人情紙、米酒罷市與十九世紀澳門華人社團——澳門同善堂成立早期的歷史背景

This article explores the historical background and related legal norms before and after the establishment of the Macao Tung Sin Tong. Tung Sin Tong is a significant Chinese charitable organization in Macao’s history, founded on December 1, 1892. Its establishment process had to adhere to the legal regulations set by the Portuguese authorities, including using “Renqing Paper” to obtain assembly rights. These legal regulations are based on the Portuguese Civil Code approved in 1867, with added provisions respecting Chinese customs in the later years, resulting in localized regulations. This integration enabled the growing Chinese community to be included in the formal management system and provided legal legitimacy for the Macao-Portuguese authorities’ governance of Macao’s organizations. This study also reveals that the previously less-examined “Renqing Paper” had been utilized for port management since 1875 and later extended to permissions for civil affairs. It is used to refer to the Portuguese word licença, as are other official permit documents such as “notes” and “licenses”. In 1892, following the implementation of the rice wine monopoly by the Macao-Portuguese authorities, which led to a large-scale strike among the Chinese community in Macao, the authorities treated the “Renqing Paper” as an official document granting assembly permission. They required Chinese event organizers to apply for it from the Chinese Affairs Police Office.