Ofício do assistente do magistrado do distrito de Xiangshan, Cha, ao procurador de Macau, sobre a situação social em Macau

Resource type

Title

Abstract

This is a Qing dynasty imperial edict, dated 14 May 1776 (fourteenth day of the fifth month in the forty-first year of the Qianlong reign), issued by the Magistrate of Xiangshan County to foreign community leaders—specifically named as Tomás (Tunluóduō) and others—resident in Macau. The document addresses governance challenges arising from the mixed Chinese–foreign population in Macau, emphasising heightened surveillance and enforcement of existing prohibitions. It identifies three principal concerns: the conversion of Han Chinese subjects to Roman Catholicism, the employment of Chinese women as wet-nurses in foreign households—characterised as morally unrestrained and economically motivated—and the unauthorised construction of temporary dwellings harbouring vagrants and other undesirable persons. The edict mandates that foreign community leaders conduct prompt, thorough, and systematic investigations into these infractions and immediately report violations to the Xiangshan County yamen for prosecution under the Great Qing Code. Failure to report, or acts of concealment or complicity, is explicitly warned to incur official censure and disciplinary consequences. As an administrative instrument of local Qing authority, the edict reflects contemporary legal, religious, and social regulatory frameworks governing Sino-foreign interaction in Macau during the late eighteenth century, and serves as a primary source for examining colonial-era jurisdictional boundaries, cross-cultural governance, and state responses to demographic and religious change.

Date

1776-06-29

URL

http://43.156.68.124/docs/WKCFVPT6/viewer_WKCFVPT6.html

Transcription

Page 1

[Page]
484
T46
1476

[Stamp — left margin]
[Red ink seal: 乾隆四十一年五月十四日諭]

[Marginalia — left margin]
十四日諭

[Main text]
左堂查諭夷目呑囉哆等知悉照得澳門一帶地
方民夷雜處最易藏奸致滋事端爾等必須恪遵
例禁嚴行稽查茲
本分縣下車以來訪得有等不肖唐人離去本宗皈入
天主教更有無恥華婦潛入夷家以圖飲食銀錢
名為哺乳無所不至或有搭蓋寮廠至晚不拆
留宿匪類種種不法殊堪痛恨除密差查拿
外合行諭知諭到該夷目即速遵照逐細查
察倘有前項情事立為禀報以凭嚴拿解
究按律懲治决不姑寬如有容隱徇縱
察出均干未便速速特諭

[Signature]
[Red ink character: 諭]

Translation

Page 1

— PAGE —
484
T46
1476

[Stamp — left margin]
[Red ink imperial seal: ‘Edict issued on the fourteenth day of the fifth month in the forty-first year of the Qianlong reign’ (1776)]

[Marginal note — left margin]
Edict issued on the fourteenth day [of the fifth month]

[Main text]
The Magistrate of Xiangshan County hereby issues this edict to the foreign community leaders (‘Yi mu’) — namely, Tomás (Tunluóduō) and others — for their strict attention and compliance.

It is noted that the Macau region, being a zone of mixed Chinese and foreign residence, is especially prone to harbouring malfeasants and giving rise to disturbances. You are therefore required strictly to observe all existing prohibitions and to conduct rigorous inspections.

Since assuming office, this undersigned magistrate has ascertained, through local inquiry, that certain unprincipled Han Chinese subjects have abandoned their ancestral lineage and converted to Roman Catholicism; moreover, some shameless Chinese women have surreptitiously entered foreign households, ostensibly to serve as wet-nurses, but in reality seeking sustenance and monetary remuneration — engaging in conduct without restraint. In addition, makeshift huts and sheds have been erected, remaining un-dismantled overnight and thereby providing shelter for vagrants and other undesirable persons. Such manifold violations of law and custom are profoundly deplorable.

In addition to deploying confidential agents to apprehend offenders, this edict is formally issued to instruct you, the foreign community leaders, to carry out prompt, thorough, and systematic investigations. Should any of the above-mentioned infractions be discovered, you must immediately submit a formal report to the county yamen, so that offenders may be rigorously arrested, brought to trial, and punished in accordance with the statutes of the Great Qing Code — without leniency or exception. Any failure to report, or acts of concealment or complicity, shall likewise incur official censure and disciplinary consequences.

This edict is issued forthwith.

[Signature]
[Red ink character: ‘Edict’]

Citation

Ofício do assistente do magistrado do distrito de Xiangshan, Cha, ao procurador de Macau, sobre a situação social em Macau. (1776). Portugal. Arquivos Nacionais da Torre do Tombo (PT/TT/DCHN/1/1/000040). http://43.156.68.124/docs/WKCFVPT6/viewer_WKCFVPT6.html

Primary Sources

Location
- Portugal
  - Arquivo Nacional. Torre do Tombo
    - Documentos em Chinês
      - Chapas Sínicas
        Maço 1

Document

1776 - Ofício do assistente do magistrado do distrito de Xiangshan, Cha, ao procurador de Macau, sobre a si.pdf

Link to this record

https://bdm-biblio.usj.edu.mo/bibliography/WKCFVPT6