The Sale of Surplus and Defective Goods (bianjia 變價) by the Imperial Household Department during the Qianlong Period (1736–1795)

This article examines the sale of surplus and defective goods from the Imperial Household Department’s Six Imperial Storehouses, alongside the disposal of unserviceable cattle, excess pelts, and flawed porcelain by designated customs offices under the Department’s direct oversight in the Qianlong reign. Through meticulous analysis of the specific earmarking procedures, bookkeeping practices, and remittance mechanisms governing these sales revenues, the study demonstrates that such income both reflected and reinforced the institutionalization of “surplus” tax revenues from certain salt administrations and customs offices—funds specially designated to finance imperial household expenditure. The court designated proceeds from these sales as “surplus” revenues and credited them to public-expense funds overseen by imperial salt administrations and customs offices. These funds, alongside other surplus tax transfers, were subsequently remitted to the Imperial Household Department in Beijing under identical protocols. Contrary to previous scholarship that posited the direct embezzlement of state revenues as the imperial household’s primary financial strategy, this study argues that the Qing imperial household adopted a distinct approach: it systematically allocated specific “surplus” revenue streams to exclusive imperial use, thereby strategically reducing its fiscal dependence on regular state revenues.