Chapter 14 Section 4 Mining Tax

Minerals belong to Shanze products.During the era of slavery in Xia, Shang, and Zhou, the mining and smelting of minerals was controlled by the slavery state and operated by government-owned handicrafts. "Zhou Li" has the post of "卝〔kuang, Tongkuang〕Ren", whose duty is to "handle the land of gold, jade, cassiterite, and strictly prohibit and guard it" ("Zhou Li·Diguan Situ·卝人") , the people are not allowed to mine and smelt at will. During the Spring and Autumn Period, most minerals were monopolized by the state. The book "Guanzi" once expounded the reasons why the state must monopolize mineral resources.First of all, the state must monopolize the right to make money; gold, jade, silver, and copper are the materials for making money. If the state wants to monopolize the right to make money, it must control the source of money materials, that is, monopolize the mineral resources of gold, jade, silver, and copper.Secondly, gold, silver, copper, and iron are still raw materials for making weapons. If the country wants to monopolize the production and manufacture of weapons to strengthen its rule over the people, it must also monopolize mineral resources such as gold, silver, copper, and iron.Third, gold, silver, copper, iron and other minerals are raw materials for the production of various production tools, daily necessities and decorations. They are necessary for people's lives, with large sales volume and high profits. They are monopolized and monopolized by the state and can be obtained for the public Lots of income. "Guanzi" cites iron as an example to explain that every female worker must have a needle and a plow to do needlework; every farmer must have a plow (ploughshare) if he wants to cultivate the land; , a saw, a chisel, a cone.If the production of ironware is monopolized by the state, add 1 qian to the price of each needle, and 30 needles can add 30 qian, which is equivalent to a person's poll tax (30 qian per person per month); the price of scissors plus Six qian, five scissors can also get an extra 30 qian, which is equivalent to one person's poll tax; each pike iron increases the price by 10 qian, and three pike iron can also increase the income of one person's poll tax.In this way, the country can easily obtain a large amount of income by increasing the price of ironware without directly taxing the people, and this kind of "tax" cannot be avoided by anyone.Proceeding from this understanding, when Guan Zhongzhi ruled Qi, the state monopolized mining and metallurgy, set up iron officials in various mining areas, recruited people to mine, and the smelting and sales were under the unified management of the state. Seven, the official gets the third.

During the Warring States period, Shang Yang reformed in the Qin State, and also implemented official management of minerals, that is, "Yishanze" ("Shangjun Shu · Reclamation Order"), "Specialized Shanze Benefits" ("Hanshu Shihuozhi") , It is said that the profits obtained from the monopoly of salt and iron are 20 times that of the ancients.However, in other vassal states that have not implemented official mining and metallurgy, the mining, smelting, casting, and trading of minerals are managed by the people. The copper and iron mining business is controlled by rich merchants. Many businessmen have become rich through mining, smelting, and casting. , Wan Jin.

In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, in order to restore the economy and promote the development of production, it was once "opened and closed, and the ban on Shanze" ("Historical Records·Biography of Huozhi"), copper, iron and other minerals were allowed to be mined freely by the people, and at the same time, the operators were expropriated. tax.At that time, the common people abandoned agricultural production one after another. They were recruited by merchants and merchants to go to the mines to mine copper to make coins, or to mine iron and stone drums to make ironware.A mine gathers hundreds of people, and the profits of mining and metallurgy are completely controlled by private individuals. Many businessmen and bureaucrats get rich by smelting iron and casting money.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, large-scale troops were sent to attack the Xiongnu. The military expenditure was huge and the treasury was empty. However, the wealthy merchants made iron and cast money and accumulated tens of thousands of gold, but they refused to contribute funds to support the country's urgent needs.In the fourth year of Yuanshou (119 BC), according to the suggestions of Kong Zhi and Dongguo Xianyang, it was decided to implement a monopoly system for iron together with salt: the country set up iron officials in iron-producing areas, and small iron officials in non-iron-producing areas. Manage iron mining and iron smelting; the ironware produced is sold by the government.Private mining and smelting of iron is prohibited, and those who dare to privately cast ironware will be punished by shackling their left foot and confiscating their production tools if "the left toe of the younger brother is confiscated into his utensils" ("Historical Records · Ping Zhun Shu").The monopoly of salt and iron generated a lot of income for the Han Dynasty; it was this kind of income that made the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "conquer from east to west, and the collection of taxes did not increase but was used enough" ("Salt and Iron Lun·Severity").The iron monopoly was once abolished during the reign of Emperor Han Yuan, but it was restored due to financial needs soon.Emperor He of the Eastern Han Dynasty succeeded to the throne (88 A.D.), abolished the iron monopoly and changed to a taxation system.

During the Three Kingdoms and Jin Dynasties, mining and metallurgy were still operated by the government.During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the mines were mined privately by quasi-people.For example, in the third year of Song Yuanjia (AD 426) in the Southern Dynasties, there were more than 300 households of silver miners in Shixing County (in today's Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province). lethal.Mining taxes were paid in silver, and later rice was allowed to be paid in silver.At the beginning of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the smelting of placer gold, mining and smelting of silver mines were all privately owned by the people and paid taxes to the government.In the third year of Emperor Xuanwu's Yanchang (514 A.D.), the imperial court believed that the silver mine was very profitable, so it decided to run it officially.At that time, local officials reported that Chang'an Lishan Silver Mine could get 7 liang of silver with two stones of ore, and Huanzhou Baidengshan Silver Mine with eight stones could get 7 liang of silver, and more than 300 catties of fine tin.In the second year of Emperor Xiaoming's Xiping (517 A.D.), Shang Shu reported that Tongqinggu Copper Mine in Hengnong County got five taels of copper for one bucket, one bucket of Weichigu Copper Mine got five taels of copper, and one bucket of Luanzhangshan Copper Mine got five taels of copper. Forty liang of copper, the Wangwushan Copper Mine in Henan County yields eight liang of copper per bucket, and the output of the Yuanzhushan Copper Mine in Southern Qingzhou and Shangshan Copper Mine in Qizhou is similar to this.The imperial court decided to set up silver officials to mine cast silver mines, and set up copper officials to mine cast copper mines.After these mining and metallurgy government operations, they will naturally become an important source of income for the country.

The mining industry was underdeveloped in the Tang Dynasty, and the imperial court did not encourage mining. According to records, there were 172 mines of silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, and alum in Shan, Xuan, Run, Rao, Qu, Xin, and Fen at that time.In the fifteenth year of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty (727 A.D.), he began to levy taxes on the Wuchongshan silver-tin mine in Yiyang (southwest of Songxian County, Henan Province today).During Tang Dezong's reign, the imperial court levied taxes on gold, silver, copper, iron and other mineral products.During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, private silver mining was prohibited, and miners were encouraged to mine copper to help the government cast it.At that time, the country mined 12,000 taels of silver, 266,000 catties of copper, 2.07 million catties of iron, and 50,000 catties of tin every year.In the first year of Tang Wenzong Kaicheng (836 A.D.), mining and metallurgy were under the control of prefectures and counties. The national mining tax revenue was only 70,000 yuan a year, which was less than the tea tax of a county.During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (847-859 A.D.), the profits of mining and smelting were returned to the central government, and two silver smelting sites, 71 iron smelting sites, 27 waste copper smelting sites, and one lead smelting site were added.The country gets 15,000 taels of silver, 655,000 catties of copper, 114,000 catties of lead, 17,000 catties of tin, and 532,000 catties of iron a year.

In the Song Dynasty, the mining industry was relatively developed. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, there were 201 gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin smelters, which were supervised by the government. , and the remaining 80% will be sold to the government at a prescribed price, and the government will sell them in a unified manner.In the third year of Song Taizu's opening of the treasure (970 A.D.), he advertised "not taking advantage of others", and reduced the silver class of Guiyang Supervisor by 1/3.There are also some places where there are no site supervisors, and they listen to the people's mining and sales, and pay taxes to the government, and the tax rate is also 20%.During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty (1049-1054 A.D.), more than 15,000 taels of gold, 219,000 taels of silver, 5.1 million jin of copper, 7.24 million jin of iron, 98,000 jin of lead, and more than 98,000 jin of tin were obtained every year. More than 330,000 catties, and more than 2,000 catties of mercury.During the reign of Hidemune Zhiping (1064-1067 A.D.), the number of pit smelters in Zhuzhou increased to 271, and the iron class reached more than 8.24 million catties, the highest amount in the Northern Song Dynasty.In the eighth year of Song Huizong Zhenghe (1118 A.D.), the imitation tea and salt method of iron ore in various places was monopolized.Iron ore is mined and smelted by the people, and the iron obtained is sold to the government, and the government collects the iron and leads it to the market.The poor mines with little iron production can be bought by the common people, and the officials will not ask for it.Iron is monopolized by the government, and only casting households are allowed to buy it. Private trade among the people is prohibited, but the use of agricultural tools is not prohibited.

By the time of the Southern Song Dynasty, pits and smelters were infrequently abandoned, and the annual income varied, and the mining administration gradually abolished. The mining industry was very developed in the Liao Dynasty. The Shoushan (now Anshan, Liaoning) iron mine has a pit depth of more than 18 meters.Dongping County (now Liaoyang, Liaoning) produces iron ore, and there are 300 mining households who "pay with the tax" and pay mining taxes to the government. The Jin regime also adopted encouraging policies for the mining industry; Jin Shizong believed that the benefits of mountains and rivers should be given to the people.In the third year of King Sejong's reign (AD 1163), it was stipulated that common people could mine gold and silver mines freely, and the national tax was 1/20.In the twelfth year of Dading (AD 1172), the mining tax was abolished, but in the twenty-seventh year of Dading (AD 1187), the people who mined silver were required to accept official duties.

The Yuan Dynasty determined the amount of mining tax based on the resources contributed by scholars, so the tax rate was different.Gold and silver mines are generally recruited by the government to collect and smelt gold and silver mines, and they are transferred to the state in a fixed amount. For example, in the fifth year of Zhiyuan (AD 1268), 4,000 unregistered households in Yizhou were asked to pan for gold in Qixia County, Dengzhou, and the households lost four coins.During the Zhizhi and Taiding years (1321-1328 A.D.), Xu Min contracted mining and refining of silver mines in some areas, and paid 2/10 or 3/10 of the tax, or levied a fixed tax.Iron, lead, tin, and alum are monopolized by the state, and the method of quoting is practiced. For every 200 catties of iron, the people collect and refine it, and the government takes points.For every 100 catties of lead and tin cited, the officials will receive 300 cash, and merchants will buy and sell lead and tin from various mines and smelters.For every 30 catties of alum, the price is five taels of banknotes.

The mining industry in the Ming Dynasty was underdeveloped, and it was said in history that mining and metallurgy was less than one-twelfth of that in the Song Dynasty, but the mining tax was the most serious damage, and had a major impact in the history of the Ming Dynasty.In the Ming Dynasty, silver was used as the main currency, and silver mining was the most important thing for the imperial court, so the silver class was the first to do the most damage. In the Ming Dynasty, the silver taxation system implemented a fixed-amount tax package system. The government determined the amount of silver tax that should be paid by silver factories in various places. In the future, regardless of the increase or decrease in production, it must be paid in full.At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court opposed the development of silver mines, and there were few mines, so there was not much mining tax revenue.At that time, the main mining areas were in Fujian and Zhejiang.During the Hongwu period of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1398 A.D.), there were more than 2,670 taels of silver in Fujian and more than 2,800 taels in Zhejiang.The old amount of the above-mentioned silver class set during the Hongwu period is called "year-old office".

During the Yongle reign of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty (1403-1424 A.D.) and the Xuande reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty (1426-1435 A.D.), the ban on mining was relaxed and new mines began to be mined, and the mining tax also increased accordingly.During the Yongle period, the annual silver class in Fujian was increased to more than 32,800 taels, and that in Zhejiang was increased to more than 82,070 taels.By the time of Xuande, Fujian had increased to more than 40,270 taels, and Zhejiang had increased to more than 94,040 taels.The newly added courses in water music and Xuande years are called "Zhaban".In Fujian and Zhejiang, the amount of gates in Yongle period was 23 times that of Hongwu; in Xuande period, the amount of gates in Xuande was 27 times that of Hongwu.The increase in the amount of silver was not entirely due to the increase in mines, but above all due to the greed of the ruling circles for monetary wealth.The increase in the number of courses far exceeds the rate of increase in silver mine output.Therefore, areas that are unable to complete the class quota have to spread the class quota to the people of the prefectures and counties, and the silver class has thus become a harsh tax on the people. In the sixth year of Hongwu (AD 1373), there were 13 iron smelters in Jiangxi, Huguang and other places, with 7.46 million catties of iron.In the eighteenth year of Hongwu (AD 1385), various iron mines were reopened one after another, allowing the people to mine and refine freely, and paying the iron tax at a rate of 2/30. In the twenty-fourth year of Wanli Emperor of Shenzong (AD 1596), in order to obtain more monetary wealth, he issued an edict to mine silver mines in various places, and sent a large number of eunuchs to various places as mine supervisors to investigate everywhere and search extensively. There are tax inspectors all over the place.They use the name of mining to extort and do all sorts of evil.For example, the eunuch Chen Feng went to Huguang to supervise mining and metallurgy, and used the pretext of mining to rob people's wealth. "Rich families and giants falsely accused them of stealing mines; Cut off a person's limbs and throw them into the river" ("History of Ming Dynasty Shihuo Zhi V").Chen Feng's atrocities aroused the civil uprising in Wuchang, and more than 10,000 angry people wanted to fight Chen Feng desperately. They arrested 16 of Chen Feng's minions and threw them into the river.There were also civil uprisings in Hankou, Huangzhou, Xiangyang, Baoqing, De'an, and Xiangtan.From the 25th to the 33rd year of Wanli, the eunuchs received nearly 3 million taels of tax silver, and the amount they filled their pockets was more than ten or five times that amount.Because of their cruel plundering: "The miners died of exhaustion by paying compensation, the civilians died by being forced to buy, the miners died by being crushed, and the miners died by fighting." (Ibid.) It brought heavy disasters to the miners and the people.The Ming court's excessive expropriation of mining and metallurgy became an important fuse that triggered the peasant uprising at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Learning from the lessons of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty was very cautious about mining, and generally prohibited the mining of new mines in order to prevent mining from gathering crowds to cause trouble and endangering social stability.However, during the Kangxi period, in order to increase the money supply, copper and lead mining had been encouraged.During the Qianlong period, the mining industry had developed considerably, and the mining tax revenue also gradually increased.However, mining tax accounted for a very small proportion of the entire fiscal revenue of the Qing court. Mining taxes in the Qing Dynasty were generally collected in kind.During the Kangxi period, the tax rate for deposits of gold and silver was 40%, and the income was directly handed over to the central government.The tax rate for lead and copper is 20%, that is, it will be collected according to the "Two Eight" regulations.The official tax is 2/10, and the remaining 8/10, half of which is bought by the government at a price, and half of which is freely sold by the people.In addition to the "February 8" class draw, there are also forms such as the "Number 19" class draw and the "March 7" class draw that are temporarily collected. In addition to the regular tax, the mining tax in the Qing Dynasty also had miscellaneous lessons.The first is scatter, which is collected for the funding of local tax inspectors, and the tax rate is between 3% and 5%.The second is the price foot, which is the money collected from the copper and lead factory manufacturers in order to pay the cost of mining and transportation. Generally, the price foot is one or two or six yuan per hundred catties of copper and lead.