鹽爲吾人生活必需品之一，也是一項納稅的商品，其在中國經濟、政治和社會發展史上，扮演著一個重要角色。在傳統的清代農業社會中，鹽是一項很重大的事件，鹽是政府的一個很重要的稅源，鹽業是一個很大的產業，在若干重大的史事中，鹽是一個重要因子。此外，在歷史地理上，鹽又是傳統清代經濟空間結構的一個指標。
As a daily necessity for human life 1 and also as a taxed commodity, salt has played an important part in the economic, political, and social development of China. Salt constituted a matter of major concern in the traditional agrarian society of Ch'ing China. It was a leading source of imperial revenue, a major industry, and an important factor in historical events. It also served as an indicator of the spatial organization of traditional Chinese economy.
