Title

The Recognition, Use and Response of Tianjin Customs to the Hydrology of the Lower Reach of the Hai River in the Late Qing Dynasty (1861-1899)

Author

Yu Po-ching

Genre

Article

Pages

79-122

DOI

10.6503/THJCS.202203_52(1).0003

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

Tianjin 天津, the Imperial Maritime Customs, Royal Navy, the hydrology of the Hai River 海河, navigational measures, river management

Abstract

After the opening of the port of Tianjin 天津 in the 1860s, the Tianjin Customs Office was established in Zizhulin 紫竹林. Although its stated objective was the collection of customs duties, it also attached great importance to the investigation and monitoring of the hydrographic information of the lower reach of the Hai River 海河, as it was the basis for the safe navigation of vessels, which also affected the collection of tariffs and even the modern urban development of Tianjin.

This article examines the channels through which Tianjin Customs collected and constructed hydrological knowledge of the lower reach of the Hai River between 1861 and 1899. It then investigates how, on the basis of this hydrographic knowledge, Tianjin Customs made use of and responded to two important facets related to the river. First, it describes how Tianjin Customs sought to establish navigation equipment and measures. Second, from the 1880s the silting and overflowing of the lower course of the Hai River had seriously affected trade and the people’s livelihoods, causing Chinese and foreign officials, as well as merchant groups, to express concern. The article looks at the role Tianjin Customs played in the process of dredging and improving the watercourse. In sum, this article uses the above-mentioned hydrological issues to gain a better understanding of the significance of Customs in the late Qing dynasty and the role played by Western hydrological knowledge and technology.