Chapter 16 Section 5 Inflation in the Early Tang Dynasty and the Late Tang Dynasty

During the reign of Xuanzong Tianbao, following the same mistakes of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, he changed from being peaceful and prosperous to being extravagant and desolate, with political corruption and slack military equipment.In addition, the military system of the government was changed to a recruiting system, and the collection of classes was aggravated, the economy turned from prosperity to decline, and the society was in turmoil.The Anshi war dampened the vitality of the Tang Dynasty, causing the treasury to dry up, selling officials and titles, paying monks and nuns, donating miscellaneous taxes, and all kinds of prosecutions were of no avail.At the beginning of the Dali (766-779 AD), Anshi was in chaos, production had not yet recovered, and prices were still unstable. For example, a bucket of rice was still between 1,000 and 1,400 yuan.In Daizong's later years, the price of rice was still double that of before the war, and the price of silk rose four times.Du Fu's poem said: "I heard that a piece of silk is worth tens of thousands of dollars", which shows that the inflation at that time was very harmful and caused many abnormal situations:

(1) Prices are soaring, the people are suffering, and the household registration has dropped sharply. (2) The currency figure of taxation increased, but the actual value decreased. In the early years of Suzong (756 AD), the annual income was 600,000 yuan; in his later years (762 AD), it was ten times more than that in the early years.At the end of Daizong Dali (779 A.D.), the number increased to 12 million. (3) The amount of money earned by officials' salaries has doubled, and the purchasing power of real money has declined.In the twelfth year of the Dali calendar, the official salary was adjusted according to the new currency value, and the annual increase was about 156,000 yuan.

This inflation was very violent at the beginning of Suzong, and then it was intermittent and ups and downs, and there were differences between regions. It lasted about 60 years, and it did not subside until the late period of Emperor Dezong's founding (780-783 AD). The method of controlling inflation in the Tang Dynasty is generally to make the best use of the situation and gradually adjust it, mainly from four aspects.First, stop fighting and stabilize the political situation.The Tang Dynasty put down the Anshi Rebellion with the strategy of force and bribery.Suzong and the following two generations successively abolished Tianbao's bad government, practiced frugality, abstained from extravagance and arrogance, rectified the administration of officials, and reused talents, such as Li Mi and Lu Zhi in literature, Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi in Wu, so that the war gradually subsided, and the society Order restored.Second, develop production and communicate North-South economic exchanges.Many important ministers and generals led soldiers to cultivate fields in their residences, and recruited refugees to cultivate fields.This move had a great impact, and quickly resumed production in various places that had been looted by the war.The imperial court also implemented many measures to reduce the burden on the people, reward land reclamation, and develop handicrafts, which were quite effective.The Anshi wars were mostly in the northern region, and the Yangtze River Basin was less affected, and the products were abundant.So the imperial court tried its best to restore the north-south transport route, and used the materials from the south to meet the urgent needs of the north.Third, be good at managing money.Financial manager Liu Yan followed the method of Sang Hongyang in the Western Han Dynasty, comprehensively used economic policy, fiscal policy and monetary policy, and connected with the actual situation in the middle Tang Dynasty, to implement a set of financial management methods, which achieved great results.It is said in history that the effect of its implementation is "the state uses it for mercy and the people do not disturb it".Fourth, manage currency circulation well.Compress coin casting, minimize the number of coins in circulation in the market, and use more silk in some large-amount payments, so that the monetary role of silk value exceeds the value of money.At the same time, private casting is strictly prohibited.After the implementation of the above measures, with the recovery of production, domestic and foreign trade increased day by day, prices gradually stabilized, and the currency value rebounded.Inflation, which has been going on for decades, has developed in the opposite direction and tends to deflation.

In the following generations of Yizong, the vassals and towns established themselves independently and attacked each other, just like the situation in the Warring States Period.Central taxation, supplies and coinage were also withheld.In the Tang Dynasty, those foolish monarchs who only knew how to eat, drink, and play, obeyed the orders of eunuchs to monopolize power, and the central power was weakening day by day. Lack of supplies often caused various chaos, and inflation and partial deterioration occurred from time to time.During Emperor Xizong's Guangqi period (885-888 A.D.), the price of rice was as high as 300,000-500,000 ren per bucket, the currency system completely collapsed, and the real economy resumed among the people.In some areas, silver is used for large expenditures.The serious currency chaos in the late Tang Dynasty spread to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, causing even greater currency chaos.