China’s mercury deposits are concentrated in the southwest， with Guizhou holding the largest reserves. During the Ming-Qing period， mining regimes focused on coinage metals， rendering mercury a non-strategic resource subject todistinct governance arrangements. From the mid-Ming to early Qing period， free trade coexisted with formal taxation. In the late Yongzheng雍正 era， state procurement at fixed prices monopolized surplus circulation. Burdened by procurement costs and stagnation risks， the Qianlong乾隆 administration introduced a 30 percent levy， then converted levies to silver payments. These reforms spurred prosperity， giving rise to three interconnected regional markets： Guiyang， Hankou and Suzhou. In the mid-16th century， the amalgamation process was adpoted in the silver mines of the New World and Japan， reshaping global market structures. Mercury from Southwest China entered global markets via the Manila Galleons and through transshipment hubs such as Macau and Taiwan， becoming deeply integrated into global networks of silver circulation. The evolution of mercury trade and taxation policies from the late sixteenth to the nineteenth century reflects ongoing adjustments between state policy and the laws of market value.