Chapter 8 Chapter Three: The "Saddle Shape" of Development—Commerce in the Han and Tang Dynasties

"Historical Records · Huozhi Biography" has a description of the development of commerce in the early Western Han Dynasty: "Hanxing, the whole country is one, the opening and closing of beams, and the ban on Shanze are the rich merchants and businessmen who flow around the world. The things that are traded are all unreasonable. What you want." "Salt and Iron Theory · Li Geng" also said: "From the capital (Chang'an), east, west, north, south, through mountains and rivers, passing through the prefectures and states, most of the Yin and rich are nothing more than five-way connections, the pursuit of merchants, and the colonization of all things. It can be seen that the prosperity of commerce has maintained and developed the momentum of active commodity exchange since the Warring States Period.At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the population reached 60 million, three times that of the Warring States period, and the scale of commodity circulation naturally expanded accordingly.

The reason why the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AD) was one step ahead of the Warring States period was due to the continuous development of the individual smallholder economy since the Warring States period (setbacks at the end of the Qin Dynasty and recovery in the early Western Han Dynasty) and the continuous improvement of agricultural productivity. , so that the volume of goods continues to grow.And the unification of the country - since the Qin Dynasty, customs clearance, road repair, unified currency system, and unified weights and measures have provided more favorable conditions for the development of commerce compared with the situation of the separation of the seven heroes in the Warring States Period.Qin Shihuang's policy of not collecting tariffs continued into the Han Dynasty.The government of the Western Han Dynasty further relaxed the policy, opened up the benefits of mountains and rivers, and abolished the official salt and iron camps in the Qin Dynasty, giving merchants a broader place for activities.In addition, in the Han Dynasty, the calculated tax, oral tax, and more tax were all collected in currency. Farmers had to sell a lot of products in exchange for money to pay taxes.This makes the exchange of commodities more and more frequent.The landlord economy has also developed considerably, and a certain amount of commodity production has appeared in certain areas for the purpose of sale, such as "a thousand jujube trees in Anyi, a thousand chestnut trees in Yanqin, a thousand orange trees in Jiangling, Huaibei, Changshan in Huaibei, Hebei Thousands of catalpas [autumn] in Jijian, thousands of acres of lacquer in Chen and Xia, thousands of acres of mulberry hemp in Qilu, thousands of acres of bamboo in Weichuan, "thousands of scorpions [knowledge, can be used as rouge] Qian [qian owed, madder, The roots can be used as red dyes]", "Thousands of Ginger and Leeks" ("Historical Records·Biography of Huozhi"), these have increased the variety of commodities circulating in the market and provided important raw materials for handicrafts.

Due to the development of the economy and the influence of historical traditions, five economic zones had been formed in the country during the Western Han Dynasty——Guanzhong, Sanhe, Yanzhao, Qilu, Liangsong, and Chuyue.The Guanzhong area (now Shaanxi) centered on the capital Chang'an is the most prosperous place for commerce. Together with the land of Bashu and Longyou (attached to the Guanzhong Economic Zone), the area accounts for only 1/3 of the country, and the population only accounts for 3/10. 3/5 of the wealth is concentrated here.In the past, the Sanhe area (Hedong, Henan, and Hanoi) in the Yellow River Basin ruled by the six countries, as well as the Yanzhao, Qilu, Liang and Song areas were second only to Guanzhong in prosperity.The Chuyue region in the Huaihe and Yangtze River basins has "large land and few people", and "fire farming and water farming", and most of the land has not yet been developed.The people "do not wait for Jia to be satisfied".Guangdong and Guangxi were not turned into prefectures until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.The population of the economic regions in the South only accounts for 6.3% of the country's total.Since the center of gravity of the economy is in the north, the place where businessmen circulate is mainly in the Yellow River Basin, followed by the Jianghuai area, and the development of commerce still has great limitations in terms of geography.

Although the agricultural and handicraft production technology of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220) was better than that of the Western Han Dynasty in some respects, in general, even in its heyday, its population, cultivated land, and grain production did not exceed those of the Western Han Dynasty. At the highest level, the development of commerce in general cannot exceed that of the Western Han Dynasty.Compared with the Western Han Dynasty, the circulation of gold decreased, and its currency function decreased (mainly treasures); real objects such as grain and silk were often used as means of circulation, which was a sign of the shrinking scale of the commodity economy.The only thing that has made progress is that the counties south of the Yangtze River have begun to develop slightly, the population is increasing, the business is more prosperous than before, and some new cities have developed.

An important economic reason for the slowdown of commercial development in the Eastern Han Dynasty was the emergence of the farm economy with enhanced self-sufficiency, which narrowed the scope of commodity production and weakened the basis of commodity circulation.Since the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the powerful clan has been in power, centralization has declined, local power has expanded, powerful landlords have annexed a large amount of land, enslaved a large number of slaves and apprentices (attached to farmers), reunited clans, adopted guests, built castles and docks, and built closed houses one by one. Strong Grange.Farms produce a variety of agricultural products and handicrafts, and most of their consumption is self-sufficient, and they don’t need others. This is very different from the individual peasant economy supported in the Western Han Dynasty, which was more connected with the market.The development of the farm economy not only strengthened the local natural economy, but also became the strength of the later splitters because of their armed forces.In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, due to the excessive casting of money, money was cheap and goods were expensive, and even the government's taxes originally collected in currency were gradually changed to cloth, thus reducing the connection between farmers and the market.The farm economy and real economy that hindered commercial development in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (220-589 A.D.) actually took root from the Eastern Han Dynasty (especially the late Eastern Han Dynasty).

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the warlord war (190-208 AD) provoked by the separatist forces destroyed the economy of the north, destroyed the city, and killed the people. The commerce developed since the Qin and Han Dynasties suddenly declined.After the partition of the Three Kingdoms (AD 220-280) and the unification of the Western Jin Dynasty (AD 265-316), commerce was briefly restored.But at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, the "Eight Kings Rebellion" occurred again, and then due to the invasion of the upper-level leaders of the ethnic minorities, the Jin Dynasty moved southward and established the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 AD).The north has experienced sixteen states and many regimes and dynasties such as the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, and Northern Zhou. The latter is collectively called the Northern Dynasty (386-581 AD).The south experienced the Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen dynasties since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, collectively referred to as the Southern Dynasties (420-589 AD).Under the situation of political turmoil and North-South confrontation, the development of business has been seriously affected.

First of all, the Yellow River Basin has been reduced to a battleground for various ethnic groups time and time again, and the decline of commerce is self-evident.Only after the Northern Wei Dynasty unified the north (439 A.D.) did commerce pick up again. The output of millet and silk increased and prices dropped (a piece of silk fell from 1,000 to 200 to 300).Liu Bao, a big businessman, set up a business in every prefecture and county, raised 10 horses, and conveyed his business information.In the later period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the land was divided, the tyrants merged, the production stagnated, the household registration decreased, and the business did not make much progress.While wars are still frequent in the north, the situation in the peaceful south is relatively stable and there are fewer wars. Compared with the past when there was little development, the economy has developed faster, and the development of commerce has been faster than in the north.On the criss-crossing rivers in the south of the Yangtze River, merchant ships come and go one after another. The small ones can carry thousands of dendrobiums, and the large ones can carry ten thousand dendrobiums (about 1,000 tons) or 20,000 dendrobiums.At that time, Yan Zhitui said: "In the past, I didn't believe that there were thousands of tents in the south of the Yangtze River, and there were 20,000 Dendrobium boats in Hebei." ("Yan's Family Instructions Guixin")

The confrontation between the North and the South hindered the exchange of materials between the North and the South.Only in relatively peaceful days, trade is allowed from the authority; when the two sides communicate, the envoys often take on the task of mutual market.In this way, in times of peace and war, when anti-rape is more important than trade, business exchanges are not as free as when the country is unified.The special products of the north and the south are lacking in each other.It is no wonder that Yu Xin, an official in the Southern Dynasty who was an official in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, suddenly saw the betel nuts in the south, and couldn't help writing poems to inspire his ambition.

Although the southern commerce has developed to a certain extent, the pace of the commodity economy is still slow due to the rapid development of the farm economy under the large land ownership system compared with the Eastern Jin Dynasty.Peasants were forced to take refuge in private sects due to war or poverty and bankruptcy, and their personal dependence was strengthened. The second serfdom in Chinese history appeared.The large-scale farms built on the basis of exploiting and relying on farmers have all kinds of food, fruits, vegetables, medicine, fish and poultry, and can be reeled, weaved, pounded, brewed, smelted, and forged.The self-sufficiency of the farm economy has always been a factor that narrowed the commodity economy, and its clamping effect on commerce was even greater during the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties.This is not only the case in the south, but the rich and noble families in the north also occupy a large amount of land, and the shady farmers have strengthened their farm economy and Wubi organization. It also affected the recovery and development of commodity exchange for a period of time.However, due to the implementation of the land equalization system and the support of the self-cultivating peasant economy since the Northern Wei Dynasty Taihe, this has become a factor that is much more beneficial to commercial development in the north than in the south.

The obstruction of commercial development during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties was also related to the taxation and currency system.The counting tax levied in currency in the Han Dynasty officially became a kind of tax in kind by the time of Cao Wei - "hutiao" (collection of silk), and it was implemented for more than 500 years before the two tax laws were adopted in the late Tang Dynasty. The exchange of goods in the countryside has been greatly taken back a step.In this period, the currency system itself was more chaotic than in the Eastern Han Dynasty.Either the weight of coins is reduced, the value of the currency is low, the price of goods is high, or there are not many coins, the shortage of currency, and the price of goods are falling, which makes the normal circulation of goods unbearably disturbed.The former, such as the frivolous "Xiaojian money" and "goose eye money" in the Liu Song Dynasty, and the "Ting Ting" ring money that did not sink into the water, and the inferior money that was thinner than elm pods in the late Northern Wei Dynasty, etc. The iron money when there was Xiao Liang, all led to "commercial goods are not good enough", and the exchange of goods such as grain and silk became more popular.The latter is like the money shortage in the early Northern Wei Dynasty and the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In particular, Xiao Qi consciously tightened the currency. As a result, money was expensive and goods were cheap. blow.In addition, during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, especially in the south, due to the resumption of the collection of Guanjin tax (tax rate 1/10), "taxes were collected extensively" and "forcing merchants" naturally had an adverse impact on commodity circulation.

The Sui Dynasty replaced the Northern Zhou Dynasty (581 AD) and pacified the south of the Yangtze River. In 589 AD, the whole country was unified and the long-term situation of division and separatism ended.With the development of society and economy, the business that has gone through several twists and turns has another opportunity for upward development.In the early Tang Dynasty, the reign of Zhenguan and Kaiyuan appeared, and the business showed unprecedented prosperity.According to research, the number of people reclaiming land in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty was almost the same as that in the Western Han Dynasty, and the grain yield per mu increased, so the amount of grain per capita was higher than that in the heyday of the Western Han Dynasty. Therefore, the scale of commodity circulation should be no less than that in the Han Dynasty. of. With Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, as the center, "as far as Song (Shangqiu) Bian (Kaifeng) in the east and Qizhou (Fengxiang) in the west, there are shops along the road, and the hospitality is abundant. 〔shushu〕 suddenly dozens of miles, called the post donkey. Jing (Jiangling) Xiang (Xiangyang) in the south, Taiyuan and Fanyang (now Beijing) in the north, and Shuchuan and Liangfu (Wuwei, Gansu) in the west. Shops, for business travel, are suitable for thousands of miles away, and do not hold an inch of blade." ("Tong Dian · Shihuo VII · The rise and fall of household registration in the past dynasties") On the waterways north and south of the river, it is "a gathering place for boats and boats, bypassing Bahan, The front refers to Minyue, seven lakes and ten villages, three rivers and five lakes, controlling and diverting Heluo, and also covering Huaihai, Hongge giant ships, thousands of ships, trading back and forth, ignorance forever." ("Old Tang Book · Cui Rong." "Biography") From these two passages, it can be seen that land and water transportation was developed in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. It was much more convenient for business travelers to go out than when it was divided, and transactions were much more frequent than then.In the Han Dynasty, the four seas were one, and the grand occasion of "heavy clothes and rich merchants, and the world is everywhere, and the way is everywhere" reappeared in the Tang Dynasty. The renaissance of commerce in the Tang Dynasty, due to the unification of the country, the smooth traffic, the re-exemption of tariffs, and the rectification of the currency system have become more sound. These are certainly favorable conditions, but what is more important is the partial adjustment of production relations, which promotes the increase of productivity and thus expands the economy. The material basis of commodity circulation.At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the land equalization system was implemented. Like the early Han Dynasty, it vigorously supported the individual farmers' economy, and relaxed the control of the handicraft workers (the time of unpaid service was reduced from the past two months to 20 days). In addition, water conservancy was built, wasteland was reclaimed, and tools were improved. , Improving technology, agricultural and handicraft production have grown rapidly.Commerce has correspondingly accelerated the process of its development. But the good times didn’t last long. After the middle of Tang Dynasty, land annexation was fierce, the land equalization system was weakened, and the farm economy under the large land ownership system was rising day by day. "Private", and the development of commerce is greatly restricted.The intertwining and intensification of the internal contradictions of the ruling class and the national contradictions led to the Anshi Rebellion at the end of Tianbao. During the war, the north was once again severely damaged, and the business fell into depression for a while.After the war, the vassals and towns were separated, and the Tang government mainly relied on the south of the Yangtze River for its fiscal revenue. Therefore, it deliberately strengthened its control and management of the south, and the country's economic center of gravity gradually showed a trend of shifting to the south.Most of the population is concentrated in the south, and the development of commerce is also faster in the south, which largely changed the dominant position of commerce in the north in the early Tang Dynasty. Due to the collapse of the land equalization system and the rent adjustment system in the late Tang Dynasty, the two-tax law was changed in the reign of Emperor Dezong (780 A.D.). The relationship has become closer again, which is conducive to the development of commerce, and its significance is no less than that of collecting cash in the Han Dynasty.Therefore, with the recovery and development of productivity, the business in the late Tang Dynasty still had new development compared with the early Tang Dynasty.However, due to the financial difficulties of the Tang government, the wanton search, in addition to the re-taxation (2%), the policy of plundering merchants and people emerged endlessly, and the development of commerce in the late Tang Dynasty was still subject to considerable restrictions. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, feudal dynasties and towns were separated, peasants revolted, and the unified feudal dynasty collapsed, followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960 A.D.).The regime in the north changed repeatedly, and the small countries in the south ceded their territory to protect themselves, and the division continued for another half century.But for a period of time, the southern economy has been further developed.The progress of commerce slowed down due to wars and divisions, and only in the south did commerce develop to a certain extent.