A Land and Poll Tax Silver

Stephen Tai
Feb.11, 1998

The shown silver, sized: 38(L)x48(W)x25(H)mm, weighted: 190g, i.e. 5 taels.
inscribed with: Fu Fong Di Ding, which means: 'Fu Fong County's (in Shensi Province) Land-and-Poll Tax'.

Di Ding tax had been the biggest pie among all taxes in and for Ching Dynasty. Such tax consists of land tax and poll tax which were two separate kind of taxes. Formerly, land taxes were levied by land scales, and collecting mostly silvers; poll taxes were levied by head counts, and receiving efforts for public services, which were allowed to pay silver as substitutes. Ching Dynasty started to merge the two into one tax, i.e. Di Ding, which was levied mainly by the scale of land.

The shown paper is a receipt of Di Ding tax for silver 2 maces and 2 candareens, issued to taxpayer Wang Kuo Shiang, dated 4.17, the 12th year of Yung Zheng Period (1733 AD), from Ser Hsieng (Ser County) of Huei Chow Prefecture in Anhwei Province.

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