Chinese Maritime Customs Service
Encyclopedia
The Chinese Maritime Customs Service was a Chinese governmental tax collection agency and information service from its founding in 1854 until its bifurcation in 1949 into services operating in the Republic of China
on Taiwan
, and in the People's Republic of China (see General Administration of Customs
) . Until 1912 it was named the Imperial Maritime Customs Service .
. Its responsibilities soon grew to include domestic customs administration, postal administration, harbour and waterway management, weather reporting, and anti- smuggling operations. It mapped, lit, and policed the China coast and the Yangtze
. It conducted loan negotiations, currency reform, and financial and economic management. The Service published monthly Returns of Trade, a regular series of Aids to Navigation and reports on weather and medical matters. It also represented China at over twenty world fairs and exhibition, ran some educational establishments, and conducted some diplomatic activities. Britons dominated the foreign staff of the Customs, but there were large numbers of German, U.S., French, and later Japanese staff amongst others. Chinese began to be promoted into senior positions from 1929 onwards.
Its first Inspector-General was Horatio Nelson Lay
(Chinese name 李泰国), who was dismissed in 1863. He was replaced with Robert Hart
(Chinese name 赫德), who served as 'IG' until his death in 1911, and who oversaw the development of the Service and its activities to its fullest form. Hart was succeeded by Sir Francis Aglen (1869–1932) (Chinese name 安格联) and then by his own nephew, Sir Frederick Maze (1871–1959) (Chinese name 梅乐和), who served from 1929-1943. Amongst the many well-known figures who worked for the Customs in China were Willard Straight
, botanist Augustine Henry
, linguist Thomas Francis Wade
, novelist and journalists Bertram Lenox Simpson
(known as Putnam Weale) and J.O.P. Bland, and historian H.B. Morse. Medical Officers attached to the Customs included John Dudgeon
, in Peking, James Watson
at Newchwang and Patrick Manson
at Takow and Amoy
. The Hong Kong Chinese businessman and political leader Robert Hotung
served as a Customs clerk for two years (1878–1880).
In January 1950 the last foreign Inspector-General, American Lester Knox Little (Chinese name 李度), resigned and the responsibilities of the Service were divided between what eventually became the Customs General Administration of the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of China
Directorate General of Customs on Taiwan. It was the only bureaucratic agency of the Chinese government to operate continuously as an integrated entity from 1842 to 1950.
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
on Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and in the People's Republic of China (see General Administration of Customs
General Administration of Customs
The General Administration of Customs is an administrative agency within the government of the People's Republic of China...
) . Until 1912 it was named the Imperial Maritime Customs Service .
Organization
Largely staffed at senior levels by foreigners, the Service was controlled by Chinese central government throughout its history. It was effectively established by foreign consuls in Shanghai in 1854 to collect maritime trade taxes that were going unpaid due to the inability of Chinese officials to collect them during the Taiping RebellionTaiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...
. Its responsibilities soon grew to include domestic customs administration, postal administration, harbour and waterway management, weather reporting, and anti- smuggling operations. It mapped, lit, and policed the China coast and the Yangtze
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
. It conducted loan negotiations, currency reform, and financial and economic management. The Service published monthly Returns of Trade, a regular series of Aids to Navigation and reports on weather and medical matters. It also represented China at over twenty world fairs and exhibition, ran some educational establishments, and conducted some diplomatic activities. Britons dominated the foreign staff of the Customs, but there were large numbers of German, U.S., French, and later Japanese staff amongst others. Chinese began to be promoted into senior positions from 1929 onwards.
Inspectors-General
Horatio Nelson Lay
Horatio Nelson Lay , was a British diplomat, noted for his role in the ill-fated "Lay-Osborn Flotilla" during the Taiping Rebellion.-Early life:...
(Chinese name 李泰国), who was dismissed in 1863. He was replaced with Robert Hart
Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet
Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet, GCMG , was a British consular official in China, who served as the second Inspector General of China's Imperial Maritime Custom Service from 1863 to 1911.-Early life:...
(Chinese name 赫德), who served as 'IG' until his death in 1911, and who oversaw the development of the Service and its activities to its fullest form. Hart was succeeded by Sir Francis Aglen (1869–1932) (Chinese name 安格联) and then by his own nephew, Sir Frederick Maze (1871–1959) (Chinese name 梅乐和), who served from 1929-1943. Amongst the many well-known figures who worked for the Customs in China were Willard Straight
Willard Straight
Willard Dickerman Straight was an American investment banker, publisher, reporter and diplomat.-Biography:...
, botanist Augustine Henry
Augustine Henry
Augustine Henry was an Irish plantsman and sinologist. He is best known for sending over 15,000 dry specimens and seeds and 500 plant samples to Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom. By 1930, he was a recognised authority and was honoured with society membership in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Finland,...
, linguist Thomas Francis Wade
Thomas Francis Wade
Sir Thomas Francis Wade, GCMG, KCB , was a British diplomat and Sinologist who produced a syllabary in 1859 that was later amended, extended and converted into the Wade-Giles romanization for Mandarin Chinese by Herbert Giles in 1892...
, novelist and journalists Bertram Lenox Simpson
Bertram Lenox Simpson
Bertram Lenox Simpson was a British author who wrote about China under the pen name "B. L. Putnam Weale". Lenox-Simpson was the son of Clare Lenox-Simpson, who had been in the Chinese Maritime Customs Service since 1861; he had a brother, Evelyn, a mining engineer who worked in China, and a...
(known as Putnam Weale) and J.O.P. Bland, and historian H.B. Morse. Medical Officers attached to the Customs included John Dudgeon
John Dudgeon
John Dudgeon was a Scottish physician who spent nearly 40 years in China as a doctor, surgeon, translator, and medical missionary....
, in Peking, James Watson
James Watson
James Watson is the name of:*James Watson , British film and television actor*James Watson , United States Senator from New York...
at Newchwang and Patrick Manson
Patrick Manson
Sir Patrick Manson was a Scottish physician who made important discoveries in parasitology and was the founder of the tropical medicine field....
at Takow and Amoy
Amoy
Xiamen, or Amoy, is a city on the southeast coast of China.Amoy may also refer to:*Amoy dialect, a dialect of the Hokkien lects, which are part of the Southern Min group of Chinese languages...
. The Hong Kong Chinese businessman and political leader Robert Hotung
Robert Hotung
Sir Robert Ho Tung Bosman, KBE , better known as Sir Robert Hotung, was an influential Eurasian businessman and philanthropist in British Hong Kong. It has often been claimed that he was the "first Chinese person to be allowed to live on Victoria Peak" in 1906, two years after the enactment of the...
served as a Customs clerk for two years (1878–1880).
In January 1950 the last foreign Inspector-General, American Lester Knox Little (Chinese name 李度), resigned and the responsibilities of the Service were divided between what eventually became the Customs General Administration of the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
Directorate General of Customs on Taiwan. It was the only bureaucratic agency of the Chinese government to operate continuously as an integrated entity from 1842 to 1950.
Other notable officers
- Johan Wilhelm Normann MuntheJohan Wilhelm Normann MuntheJohann Wilhelm Normann Munthe was born in Bergen, Norway. After a military education in the cavalry,he emigrated to China in 1887, and started working as a customs officer...
, Norwegian - Edward Charles BowraEdward Charles BowraEdward Charles MacIntosh Bowra was a British citizen serving in the Chinese Maritime Customs working for the government of the Qing dynasty...
. Early Sinologist and translator of Chinese literature.