Tribute Furs from Tannu Tuva

• In Event: Empires and Environment-Based Norms: How Hunters and Herders Shaped "Imperial Order" in the Qing-Russian Borderlands

Abstract

In 1715, during the Kangxi reign, Tannu Tuva became a part of the Qing empire. The whole area of Tannu Tuva was divided into five banners, each administered by a jasagh. Subordinate to these high officials were company commanders and cavalry lieutenants. Every company commander was responsible for one hundred fifty households. In 1758, the Qianlong emperor instructed Tannu Tuva for tribute offerings and decided that every household in that region should provide three pieces of sable furs as annual tribute. To use sable furs as a value measure for other kinds of animal furs, three of lynx, otter, leopard pelts were equal to the value of one sable fur, and two of fox, wolf, kit fox, and ermine pelts were equivalent to the value of one sable fur. By comparison, forty squirrel pelts were the same value as one sable fur. In the tribute area of Tannu Tuva, the best hunting season lasted from September to October. During this time, animal furs were of the best quality, so it was also the period when most of the hunting took place. Those months were also the time of the most vigorous fur trade. But in the areas providing tribute furs the fur trade had to be postponed until all tribute furs were collected. Governing tribute furs and regulating the fur trade demonstrate the efficacy of Qing rule in Tannu Tuva.

Author

• Hui-min Lai, Academia Sinica