeway in the perform ance o f t h e i r d u t ie s , g iv e n the s iz e o f the e m p ire , slowness o f com m unications, and the v a r ie t y o f lo c a l c o n d i t i o n s . 2 But even t h i s s t a t u t o r y f l e x i b i l i t y co u ld n o t o f f s e t the pressure s on o f f i c i a l s in the p ro v in c e s c re a te d by changes a t the lo c a l le v e l and the r e l a t i v e r i g i d i t y o f the a d m in is t r a t iv e codes. The second type o f p r e r o g a tiv...