Administrative papers from the incumbencies of the author as prefect of Yuezhou 岳州 (from the 6th month, 1799, j. 1-2), Changsha 長沙 (from 7th month, 1800, j. 3), and Hengzhou 衡州 (from 8th month, 1801, j. 4-5), all in Hunan. The title at the beginning of the chapters is Jingyang Zhang gong liren Yue Chang Heng sanjun fengxing lu 涇陽張公歷任岳長衡三郡風行錄. The documents include directives to subordinate officials and proclamations and prohibitions to the gentry and people, some on standard topics like gambling, killing buffaloes, instigating lawsuits, or illegalities at local xaminations; others are more specific to the environment of the watery and highly commercial Hunan lowlands and contain rich etail on taxes and tribute, tenant rent deliquency, commerce and brokerage, ports and transportation, boat administration and “saving boats”, bandit lairs near the creeks and lakes, prohibition of rice exports and encouragement of charity by the rich in years of bad harvest, and more. The last 14 entries of j. 5 are responses to complaints (cipi 詞批), several of which deal with commercial matters or abuses in fiscal administration. The entire text provides a rich description of the economy and society of the region at the turn of the nineteenth century, as well as of the efforts of an activist dministrator to reform bad practices.The xuji, in 2 j., introduces similar materials corresponding to the author‟s stints as prefect of Yuezhou and Changsha. (phtgr. tables et extrait suicide)
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