The modern industrial and commercial organizations have always been the focus of academic research. In the history of the social change in the Republic of China and the late Qing Dynasty, there were a lot of trade organizations such as Guild Halls, trade association and others in Sichuan salterns, among which, the Salt Administration Office and the Mediation Office were a kind of special "semi-official" trade organization. The mediation offices that widely established in salterns in Sichuan Province in the period of the Republic of China had significant differences from other organizations in the same period in terms of formation mechanism, organizational functions, management of funds and relations with the government. The development and evolution of the Mediation Office shows the complicated game and interaction between the salt industry organizations and the national salt administration and reflects the historical trajectory of social and political changes in the region. The "semi-official organizations" were functioned between civil service organizations and government agencies, such as the Salt Administration Office and the Mediation Office, which reflect the particularity of the salt industry as a national monopoly industry. In the past, scholars had equated the industrial and commercial organizations in the Republic of China with the trade organization, but in reality, there were big differences among the different types of trade organizations, and not all of them could be included in the trade organization. This paper is an important supplement to the study of the modern commercial and industrial organizations. It also has certain enlightenment for us to understand the salt politics and the social changes in the region.%近代工商同业组织一直是学术界研究的重点议题.在晚清民国社会变迁的历史过程中,四川盐场先后出现了会馆、行帮以及同业公会等多种同业组织,其中盐务公所与评议公所是一类较为特殊的"半官方"性质的同业组织.尤其是民国时期四川各盐场广泛建立的评议公所,在形成机制、组织职能、经费管理以及与政府的关系等方面,都与同时期其他工商同业公会有着显著的差异.评议公所产生、发展、演变的曲折历程,展现了盐场同业组织与国家盐政之间复杂的博弈与互动,折射出区域社会政治变迁的历史轨迹.盐务公所和评议公所这类介于民间组织与政府机构之间的"半官方组织",反映了制盐业作为国家专卖行业的特殊性.学界以往将民国工商同业组织等同于同业公会,而实际上不同性质的同业组织之间存在较大差异,并非都能纳入同业公会的范畴.本文对于近代工商同业组织的研究是一个重要补充,对于我们理解四川盐场盐政以及区域社会变迁也具有一定的启发意义.
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