十九世紀中期重慶城的客棧竊案、客商訴訟與棧規運作

Inn Theft Cases, Merchant Litigation and Operation of Accommodation Rules in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Chongqing City

清代重慶城做為一個商人組織對商業與社會影響深遠的城市，為何會出現客商在客店遭竊但卻沒有商人組織出面協助的異常情況？客店透過同業公議用以釐清客店主人與房客之間彼此如何承擔失竊責任的「棧規」，但在進入訴訟過程之後，棧規何以遭到知縣無視？知縣明明做出判決，但為何又將案件交給團練調解？這些客店竊案反映出的實際情況，與學界對商業糾紛、規約習慣、民間調解、竊案辦理等現象的既有理解，存在著不少差異。本文聚焦清代四川巴縣衙門檔案的客店竊盜案件，從商業秩序、商業知識、法律多元，以及審判模式等角度切入，站在客商、客店、知縣等不同立場，討論清代晚期巴縣知縣承審客店竊案的種種考量，試圖說明竊盜之於法律規範所具有的模糊性、重慶商人組織的多重身分、州縣衙門行政效率不彰、基層組織的活躍，以及重慶客店因為缺乏同業組織所導致的困境。

Given that the county seat of Chongqing city 重慶城 in the Qing dynasty was a stronghold of commerce and of merchant organizations, why did merchant organizations not become involved in cases of theft from non-local merchants staying at an inn? Given that inns established widely agreed “accommodation rules” (zhangui 棧規) to clarify the allocation of responsibility between innkeeper and guest in case of theft, why were these ignored by magistrates in the process of judgement? What issues should magistrates be concerned about in cases of hotel theft? The situations reflected in these cases of theft from inns differ from the understanding of commercial disputes, regulatory customs, civil mediation, the handling of theft, etc., seen in existing research. This article re-examines this question by focusing on cases of theft from inns found in the Qing-dynasty Ba county archives; it approaches them from the perspectives of commercial order, commercial knowledge, legal pluralism and modes of trial, and by looking at them from the standpoints of the non-local merchant, the innkeeper and the magistrate. It discusses the various considerations that informed the handling of cases of inn theft in late Qing Chongqing city, the ambiguity surrounding theft within the law, the multiple roles played by Chongqing merchant organizations, the inefficiency of subprefectural and county government administration, the dynamism of local organizations and the difficulties faced by innkeepers in the Chongqing city seat due to their lack of a guild or other trade-based association.