Ofício do assistente do magistrado do distrito de Xiangshan, Gu, ao procurador de Macau, sobre o litígio relacionado com a detenção de Ou Lun-Kun e outros nas águas da Ilha Verde, os quais traficavam, ilegalmente, enxofre, com um escravo negro de um navio da praça de Macau, ancorado nas águas da ilha de Sanchodo
Transcription
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A46 T 11-1
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限
日繳
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初五
日
[Main text]
香山縣左堂加一級顧 為報明拿獲私磺事乾隆十一年正月二十五日准
本縣正堂張 諜乾隆十一年正月初十日據差役高超稟報在澳門青洲海面查
追滋磺犯人至赤洲海面被汛兵拿獲情由到縣並准
香燒右營守府吳 解犯人區倫坤張澤有區觀章硫磺十六小包船一
隻過縣准此當經訊據區倫坤等供上年十二月內合伙楊洪奇往老萬山砍
柴去賣經過上下村海面遇着寄水洋船有黑鬼子向小的們買柴並沒有
銀子止將硫磺六百七十八斤折作柴價換買等情業經差拘楊洪奇前來
供認不諱在案除錄通報外所有運磺鬼子合就移查備過一懸煩無事
理希為查明何號洋船將硫磺與區倫坤等換柴鬼子拿解過縣以便審
審詳完請勿有遲等因准此合行飭查為此牌行該夷目照依事理即便查
明上年十二月內寄水上下村海面何號洋船將硫磺與區倫坤換柴黑鬼
子是何姓名曾否開行刻日確查的實呈覆
本廳以凭移覆核奪毋得諉延速須牌
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右牌行夷目准此
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日繳
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初五
日
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Translation
Page 1
**Translation (UK Academic English, British spelling and conventions)**
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[Page]
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348
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A46 T 11–1
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Red rectangular official seal (partially legible: *…* *Xiàn Zhèngtáng* [‘Magistrate of the County’])
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Red rectangular official seal (text illegible)
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*Deadline for submission:*
*Within [blank] days*
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*Dispatched:*
*5th day of the lunar month*
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[Main text]
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*To the Assistant Magistrate of Xiangshan County, with promotion to the next rank, Gu [surname],*
*concerning the reporting of the apprehension of persons illicitly trafficking in sulphur.*
*Received on the 25th day of the first lunar month, Qianlong 11 (1746).*
The Magistrate of Xiangshan County, Zhang [surname], issued the following notification (*dié*) on the 10th day of the first lunar month, Qianlong 11 (1746), upon receipt of a report from the constable Gao Chao, stating that, while patrolling the waters off Qingzhou (Green Isle) near Macau, he pursued suspects engaged in unlawful sulphur trafficking and that the offenders were subsequently apprehended by garrison troops (*xùn bīng*) in the vicinity of Chizhou (Red Isle). This report was formally submitted to the county yamen.
Also received was a transfer document (*jiě*) from Wu [surname], Commandant (*Shǒufǔ*) of the Right Camp of Xiangshan Naval Garrison, transmitting the following:
— Offenders: Ou Lunkun, Zhang Zeyou, and Ou Guanzhang;
— Sixteen small packages of sulphur;
— One vessel.
Having accepted this transmission, the County Magistrate proceeded to interrogate the accused. Ou Lunkun et al. confessed that, in the twelfth lunar month of the previous year (Qianlong 10, i.e., December 1745/January 1746), they had jointly engaged one Yang Hongqi to cut firewood on Lao Wanshan Island for sale. While sailing through the waters off Shangcun and Xiácūn (Upper and Lower Villages), they encountered a foreign vessel anchored offshore (*jìshuǐ yángchuán* — lit. ‘foreign ship lying at anchor’). A Black African crew member (*hēi guǐzi*, a period term used in Qing administrative documents to denote persons of sub-Saharan African origin, often employed aboard European or South Asian ships) purchased their firewood but lacked silver currency; instead, he exchanged 678 *jīn* (c. 407 kg) of sulphur as payment.
Yang Hongqi has since been summoned and examined, and has corroborated this account without reservation. The record of his testimony is duly filed.
In addition to submitting this report to higher authorities (*lù tōngbào*), the foreigner who supplied the sulphur must be formally identified and investigated. Accordingly, this matter is hereby referred to the relevant authority for inquiry and verification.
It is therefore requested that you ascertain:
(i) the identity (vessel name and registry) of the foreign ship anchored off Shangcun and Xiácūn in the twelfth lunar month of last year;
(ii) the personal name(s) of the Black African individual(s) involved; and
(iii) whether said vessel has since departed port.
You are required to conduct a thorough and timely investigation and submit a verified report without delay, so that the case may proceed to formal adjudication (*shěnxiáng*), including preparation of the full judicial dossier (*shěnxiáng wén’àn*) for submission to superior judicial authorities.
Pursuant to the above, this official dispatch (*pái*) is hereby issued to the *Yímù* (‘Foreign Headman’ — the Qing-appointed intermediary responsible for supervising foreign residents in Macau, typically a Portuguese *Capitão-mor* or senior municipal official acting under Qing oversight). You are instructed to comply strictly with the foregoing directives and to carry out the necessary inquiries without hesitation or postponement.
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*This official dispatch is addressed to the Yímù. To be acted upon accordingly.*
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*Deadline for submission:*
*Within [blank] days*
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*Dispatched:*
*5th day of the lunar month*
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*Dispatched*
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**Scholarly Notes (for editorial apparatus or footnotes):**
- *Yímù* (‘Foreign Headman’): A Qing administrative office established in Macau c. 1690, modelled on the *Hùmù* (‘Household Headman’) system, through which the Xiangshan County Magistrate exercised jurisdiction over foreign residents. Typically held by the Portuguese *Capitão-mor* (Captain-Major) of Macau, though subject to direct Qing supervision and accountability.
- *Hēi guǐzi*: A historically attested Qing bureaucratic term denoting individuals of African descent, frequently employed aboard Portuguese, Dutch, or Indian Ocean vessels operating in southern China. Its usage reflects contemporary Qing ethno-administrative categorisation rather than modern racial terminology; it should be retained in scholarly translation with explanatory glossing, as here.
- *Jìshuǐ yángchuán*: Literally ‘foreign ship lying at anchor’ — a standard Qing maritime administrative term for foreign vessels awaiting customs clearance, provisioning, or favourable monsoon winds; distinct from *tōngshāng chuán* (‘trading vessel’, licensed for commerce) or *wéi chuán* (‘pirate vessel’).
- Sulphur was a strategically controlled commodity under the Qing, regulated due to its use in gunpowder production. Unauthorised trade attracted severe penalties under the *Dà Qīng Lǜ Lì* (Great Qing Legal Code), particularly Article 102 (*Lǚ lìng*, ‘Regulations on Trade’).
- All weights converted using the Qing standard *jīn* (= 600 g); 678 *jīn* ≈ 407 kg.
- Dates follow the lunisolar Qianlong calendar; corresponding Gregorian dates are provided in parentheses for scholarly precision.