With the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, whether the trade and consumption of wild animals should be banned by legislation has once again aroused people's attention and discussion. After the opening up and large-scale development of northeast China in modern times, fur has become one of the bulk local goods exported by northeast China due to its popularity in the international market. The market has changed the traditional hunting production, hunters and fur traders are involved in passive production for greed, and sometimes for high profits, they will not hesitate to violate the laws of natural reproduction of wild animals and over-harvest and overfish. This period of unknown history has not only led to the rapid reduction of the number and variety of wildlife resources in Northeast China, but also caused such a heavy disaster as the Great Plague in Northeast China. The original title of this article was "Behind luxury: On the Fur Trade in the Great Development of Modern Northeast China", published in the Archives of the Republic of China, No. 3, 2015. With authorization, the author rewrites and revises the original text, and the annotations are omitted. The current title and subtitle are the author's choice.
The famous American sinologist Peng Mulan, in his book "The World Created by Trade", discussed that from 1650 to 1850, because the Manchus from the northeast liked to wear furs, China became one of the largest fur markets in the world, which caused Russian and British and American merchants to travel all over the world - north to the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, south to New Zealand and other islands in the South Pacific, searching for furs and trafficking in China. For many seals and otters, this transcontinental fur trade is a recipe for disaster. However, in the second half of the 19th century, especially in the first half of the 20th century, the consumption of furs was prevalent in European and American societies, but at this time, it coincided with the full opening and development of the northeast, the last undeveloped region in modern China, and thus the fur trade from the northeast to Moscow, London and Berlin. Today's history is not well known, and the deterioration of the ecological chain of local animal resources caused by this luxurious trade and catastrophes such as plague are worthy of people's reflection.
Enter the northeast fur of the world market
Before large-scale and large-scale opening up and agricultural reclamation, the eastern part of today's Liaoning Province, the southeast and northeast of Jilin Province, and the northwestern part of Heilong Province were densely forested, covering an area of about 275,000 square kilometers. The Daxing'an Mountains and their tributaries in the west, the Yilehuri Mountains and xiaoxing'an Mountains in the north, the Zhangguangcai Mountains in the east, and the Changbai Mountains and their tributaries in the south are all areas of flourishing forests, which have become rare habitats for wild animals in China's high-latitude regions, and because of the cold climate, these forest animals are soft and hairy and lustrous, and they are the best in the country in terms of yield and quality, so they are the food and clothing for those who make a living by hunting.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Japanese compiled the book "Manchurian Geography", and the investigation of the main hunting areas and hunts in the northeast was recorded as follows: the eastern part of the northeast was rich in fur animal species, and the western and central plains were less diverse. In the eastern mountain forest area, tigers, leopards, mink, bears, foxes, foxes, beavers, raccoons, lynxes, badgers, gray rats, etc. are produced in the Songhua River Plain, due to the dense population, red foxes, ferrets and so on. The large and small Xing'anling mountain forest areas produce wolves, chinchillas, stingrays, etc.; as for the eastern part of Inner Mongolia, Hulunbuir and Horqin grasslands, it provides a vast habitat for the breeding of marmots, wolves, foxes, etc.
Each beast has different origins, and its fur grade is divided into high and low grades. For example, foxes have different shapes, such as brown, fire, cross, yellow, gray, white, etc., and Europeans and Americans are particularly fond of fox skin. Among them, the silver fox in Heilongjiang is the most famous. The martens in the Area of Hulunbuir and Daxing'anling are sand yellow, small in size, short and thick in plush, dense and soft in fur, and are the best in fur. From the perspective of varieties, there are sables, silver needle mink, plate mink, green root mink and so on. Sables and silver needle martens are the most valuable, the version of the mink hair is short and stagnant, and the green root mink hair is gray and blue, without purple, all of which are inferior products. There is also a sable, named for its thick purple color. The three surnames east of the birth of the hair root is slightly purple, known as sable. The colder the cover climate, the purer the coat color. Therefore, the skin of the three surnames to the east is the best. Chinchilla, shaped like a wild rat, has dense soft hair and a pattern on the back, so it is also known as a chipmunk. Born in the northeast, the whole body is dark brown and the thorax and abdomen are white. It is produced in the south-east of the country, and the brown part is more intense. Its fur is slightly stiff, generally not much attention, mostly used as the lining of the coat. Gray rat, as big as a kitten, gray and white spots, commonly known as the Kanto rat. The hair is light and warm, and it is mostly used by European and American women's coats and leaders. Among them, it is produced in the two cities of Butha and Hulunbuir, and the solun rat has thick and moist hair, and the three eastern provinces are special. Otters inhabit the rivers in the north of the northeast, about two feet long, the coat color is blue and black, there are also blue and purple people, its fur can be made into a collar or cold hat, popular with Japanese high society, expensive, so it is also known as a sea tiger. Marmot, also known as marmot, grass otter, its cortex is better, solid and wear-resistant, marmot hair color dyeing performance is better, the processed coat color is bright and bright, high process value. The Manzhouli and Hulunbuir Plateau regions of Heilongjiang are rich in marmots, and the demand for the American market is very large. Shi Zhi records: "Marmots are large like cats and are native to the ridges. In the spring, when the warmth begins to forage, in the winter, it lives in the shadows, and its skin is used as a clothing to keep warm, which is greatly welcomed by the world." The function and value of animal skins are usually judged by whether the plush is thick, whether the color is smooth and fat, etc., and the price varies greatly depending on the grade.
The fur economy of modern Northeast China
Before modern times, the traditional hunting methods in Northeast China, according to their organization and scale, were divided into five types: Qinshu hunting, intra-league hunting, full flag hunting, tribal hunting and individual hunting. After the external market changes, it has an impact on the hunters in the hinterland. In modern times, hunting within the Qin Dynasty, hunting within the League, and hunting under the banner have been gradually abolished, leaving only tribal and individual hunting. Tribal hunting, that is, gathering one or more villages of zhuangding, hunting birds and beasts with hammers, nets or other instruments, is held three or four times a year. Individual hunting is smaller and is carried out by the strong men of the family. According to the survey in 1932, the total hunting area in the northern part of the northeast was about 150,000 square kilometers, of which Hulunbuir, Daxing'anling, Xiaoxing'anling and the eastern part were 16,000, 50,000, 14,000 and 70,000 square kilometers, respectively, and the professional hunters in these places were 1520, 3320, 1800 and 8610 people, a total of 15250 people, and the per capita hunting area was less than 10 square kilometers, which was very dense.
As for the traditional method of hunting, except for the use of the new Russian gun in the Russian Far East, there has been no major change in other parts of the modern northeast, and most of them are still rounded up with nets or dug into traps. For example, after the mink falls into the trap, it is covered with a net, waited for several days in the cold weather, and drove to the net to capture it when it comes out. Tigers are usually caught in two ways: by putting poison bait on the path and waiting for the tiger to eat it to see the poison attack, or digging a trap and gently covering it with a large branch. Putting a small piece of meat on top of these traps to lure the tiger, the firewood will cause the tiger to fall into the trap, where it will be killed by large stones thrown on its head. These traditional methods try to avoid damage to the fur from sharp or firearms.
Since most of the hunters are poor families, before entering the mountains in the autumn, they began to receive advance deposits from fur merchants, and the price of furs was also agreed at this time, and the pricing power was in the hands of the merchants. For example, in the Daxinganling area, the sale of skins must be through the market. In the northern part of the Xing'anLing Mountains, markets are held regularly, while in the central and southern parts, there are small shops for the Chinese and Dauri people. Originally, in the market, this skin was almost all obtained from the "Andaka" that supplied them with flour, foreign oil, tea, pork, wine and vegetables, etc. In the central and southern parts of the Daxing'anling Mountains, most of these "Andakas" are small Chinese shop owners and Dauri people. Therefore, the skins are not sold directly by the hunters into the hands of the skin bearers. The most prosperous hunting area in the whole Daxing'anling Is Qiqian County in the north, where there are four markets per year, namely December, February, March and June and a half in summer. Whenever there is a market in winter, representatives of the merchant houses that export the camp skins go to buy goods.
In the traditional period, the physical tribute of the northeast prey was concentrated in Alchukha, San surname, Ninguta and other places, and after the change of the transportation and economic center of the northeast in modern times, the processing and trading of furs formed a three-level market system from the place of origin to the middle to the terminal export. In the area around Daxing'anling and Hulunbuir, the middle market for leather goods is Hailar; in the area of Xiaoxing'anling, it is three surnames; in the north of Jilin Province, it is Ning'an; in the south of Jilin Province, it is Jilin; and the largest distribution market for leather goods in the northeast is Shenyang. The final export market is Yingkou, Andong, Dalian and Harbin.
In the large markets of Hulunbuir, such as Hailar and Manzhouli, there are branches of foreign leather companies, which are purchased by intermediaries. British and American merchants also set up villages in Hailarsanbeizi and Manchurian production areas to buy them, and then transport them back to China through postal parcels. In Harbin, in 1908, the Russians began to establish commercial companies and tanneries. By the 1920s, there were more than ten foreign leather goods companies, each with an annual turnover of at least two million yuan. The fur trade in the southern northeast is centered on Shenyang, Zhengjiatun, Yingkou, Dalian and so on. In 1919, Fengtian surveyed that there were 35 large leather shops in the Chinese side of the city, with capital ranging from 2,000 to 7,000 to 8,000 yuan, and the number of employees in each leather shop ranged from 10 to 25. Plus 22 Japanese fur traders and small chinese fur shops, a total of more than 60. The trading volume of various furs amounts to 30 million yuan, and it is the largest fur trading center market in northeast China.
According to the statistics of bulk import and export goods of customs at ports in northeast China, under fur or leather clothing, tiger (tiger), leopard (leopard), jackal (wolf), raccoon (fox), badger (badger), stinky cat (fitch), chinchilla (squirrel), weasel (weasel), mink (ermine), sable (sable), lynx (lynx), incense rat (laska), weasel . Export statistics of more than ten species of furs such as kalinsky, landotter, polecat, mormot and so on. According to the customs trade statistics of ports in modern northeast China, fur export trade can be roughly divided into three periods: 1864-1894, 1895-1914, and 1915-1931.
For the first time, the trade report of Niuzhuangguan from 1871 to 1872 described the situation in considerable length: "The fur trade— this was an important and interesting part of the Manchurian trade. This densely forested, sparsely inhabited mountainous region is north-central Manchuria and the adjacent Siberian region and coastal provinces. Rich in fur animals". Later, until 1894, statistics on the types and prices of fur trade were intermittent, and during these years, the fine furs exported mainly included tiger skins, leopard skins, fox skins, sable skins, chinchilla skins, weasel skins, weasels and other species. From the perspective of the total export value of various furs, compared with soybeans, bean cakes, silk and other large agricultural products in the northeast, they account for a small proportion of the total value of export goods in Niuzhuang, and the quantity and value of these fur exports fluctuate from year to year. For example, in 1872, 60 tiger skins were exported, 34 in 1875, 244 in 1892, and 48 in 1894, with the value of 639, 1000, 3560 and 1271 customs respectively.
Between 1895 and 1914, this was a period of rapid expansion of the fur trade in the Northeast. After 1895, the external market expanded, and three years later, the northeast and north were fully opened and developed, and quickly increased from Niuzhuang to 10 ports such as Dalian, Andong, Harbin, Manzhouli, Suifenhe, San surname, Yaohun, Yanji, Hunchun and so on. During this period, Niuzhuangguan has a continuous record of the export of some furs and their handmade finished products. Among them, the export volume of weasel is the largest, with a minimum of more than 38,000 pieces, the highest year is 72,000 pieces, and the value of more than 10,000 customs is more than 10,000. Foxtail exports are between 10,000 and 30,000, and chinchilla exports are also more than 20,000 in years. It is particularly noteworthy that after the opening of the northern ports in the northeast, Manzhouli, Suifenhe, Harbin and so on have become fur export centers. After the official opening of the Manzhouli port in 1908, marmot exports were staggering. Manzhouli Customs records the export of marmot 210224 in 1908, 19181 in 1909, 242458 in 1910, 10,673 in 1911, and 55,196 in 1912.
The expansion of the market has led to a high price of fur. In 1897, Niuzhuang exported 20 pieces of tiger skins worth 1020 customs two, in 1899 exported 2 pieces, worth 100 customs two, and in 1903 exported 20 pieces, worth 1500 customs two. At this time, the number of tiger skin exports has been significantly reduced, and the price has increased to 50 customs two and more. Another example is the record of the price of mink in the customs trade report: "Recall that when the mink skin was abundant, its value was low, and every bowl of millet or a bottle of shochu could be exchanged for a mink skin", before 1902, a mink skin was between 5-10 taels, and by 1912, due to the increase in the number of buyers with the three surnames of Japanese and Russian merchants, the price of mink skin soared. If it is a beautiful appearance and no damage obtained in winter, each piece is between 150-200 taels, medium mink, the price is about 40-100 taels, improper hunting or value of less than 40 taels, can only be sold domestically, and the international market is not purchased. After the high-grade mink skins are shipped to the European market, the price will increase by 3-5 times, and the value of the high-grade mink skins will be between 750-1000 taels, and the lower ones will also be 250-300 taels.
Around 1915, the fur trade in the northeast underwent new changes, and Dalian, the port in the south of the northeast, also became a fur trade center. For example, marmots, in 1916 Dalian exported 122394, in 1918 exported 402360 sheets, in 1919 a new high, reaching 523419 million pieces, the export value of the above years were 27207, 82619, 152292 customs two. Driven by the high profits of furs, the number and value of various skins reached new peaks between 1915 and 1931, and even the number of exports in some years was staggering. For example, in 1928, more than 1.45 million pieces of leather sheets were exported, worth nearly 3 million customs taels. Marmots alone export more than 828,000 pieces, worth nearly one million customs two.
The fur trade and the plague outbreak
Under the domination of high profits and fur traders, the number of professional and amateur hunters has been expanding, leading to a situation of "exhaustion and fishing" for wildlife. As early as 1880, the cattle trade report pointed out that the fur trade had caused widespread destruction of wild animals. Coupled with the continuous expansion of farming areas, after the Republic of China, precious wildlife resources became less and less. Taking the three surname mink skins as an example, the customs report in 1912 exclaimed: Recently, the production of mink skins has been very scarce, and the annual transport to the three surnames market accounts for about 7,000-10,000 pieces, and now it is only three or four hundred pieces. In addition, the customs report also made a comment: "In order to protect the species, the Russian government has specially banned the hunting of mink, which was extended to October 5, 1916, and this prohibition was abolished." If the Chinese government does not try to ban it and prohibits it even more, I am afraid that in a few years, this most precious mink will be hunted and left behind."
In 1930, Liu Shuang opened the section on animals in his "Jilin New Chronicle": "There are many forests in this province, so animals are also cooperated. However, since the opening of the city, axes have entered the mountains and forests from time to time, and hounds have galloped from time to time. The net is frequent, and the animal husbandry does not talk about it. Birds and beasts are becoming thinner with the forest, and there will be no fishing and pastoral. Gai talks about fishing and hunting, the convenience of a mountain farmer and fisherman", here he pointed out the laissez-faire of local governments in modern northeast China on irresponsible commercial practices such as excessive hunting. Compared with Russia, Japan, Europe and the United States and other countries, the biggest shortcomings of the hunting industry in the northeast before 1931 are that there is no provision for the beginning and closure period of hunting, and the other is that there is no no game ban area, and the animals are hunted all year round without letting the animals rest and recuperate. In addition, Russian, Japanese and Korean hunters also continued to pour into the northeast, hunting in one place, and then they moved to new places, resulting in a sharp decline in the number of precious animals and even the extinction of species.
In addition to the damage of the animals themselves in the fur trade, the people of modern northeast China have also suffered disasters such as epidemics brought about by the fur trade. At the turn of the twentieth century, people invented a process, as long as the skin of marmot is properly processed, its color is comparable to mink, and it is very popular in the world leather market for a time, especially in the European market. With the rise in the price of marmot skins and the rapid development of export trade, in the winter, about 4,000-6,000 tsarist Russia or Chinese to Manchuria to obtain fur exports. In 1908, the export volume of groundhog skins at the Manzhouli port was 210224, in 1909 it was 19181, and in 1910 it was 242458. But medical studies have shown that marmots produce a disease, plague, over a certain period of time. The season of occurrence and epidemic is the autumn and winter before the hibernation period from October to April, which is the season when the quality of marmot fur is the best and the best time to catch. This overlap of time provides a time possibility for plague to spread from marmots to humans. The Mongols of the past usually relied on the oral knowledge passed down from generation to generation to identify marmots suffering from plague, but the Russian, Japanese and Han Displaced People who flocked to the fur trade did not have this knowledge, and even these foreign otter catchers sometimes knew about the disease otter, but for the sake of high profits, they took risks or caught the sick otters. At that time, the newspaper commented: "Catching this kind of animal has a great sigh of ten times and nine emptiness." And the greed of the hunters is as fiery as charcoal. Therefore, indiscriminately, whether infected or not, there is no distinction, all are slaughtered, and transported to the Manchurian commercial market for sale. "This irresponsible otter skin trade, as a result, first triggered a plague in the northeast that shocked China and foreign countries in Manchuria, causing an unprecedented disaster in the northeast and even in north China."
Regarding the plague incident, it was recorded in the 1911 Harbin Kou Huayang Trade Situation: "At the beginning of the spring in Harbin, the plague was very severe, and the infected and dead people of the merchants did not know how many people were killed. On October 24 of the solar calendar last year, plague began to be found in the railway hospital of Manzhou Station. It has been identified that the disease occurs in marmots. The cha marmot burrows in northern Manchuria and northern Mongolia, and hunters hunt them because of their skins, and the origin of this infection is also the origin of this infection. Since the beginning of the habu trade, hunters have been infected with the plague. Later, due to the strict vigilance of the Russian government, all those who enter the market must disinfect the otter skin before entering the country. The rate at which the plague spreads is very different from previous years. Despite repeated tests, there is no reason for it. In the last year of Mengdong, the epidemic began to spread to Ha. The Russian government, anticipating the intensity of the epidemic, tried its best to cut off traffic and prevent its contagion, but it failed to extinguish it for a time, causing it to spread from the railway community to all parts of the interior. All the cities and villages they passed through suffered from it. It is said that there are all the people in the village, the officials have no way to rescue them, and the merchants are helpless but try to prevent them. Fengtian opened the Plague Research Association of All Nations and recruited specialized medical scientists from various countries to study the physiology of this plague. Both Chinese and Western people suffer from it, although there are fewer victims in the West, but they are not immune to infection. In March of this year, it was eliminated. The total number of deaths in the Harbin railway area is 1,500, Fujiadian is 6,500, and about 70,000 in the three eastern provinces." The plague has hit the economic development of the northeast very hard, and during the plague, the port is closed, the roads are blocked, and the shops are closed, which is the retaliation suffered by humans for the excessive seizure of wildlife resources.
After the opening up and large-scale development of northeast China in modern times, fur has become one of the bulk local goods exported due to its best sales in the international market, and the annual trade volume was once as high as two or three million customs. The market has changed the traditional hunting production, hunters and fur traders are involved in passive production for greed, sometimes for high profits, at the expense of violating the law of natural reproduction of wild animals, excessive and indiscriminate fishing, and the modern northeast government is laissez-faire about these irresponsible commercial behaviors, resulting in a rapid reduction in the number and variety of wildlife resources in the northeast, and even caused such a heavy disaster as the northeast plague. How backward regions or countries should develop primitive resources and develop foreign trade, and how people should protect biological and ecological security while developing a good economy, this is the historical enlightenment brought to us by the boom and bust trade in northeast China in modern times.