Abstract: The punishment for salt smuggling was severe in the Qing dynasty but the inefficiency of anti-smuggling personal undermined the effectiveness of smuggling laws. The reasons for this inefficiency were the political corruption of the Qing dynasty and irrationality of the anti- smuggling system. Consequently, the more serious cases of salt smuggling often went unpunished while petty smugglers were prosecuted. Sometimes soldiers responsible for controlling smuggling even collaborated with smugglers. As a result the legal salt trade became increasingly difficult to sustain and salt smuggling spread nationwide.