An Analysis of the Relationship between River Engineering and Water Conservancy Construction and State Capacity in the early and middle periods of the Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1644 - A.D. 1820)

Abstract

The study in this paper focuses on the relationship between the financial situation related to river engineering and water conservancy and state capacity in the early and middle periods of the Qing Dynasty. There have been some controversies in the study of state capacity in the Qing Dynasty. Taking the governance of the Yongding River in the Kangxi Dynasty and the governance of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Seawalls in the Yongzheng and Qianlong Dynasties as examples, this paper argues that in the river engineering and water conservancy construction in the early and middle periods of the Qing Dynasty, the expenditures were not only supported by the part of the total amount of regular fiscal income, but by the positive extra revenue other than regular fiscal income. This fact suggests that the state’s capacity in the early and middle periods of the Qing Dynasty was recognizable in handling practical affairs and might not be as weak as it appeared.