That in 1277, the year in which
the Mongol salt department was organised, the manufacture of salt amounted
to 92,148 yin, or 22,115,520 kilos.; in 1286 it had reached 450,000
yin, or 108,000,000 kilos.; in 1289 it fell off by 100,000 yin.
The price was, in 1277, 18 liang or taels, in chao or paper-money of
the years 1260-64 (see vol. i. p. 426); in 1282 it was raised to 22 taels;
in 1284 a permanent and reduced price was fixed, the amount of which is
not stated.
M. Pauthier assumes as a mean 400,000 yin, at 18 taels, which will give
7,200,000 taels; or, at 6s. 7d. to the tael, 2,370,000l. But this
amount being in chao or paper-currency, which at its highest valuation
was worth only 50 per cent. of the nominal value of the notes, we must
halve the sum, giving the salt revenue on Pauthier's assumptions =
1,185,000l.
Pauthier has also endeavoured to present a table of the whole revenue of
Kiang-Che under the Mongols, amounting to 12,955,710 paper taels, or
2,132,294l., including the salt revenue. This would leave only
947,294l. for the other sources of revenue, but the fact is that several
of these are left blank, and among others one so important as the
sea-customs.
