钱粮 (qiánliáng): land tax (historical)

Meanings

1 land tax (historical)
2 money and grain (paid as tax or tribute)
3 state revenue (in imperial China)

Characters

钱

Examples

县衙每年都要征收钱粮。

Xiànyá měinián dōu yào zhēngshōu qiánliáng.

The county magistrate's office collected taxes in money and grain every year.

灾年百姓交不起钱粮。

Zāinián bǎixìng jiāo bù qǐ qiánliáng.

In famine years the common people couldn't pay their taxes.

Tips

history

In Ming and Qing China, 钱粮 was the standard term for state revenue: 钱 (silver tael) + 粮 (rice or grain). The Single Whip Reform (一条鞭法) of the late Ming gradually consolidated these mixed taxes into silver payments. The word survives mostly in historical drama and texts.