Chapter 15 Section 5 Tea Tax

Tea has been used as a beverage in the Han Dynasty.By the Tang Dynasty, tea drinking became popular among the people, and tea had become a daily consumer product for the people, with increasing production and sales; feudal countries began to tax tea to raise fiscal revenue.Thus, after the tax on salt, iron, and wine, came the tax on tea. The tea tax began in the fourth year of Emperor Dezong of Tang Dynasty (AD 783), and was proposed by Zhao Zan, the servant of Duzhi.In the ninth year of Zhenyuan (793 A.D.), Zhang Pang, the envoy of Yantie, enacted the Tax Tea Law, and commissioned the local tax collectors to divide the tea into three grades and levy 1/10. Tax; at that time, the annual tea tax revenue reached 400,000 Guan.

During Tang Wenzong's reign (827-840 A.D.), the monopoly system was implemented again, and the common people's tea trees were transplanted in the officialdom, baked by the government, and sold to merchants; later, due to the opposition of the people, the monopoly was cancelled, and the taxation system was restored.Since the taxation of tea in the Tang Dynasty, the amount of tea tax has continued to increase, reaching nearly one million per year, becoming an important fiscal revenue second only to salt tax.During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Later Han, Chu and Later Shu also taxed tea and sold tea.King Ma Yin of Chu (reigned from 907 to 930 A.D.) encouraged private tea plantation; after the government bought tea at a low price, it was either transported to the north of the Yellow River to exchange war horses, or recruited merchants from all over the country to come to Chu to buy tea, and the government collected tea taxes; And in Xiang, Tang, Ying, Fu and other states, as far as Kaifeng, they set up mansions to sell tea, and the profit was ten times; the annual tea profit income was in the millions.

The Song Dynasty also regarded tea classes as an important source of fiscal revenue; the state obtained income from tea production and sales in various ways. In terms of production, the state mainly collects tea rent from tea farmers (called "garden households" in Song Dynasty).The tea rent is paid in kind of tea. The annual tea rent paid by garden households is 8.65 million catties in Huainan, 10.27 million catties in Jiangnan, 1.279 million catties in Liangzhe, 2.47 million catties in Jinghu, and 393,000 catties in Fujian. catty.In addition to the regular tax, garden households also have to pay various additional taxes in the name of native products, tea price evaluation, economic general system money, and head money in some areas.

There are three ways to collect tea lessons from sales: One is the prohibition law.The state sets up goods service and mountain farms in tea-producing areas. In addition to collecting tea rent from garden households, it also purchases all the surplus tea left by garden households after paying the rent at a price stipulated by the state, and sells them to merchants at a monopoly price (the state prohibits The farmers sell the tea directly to the merchants), thereby earning income for the state.From Song Taizong to the end of Taoism (AD 997), the country’s income from selling tea was about 2,852,900 guan, and Zhenzong Tianxi’s end (AD 1021) increased by more than 450,000 guan.

The second is to enter the Chinese law.The state ordered merchants to transport grain, grass or gold and silk to the designated areas of the frontier defense or the capital. The government assessed the value of the goods transported and gave them a coupon, which was called "Jiaoyin". cross-reference method".Entering China is beneficial to the country's finances. For example, allowing merchants to enter border states and armies can save the country the trouble of collecting and transporting grain and grass for the border troops.Businessmen are also happy to take it because it is profitable.For example, in Tianxizhong (1019 A.D.), merchants invested 80,000 yuan (6/10 in kind) in the capital to get Haizhou or Jingnan tea worth 100,000 yuan. Haizhou and Jingnan teas are of good quality and easy to sell , so businessmen flock to it.

The third is commercial law.The Commercial Law was implemented during the reign of Renzong Jiayou (1056-1063 A.D.). The state collected tea rent from garden households and tea tax from merchants, allowing tea merchants to trade freely with garden households.The Commercial Law can simplify tea institutions and reduce state expenditures.However, due to the heavy tea rent and tea tax, which affected the enthusiasm of farmers and tea merchants, the practical results were not satisfactory. In the first year of Huizong's Chongning (1102 A.D.), Cai Jing came to power, abolished the Commercial Law, and introduced the Tea Law.Set up tea farms in tea-producing states and counties, and after tea farmers go to the farms to pay taxes, the officials will give short quotations and limit the weight of the tea, and the tea can be transported to neighboring states and counties for sale.Merchants who negotiated goods in the capital or brought in gold, silver, money, or grain and grass in the capital would be given to Changyin, and tea would be sold in designated states and armies, and taxes would be paid at the place of sale.In the second year of Zhenghe (1112 A.D.), it was stipulated that for long-term quotations, 120 catties of tea and 100 yuan of money should be paid, and for short-term quotations, 25 catties of tea should be paid, and 20 yuan of money should be lost.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, tea was still forbidden to be discussed, and the method of long and short quotations was used. The Song Dynasty also carried out tea-horse trade with ethnic minorities such as Tubo.Tubo produces good horses, but lacks tea.When the Song Dynasty used troops against Liao, Jin, and Xixia, they needed war horses.The Song Dynasty transported the tea obtained in Sichuan to Gansu and Shaanxi, and traded tea and horses with Tubo merchants.During the reign of Emperor Shenzong Xining (1068-1077 A.D.), a tea and horse department was set up to manage the tea and horse administration in Sichuan and Qin.After the establishment of the Tea Horse Division, about 30,000 horses were traded every year.At the beginning of Qiandao in the Southern Song Dynasty (1165 A.D.), there were more than 9,000 Yimas, and after Chunxi (1174-1189 A.D.), the number reached 19,094.

Tea lessons in the Yuan Dynasty also used quotations.From Yuan Shizu to Yuan Thirteen Years (1276 A.D.), the method of long and short teas was stipulated. According to the principle of one-third, 120 catties of tea for long tea, five cents and 2 cents and eight cents for cash, and 90 catties of tea for short tea, and cash for cash. Four cents and two cents.There will be more classes in the future.In the seventeenth year of Zhiyuan (AD 1280), long quotations were abolished, and short quotations were used exclusively. Each quotation received two, four, five cents.In the 30th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1293 A.D.), in addition to the introduction of tea, a "tea you" was set up. At the beginning, for each "you" of nine catties of tea, one or two coins were collected, and later it was changed from three catties to 30 catties, divided into ten. Wait for taxes.At the same time, private tea is strictly prohibited.The tea tax in the Yuan Dynasty continued to increase. From the thirteenth year of Yuan Shizu to Yuan Dynasty, 1,200 ingots of tea tax were levied, and in the seventh year of Yuan Renzong Yanyou (1320 A.D.), it increased to 289,211 ingots, which was more than 240 times that in the Zhiyuan thirteenth year.

The Ming Dynasty also practiced tea monopoly and used the method of introduction.The government issued the number of tea quotations to all states and counties. Merchants who wanted to sell tea had to pay money to the government to buy tea.Those who are not enough to quote are called abnormal zero, and they will be shipped and sold by "Youtie".Later, the quotation gradually increased. For every 100 catties of tea, you lose 1,000 yuan, and for every 60 catties of tea, you lose 600 yuan.The quoted price is the tea tax paid by tea merchants to the country.If there is no tea introduction, the tea will be sold by the tea seller, and it will be treated as private tea.

For the tea class collected by the tea people in the producing area, 10% is taken in Jiangnan, and 10% in Sichuan and Shaanxi. In order to meet the needs of frontier defense, the Ming Dynasty also conducted tea-horse trade with border minorities in the Sichuan-Shanxi area.The tea-horse trade can gain horses and defend borders, reduce the burden of raising horses for the people in the interior, stabilize the price of horses to a certain extent, and adjust the relationship with the ethnic minorities in the frontier. Therefore, the tea-horse trade has been promoted from the early Ming Dynasty to the late Ming Dynasty.The ratio of tea and horse exchange, in the 16th year of Hongwu (1383 A.D.), the Hezhou Tea and Horse Department in Shaanxi stipulated that 40 catties of tea would be given to horses, 30 catties to middle horses, and 20 catties to dismounted horses.In the 21st year of Hongwu (1388 A.D.), the Yanzhou tea warehouse in Sichuan stipulated that 120 catties of tea should be given to horses, 70 catties to middle horses, and 50 catties to dismounted horses.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were also merchants who made tea in nanometers, and used tea to make salt.Tea law in the Qing Dynasty was divided into official tea, commercial tea, and tribute tea.The official tea is used to store borders and exchange horses. The tax rate is 50%, which is paid in kind of tea.In the early Qing Dynasty, the case of tea horses in Shaanxi was set, 120 catties of tea were given to horses, 90 catties of tea were given to middle horses, and 70 catties of tea were given to dismounted horses.During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the demand for horses and horses gradually decreased, and the tea class also changed accordingly. Gansu and Shanxi official teas were changed from the taxation of eight points to eight points, and two points to silver.For commercial tea, 100 jin of tea is shipped for each citation, and 14 jin of tea (for shipping) is attached; the tax rate of citation varies from place to place.The provinces and regions where tea imports are not allowed, only tax the tea merchants in transit, or collect a small land tax.The tribute tea is used by the royal family and mausoleums. The tea received in Zhejiang is processed within the purchase price, and there are more than 110 baskets in total. In the early Qing Dynasty, the income from tea classes was not much. "Except for Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, which were levied by each customs, there was no fixed amount. In other provinces, there were more than a thousand taels per year, and the few were hundreds or tens of taels. That is, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Sichuan. The name is Bian Yin, and it is less than 100,000 gold." ("Drafts of Qing History Shihuo V")