Chapter 23 Chapter 8 Restraining and accommodating business, lightening and emphasizing business——The evolution of business policies and ideas

In the history of China, the most famous and important major policy related to commerce should be the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce.In the era of slavery, the government encouraged more foreign merchants than controlled them; in the early Spring and Autumn Period when great powers competed for hegemony, the slogan of promoting business and benefiting labor was put forward to win the support of merchants.At this time, the concept of suppressing quotient did not arise.From the rise of free businessmen, as time goes by, they are divided into good businessmen and profiteers, and after some people increasingly turn to the opposite side, the situation changes.Around the middle of the Warring States period, when the emerging feudal country was committed to supporting individual small farmers as its economic foundation, many of the wealthy businessmen took advantage of the government's excessive collection (currency tax), floods, droughts, famines, and diseases. , Using methods such as unequal exchange and usury, wantonly exploited farmers, causing them to go bankrupt and go into exile, or become slaves of merchants' families.Agricultural production was destroyed, which reduced the amount of food that the state could control and the labor force that the country needed to control, and increasingly serious problems emerged between merchants and monarchs, and between cities and peasants.In some vassal states (such as Qi), the power of merchants is so great that it forms a situation of "one country with two kings and two kings".The contradiction between feudal rulers and merchants is deepening.The call to curb the overextended merchant power then sounded.The book "Guanzi" written by scholars of the Qi State School of Light and Heavy said that "the people who want to kill (restrict) merchants and merchants to benefit the people in the surrounding suburbs" are the rise of the idea of ​​suppressing merchants.Li Kui Xiang Wei, advocated the "level purchase law", the state participates in the grain trading, restricts the speculative activities of merchants to buy at low prices and sell at high prices, forming a measure to suppress business was officially launched and put into practice, and Wei State became prosperous and strong.However, it was Shang Yang (approximately 390-338 BC), a latecomer who believed in Li Kui's theory, who suppressed business most thoroughly. The policy is vigorous and resolute, fair and selfless, and is supported by the majority of people.In history, emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business, "respecting the root and suppressing the end", has become a basic national policy, that is, since Shang Yang.

The main contents of Shang Yang's policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business are: (1) Directly prevent farmers from abandoning agriculture and doing business, stipulate that the number of merchants with skills (luxury handicrafts) is not allowed to increase spontaneously, and those who engage in "ultimate profit" without approval are punished as slaves.And increase the labor burden of merchant families, and farmers who produce well can be exempted from corvee to show preferential treatment. (2) "Pay attention to the taxation of the city", "the taxation of non-agriculture must be more, and the rent of market profits must be heavy", so as to limit the excessive profits of merchants.The tax rate on wine and meat was greatly increased, so that high profits were transferred from the hands of merchants to the state.

(3) The state controls the profits of mountains and rivers, and implements a monopoly of salt and iron. (4) Grain trade is controlled, merchants are not allowed to intervene, and farmers must also produce by themselves to solve rations, and are not allowed to buy grain from the market for adjustment. (5) Increase the purchase price of grain, economically making businessmen feel unprofitable and giving up their business; but it is a powerful stimulus to farmers to increase grain production (according to "Shang Jun Shu · Wai Nei, Ken Ling" and " "Historical Records Biography of Shang Jun").

The implementation of the policy of emphasizing agriculture and restraining business and a series of other reform measures concentrated the benefits of industry and commerce in the hands of the state and increased the agricultural labor force. As a result, Qin's agricultural production developed, its fiscal revenue was rich, and its military strength increased. Unify the six countries and lay the foundation. Emphasis on agriculture and suppression of commerce, emphasizing agriculture is the goal, and suppressing commerce is the means.The essence of this policy is to restrain merchants and preserve commerce, and withdraw from private commerce to enter official commerce.It has two meanings: one is to restrain wealthy businessmen from arbitrarily exploiting and merging farmers illegally, and to limit the activities of commercial capital to a certain range, that is, within the range that does not touch the fundamental interests of feudal rulers. This is the adjustment of official and private interests. relationship problem.The second is to restrain the excessive increase in the number of small and medium-sized traders and individual handicraft workers, and limit the number of people engaged in industry and commerce to a certain range, that is, within the range that does not affect agricultural production, which is the basis of the feudal economy. This is a matter of adjusting the relationship between agriculture and business.The anti-business policy in this sense has a certain regulating and balancing effect on the redistribution of social wealth and the rational allocation of the proportion of agricultural and commercial labor. Therefore, it is necessary to develop individual peasant economies, consolidate the emerging feudal system, and establish a unified feudal state. In the early days of feudal society, it has historical and progressive significance.

When Liu Han replaced Qin, the policy was adjusted.In the process of winning the support of anti-Qin and anti-item forces, the monopoly of salt and iron was cancelled, and the free development of private businessmen was allowed. The other half of agriculture and business. The purpose of the "cheap business order" is nothing more than this.During Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sang Hongyang (153-80 B.C.) assisted the government. In order to combat the annexation forces of wealthy merchants who "do not help the country" and make the people "in trouble", they re-introduced the monopoly of salt and iron, and Chuangxing Junshu (government-run trafficking trade), Pingzhun (government-run retail trade), Quejiu (alcohol monopoly) and other laws.This is the second climax of the anti-business policy in Chinese history.After that, the momentum of suppressing mergers and destroying tyrants in the policy of suppressing business gradually declined. Only the salt monopoly method of Tang Liuyan (716-780 AD), the grain normalization method (adjusting supply and demand, and stabilizing grain prices) and the equalization method, Song Wangan Shi (1021-1086 A.D.) in Junshu method, Shiyi method (government-run urban wholesale business), and Qingmiao method (government-run credit industry, combination of pre-purchase and agricultural loan) still contained "destruction of mergers and equal economics". The depressive connotation of "poor".In fact, it also somewhat restrained the merger activities of wealthy businessmen and big merchants that eroded agriculture, and increased fiscal revenue for the country without increasing or lessening the burden on farmers. .As for the "cheap business order" for small and medium-sized businessmen, it has been passed down in one continuous line from generation to generation and promulgated repeatedly.Until the early Ming Dynasty, there was a rule that farmers were allowed to wear silk, and merchants were only allowed to wear silk.This is one of the measures taken to curb farmers' business and develop food production, especially at the beginning of the establishment of the new dynasty.That's all the remaining content of the traditional policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business.

In the long feudal society, the commercial policy has evolved several times, rather than carrying out the policy of suppressing business.The anti-business policy, mainly aimed at curbing the mergers of wealthy businessmen and big businessmen, has actually been put on the shelf for most of the time; the merchants in the Ming and Qing Dynasties flourished, and the rulers more pursued policies of agglomeration and plunder (suppression of purchases and apportionment , Obtaining what is needed, relentless pursuit, and excessive expropriation), undermine the legitimate operation of commerce, hinder the normal operation of circulation, and even affect the growth of the buds of capitalism.There is a fundamental difference in the nature and effect of these business policies and the anti-business policies that have played a positive role in the past.