Chapter 14 Chapter Five "The Sunset Is Infinitely Good"——Commerce in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (early period)

Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the short-lived Yuan Dynasty by relying on the power of the peasant revolution, and created a new feudal regime - the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.).During the more than 270 years of the Ming Dynasty, although the social economy tended to recover and develop, there were ups and downs in the middle; the development of commerce also fluctuated in the middle. In the early Ming Dynasty (from the early Ming Dynasty to the Zhengde period), due to the support of agriculture in the early Ming Dynasty, the economic crops (mulberry, linen, cotton) developed rapidly under the advocacy of the rulers; Serving for the government in shifts, under the condition that the service period is not too long, he has more time to engage in commodity production by himself; mining and smelting are allowed to be operated by the private sector (paying tax 1/15), and the production of civilian mines is booming.In terms of commerce itself, the rulers of the Ming Dynasty took many measures to sympathize with and facilitate business in order to rectify the mistakes of the Yuan, such as reducing business taxes-the tax rate was reduced to 1/30, the tax bureau abolished 9/10, increased the name of duty-free products, and banned the sale of goods to merchants. Buy what the government needs at a low price, and set up government-run houses (warehouses) for foreign merchants to store goods, etc.The management system for monopoly commodities is also more reasonable (such as the opening method of salt), which is directly conducive to the normal development of commodity circulation.At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the banknote law was implemented and banknotes were used. Later, too many coins were issued, and the value of the currency fell, and silver taels were gradually used. When it was orthodox, it was stipulated that part of the land tax should be converted into silver for payment (more than 4 million stones, and more than 1 million taels of silver), which is called "golden flower silver". It also expands the exchange relationship (farmers sell their products for silver), which is conducive to promoting the commercialization of agricultural products.During the Yongle period, the Grand Canal was renovated and a section of the Huitong River was excavated (from Dongping, Shandong to Liaocheng and Linqing via Shouzhang), which solved the problem of insufficient water in the canal (increased water flow, which can pass large ships), and facilitated water transportation and north-south transportation. The exchange of materials promoted the prosperity of commerce in the cities along the canal.

From the early Ming Dynasty to Xuande Jingtai, the commodity economy was quite prosperous.However, with the expansion of the ruler's greed in the future, the business tax will be increased day by day, and the "shop tax" (business tax) will be increased, the banknote customs will be set up, the ship material tax will be levied, and there will be a labor tax, and the bamboo and wood will be restored. "And buy" has become a low price to suppress buying.Jinhuayin is converted into one tael of silver per stone meter, which is four times that of the previous one.The tea and salt law became more and more disordered.During the Zhengde period, "imperial shops" were opened inside and outside the capital to compete with private businesses, including "flower wine shops" where prostitutes gathered for fun, which was really out of place.The social economy declined again, and class conflicts intensified.A peasant uprising occurred, shaking the corrupt feudal rule.In this regard, the ruler had to consider abolishing some bad policies. Starting from the Jiajing period, the history of the Ming Dynasty entered its later stage.

The most important measures taken by the rulers in the late Ming Dynasty to facilitate the development of commerce were the abolition of the labor service system, the use of silver as a substitute for labor and the promotion of a whip.The use of silver to serve as a substitute for Hongzhi began, but it is not yet common, and the shifts of accepting silver are still in between; The government used silver to hire people to fill the service; later, the amount of silver paid was reduced.As a result, the technology and products of the vast number of craftsmen were put into the market, and the folk private handicraft industry was developed and improved, which promoted the continued development of the commodity economy that had been restrained a while ago.The one whip method was implemented throughout the country in the ninth year of Wanli (1581 A.D.), when Zhang Juzheng was prime minister.Its content is to change the original method of dispatching service according to household and Ding to Ding and grain (land tax and grain) on the basis of clearing the land, and then compile it into one with other miscellaneous taxes, counting mu or Ding in silver Fold to the official.This is a silver-based service in rural areas, and part of the service (four, five, six) or even all (very few areas) is allocated to the land tax, so that the burden on farmers with no or little land can be reduced.In order to get more money to pay the "whip silver", farmers produce things that can be sold for more money according to market needs and local conditions, and the tendency to commercialize agricultural products has increased.The greater development of the commodity economy in the late Ming Dynasty has a lot to do with these two things.

The arable land and population in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty had exceeded the highest figures in the Northern Song Dynasty, but the grain yield per mu was higher than that in the Northern Song Dynasty. It can be seen that after the retrogression of the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, commercial development returned to or even exceeded the highest level in the Song Dynasty. In industries such as the silk weaving industry in towns and cities in the south of the Yangtze River where the commodity economy was particularly developed, there was a striking new trend of commercial capital investing in production in the late Ming Dynasty.In the past, merchants intervening in production was connected with the remnants of the old system and outdated production relations—for example, in the Western Han Dynasty, although the salt and iron owners were both workers and merchants, they used slaves or serfs for production.The situation at this time is different. There is a new type of free employment relationship between merchants and producers, which is the germination of capitalism within the feudal society.Commerce initially changed its state of being independent from production and closed within circulation, and began to integrate with production.Commercial capital plays an active role in promoting the transformation of production relations, and it is a new thing that appears in the new stage of ancient business development.

However, in the middle and late Wanli period, the insatiable rulers stepped up their plundering of commerce and sent eunuchs everywhere to collect taxes and mines—tax supervisors and mine supervisors.Set up bar cards all over the place, heavy donations and overlapping taxes, excessive collection and excessive collection.The result is: travel is difficult, the market is sluggish, machine owners change their jobs, "helpers have nothing to eat", which severely hits the developing industry and commerce, and destroys the buds of new capitalism. The Qing rulers who rose outside the Northeast Pass took advantage of the decaying Ming Dynasty to take over China and established the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.).From the founding of the Qing Dynasty to the Opium War in 1840, it was the early Qing Dynasty.At the peak of the Qing Dynasty, the social economy at the end of the feudal society had reached the stage of familiarity, and the last page of the commercial history of ancient China had been written.

At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, severe war damage caused depression from south to north.Then, in order to prevent Zheng Chenggong's anti-Qing forces, a strict sea ban policy and border relocation measures were implemented to create coastal uninhabited areas; because of the large number of people who would easily lead to anti-Qing struggles, the mines were strictly banned; the southeastern cities restricted the silk industry. development, monitoring the activities of weavers and townspeople.All of these slowed the recovery of business, and the development was still very limited in the middle of Kangxi.In particular, it cannot be ignored that the Qing Dynasty used silver as currency (copper coins as auxiliary currency), and the silver continued to flow into the hands of Yanjing, Bianwai, and wealthy businessmen Dajiada officials, and a large part of it was hoarded as a means of storage. The tax still uses silver; in addition, the foreign trade has been reduced due to the sea ban, and the silver flowing into the country from the export has been greatly reduced, and the currency in circulation is seriously insufficient, resulting in falling prices, weak markets, and stagnant transactions, which have brought negative effects to the development of commerce. influences.

In the 22nd year of Kangxi (1683 A.D.), the Qing government opened the sea ban and restricted the relocation of the border after Taiwan was pacified; in order to make money, the Yunnan Copper Mine was opened; later (the 51st year of Kangxi) the number of looms should not exceed 100 Zhang's restrictions, and to reduce their tax, also announced that "breeding people will never be taxed."During the Yongzheng period, it was common to expand the distribution of Ding Ding to the land, and simply transferred the surviving and immobilized Ding Yin into the land tax, and collected it on an acre-by-mu ​​basis.In the Ming Dynasty, the land tax mainly collects grain. After the one-whip method, there are still more than 20 million taels of grain taxed every year. In the Qing Dynasty, the land tax was changed to collect silver taels. The degree of monetization was much higher than that of the Ming Dynasty; the degree of monetization of land rent (changing from collecting in kind to collecting currency) was also higher than in the past.During the Qianlong period, the policy was further relaxed: the mining ban was completely lifted; the position of the government-run handicraft industry was reduced, and folk silk weaving industry, folk kilns in the porcelain industry (such as Jingdezhen) and other handicraft industries developed rapidly; business taxes were continued to be reduced, and provinces were encouraged. grain trade between countries, sometimes tax-free.The implementation of stalls into the land continued, and in Fujian, Taiwan, and Guizhou; the agent silver of craftsmen was also spread into the fields.However, due to the increase in domestic silver production after the mining ban, and the large inflow of low-priced silver from the Americas again (excess of foreign trade), fiscal constraints were no longer tightened, the situation of insufficient inflation was completely reversed, and prices turned from low to high.All kinds of favorable conditions promoted the rapid development of commerce in the late Kangxi period, especially during the Qianlong period. The most important thing was the monetization of taxes and land rent, which pushed the commercialization of agricultural products to a new height during the Qianlong period.

The Qianlong period was the heyday of the Qing Dynasty. The population in the early years was slightly higher than that of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, and increased to more than 200 million, or even 300 million. Years), surpassed the number of Qingzhang in the whole country during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and the grain yield per mu increased compared with that in the Ming Dynasty.It can be seen from this that the level of commercial development at that time has indeed jumped to a new and higher level; ancient commerce can be said to have entered its golden age.The business of Qianlong not only surpassed that of Ming Dynasty, but also surpassed that of Kangxi.Zhao Yi, a poet of the Qing Dynasty, said in the poem "Feng Qi" that "there are many new styles in the city, and there are seasonal vegetables in the cellar", "the drinking workshop is noisy at night, the boat is floating in the spring canal, the emerald is inlaid with flowers, and the glass is inlaid. Poor pheasants and rabbits in the kitchen, lanterns and dragon fish dance", "When the people are full, recall the beginning of my life", which reflects the prosperous scene of Qianlong, which is very different from the time when he was born ("Oubei Shichao") .

A large number of populations flocked to the four directions, and most of them were absorbed by the handicraft industries in cities and emerging towns in the economically developed regions of the southeast.In the development of the handicraft industry, commercial capital had more input than that of the Ming Dynasty, and the sprouts of capitalism that had died in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties thrived again; in terms of regions, industries, and forms of combining commerce and production, there were differences compared to the Ming Dynasty. develop.The qualitative changes in ancient commerce are deepening step by step.

During the period of Jiaqing and Daoguang, the Qing Dynasty began to experience a turning point: fiscal revenues were not enough to cover expenditures, feudal exploitation was severe, silver was expensive and copper was cheap, and tax burdens increased (farmers sold goods to collect money, and taxed silver was used), and farmers' life became worse. The situation is difficult, the purchasing power is shrinking, and the quantity of goods available is reduced.At this time, the Qing government turned to strengthen restrictions on mining, handicrafts and coastal trade; business taxes actually increased, corruption was prevalent, and extrajudicial acts were more common than regular ones.This weakens the basis of trade and hinders the functioning of circulation.Once upon a time, business has been on the decline from the peak of development!In Chinese history, the ups and downs of the political situation have largely influenced the progress of business, which is another law that has been tried and tested.