清季的漠河金礦

The Mo-ho Gold Mine in the Late Ch'ing Period

10.29708/JCS.CUHK.197612_8(1).0025

何漢威(Ho HON-WAI)

中國文化研究所學報

8卷1期（1976 / 12 / 01）

235 - 274

繁體中文

The Ch'ing government undertook the operation of the Mo-ho Gold Mine in 1889 for the purpose of strengthening the frontier defence and improving its economic condition. The history of this enterprise in the late Ch'ing period can be divided into three stages: 1. During the first period (1889-93) the mine faced many difficulties and was in a precarious situation. 2. The second period spanned six years (1894-99) in which the enterprise experienced its golden age because of the discovery of the Kuan-yin-shan Gold Mine. Its output increased and its financial condition improved. However, much of the achievement was offsetted by the excessive extortion from the Ch'ing government. 3. The mine was in recession and decline during the years 1900-11. Taking advantage of the Boxer uprising, the Russians occupied it with great vandalism. Though it was redeemed by the Ch'ing government later, it could never return to what it used to be. In fact, even without the vandalism of the Russians, the mine was still doomed to failure. Many latent factors responsible for the failure of the enterprise such as inadequacy of capital, scarcity of labor force, difficulty in transportation, extortion from the government, and backwardness of mining technology already existed at the very beginning. And what is more, the problem of personnel management, the reliance on Russian transportation of foodstuff and necessary materials, and the hostility of local authorities toward the enterprise made matters worse, whereas the Russian occupation only accelerated its collapse. The Mo-ho Gold Mine was an unsuccessful enterprise, but we should not neglect the fact that it had contributed greatly to bringing about the Chinese settlement in Manchuria, especially in Heilungkiang.