Great Song Renzong. The Song Dynasty is rare in the history of our country**A period of policy relaxation for businessNot only has the social status of the merchants been improved to a certain extent, but a new and unique social phenomenon has also been triggeredHis father was in business, and his children and grandchildren were in business. It is not surprising that my father's success in business showed that the path of business was feasible and smooth, but that his children and grandchildren did not continue to embark on this path.
fromSince ancient times, there has been a tradition in China that sons inherit their fathers' businessJudging from the statement, it seems that the emergence of this phenomenon is the rebellion of young people against feudal traditional culture and family constraints. But in fact, if you take a closer look at the social background and mainstream ideas of the Song Dynasty at that time, you will have an understanding of the generational replacement of this identity.
1. "Not bad money" rich businessmen share worries for the best, and their status is gradually improving
Although the Song Dynasty is also in historyIt was recognized as a great unified dynasty, but in terms of both territory and military, it isIt is far less powerful than the Han and Tang Dynasties. Especially after Zhao Guangyi experienced the failure of the Yongxi Northern Expedition, the Song Dynasty has always shown a passive defensive posture in foreign military affairs. The Alliance of the AbyssThe signing of the agreement seemed to be a peace agreement between the two sides, but in essence, it was a bow to the Liao State by the Song Dynasty. WhileIt needs to give the Liao State silk cloth and silver taels every year, which greatly increases its own financial burden。After the establishment of the Western Xia, because the Song Dynasty did not recognize the rationality of its regime, it waged a war with it for several years, and the Song Dynasty was defeated again and againIt increased the financial burden on the Song Dynasty.
As a result of the signing of these two major treaties,It is not enough to rely solely on the finances obtained by taxing the peasants' farmlandIn desperation, the Song Dynasty had to relax restrictions on commerce in policy to increase fiscal revenue. Under such circumstances, merchants appeared in large numbers and were active in all strata of society, and the opening of the Maritime Silk Road at that time greatly promoted the economic development of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, the merchants of the Song Dynasty were not only at the level of special care in terms of policy, but also a group that made outstanding contributions to the peace of the country, and their social status naturally increased slowly.
The Alliance of the Abyss2. In terms of policy, the state relaxes the employment of businessmen
Different from the previous dynasties that strictly restricted merchants, the Song Dynasty had a very generous relaxation of policies on merchants. At the beginning of the country,In the Song Dynasty, there was a situation of "the gate of the country's wide tribute and the road of wide search"., and the number of merchants is huge, and if all their children are excluded, it will surely cause great discontent in society. In the first year of the reign of Emperor Yingzong, the Song Dynasty promulgated such a decree: industrial and commercial miscellaneous people, there are geniuses and aliens, and they will also listen to the explanationIn a real sense, the rationality of businessmen as officials is affirmed from the legal level
Although there is still a restriction on the need for "genius aliens" for businessmenBut compared with previous dynasties, great progress has been made. As industry and commerce became more developed and important in the Song Dynasty, there were more and more relaxations of this policy.
And some people of insight in the Song Dynasty played a huge role in this process. For example, Fan Zhongyan once said in his "Four People's Poems" the words "What is the crime of my businessman, and the gentleman is ashamed of his neighbor", thus expressing his rightThere is a harsh critique of the contempt for businessmen in traditional thought。After he held an important position in the imperial court, he would definitely substitute his thoughts into specific policy formulation, and when the policy was implemented nationwide, his thoughts would become the will of the first class, thus promoting the relaxation of the requirements of businessmen.
3. The influence of traditional Confucianism and the necessity of protecting officials and businessmen in management
After the war at the end of the Tang Dynasty, Confucianism finally completed another revival in the Song Dynastyand enter a new stage, namely "science". However, the core connotation of traditional Confucianism has not disappeared, and the concept of "self-cultivation and family governance" has deeply penetrated into everyone's thoughts. Although business brought huge wealth and material benefits to businessmen, the regret of not being able to enter the court and become an official always accompanied them. In the case that they have lost the ability to participate in the imperial examination, they will naturally hope that their descendants can meet their unfulfilled wishes, which is also the true manifestation of their parents' hope for their son Jackie Chan.
The Anshi Rebellion at the end of the Tang Dynasty.
At the same time,If your children and grandchildren can become the first of the court, not only can the whole family become glorious, but also realize the real "from rich and expensive".It will also make itself rely on it when conducting business activities, the most obvious point is the monopoly of the industry. Since a businessman can use the privileges of his descendants to attack and obstruct his business competitors in many ways, it is difficult for other businesses to operate for a long time if they do not have an effective way to deal with themOver time, industry monopolies arise。In many literary works in ancient times, there have been a large number of descriptions similar to "single-minded dealings with the government and county, and coercing to get interest money", from which we can speculateThe benefits that can be sought after the end of the case are enormous.
1. The phenomenon of wealthy businessmen buying officials is serious
Due to the huge financial needs of the Song Dynasty, it led to special periods such as disaster relief and war** It is necessary to accumulate money by selling a large number of officials to replenish the treasury。Although businessmen have a lot of wealth, they lack social status, and the emergence of this phenomenon provides them with simple and direct opportunities to become officials. In the third year of Zhezong Yuanfu, he made clear regulations on official positions: 6,000 guan for service, 4,500 for borrowing, and 3,200 for Sailang. And during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty,The selling of official beards has reached its peak, "Issuing false generals and other notices, compared with the previous years, is no less than dozens of times", and even can bless future generations, "rich people and cunning businessmen, donate tens of millions of money, you can be the third son". A large number of businessmen achieved the goal of becoming officials in the court through this wayAlthough he does not necessarily have real power, he has completed the leap of his own class.
2. Entering the official career through the marriage of officials and businessmen
Compared with the previous dynasty, the Song people had an obvious change in the concept of marriage, that is"Marriage does not ask the valve to read".This provided an ideological basis for the descendants of merchants, who were essentially ordinary people, to marry high-ranking officials and nobles. In addition, because the businessmen have close contact with **, their descendants naturally have more time to stay together, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they are childhood sweetheartsThe foundation of the relationship between the man and the woman was laid。Although the merchants are far inferior in social status, they can lend a helping hand to them financially; ** They can also use their power to ensure the normal conduct of merchants' commercial activities, and guide their descendants to become officials and embark on official careers. The marriage of the two families is not only driven by feelings, but also a combination of interests.
Marriage. It is worth mentioningThere were also some merchants who entered the court because they were appreciated and recognized by high-ranking officials。For example, Wang Jie, a native of Tingzhou, recommended himself to the emperor during his business in Jianghuai because he was familiar with alchemy, although he was assigned to Lingnan in the process, but he was eventually summoned by the emperor and promoted to the general of Shenwu and the training envoy of the Kangzhou regiment. But this situation is still relatively rare, and there are only a few cases throughout the Song Dynasty, so in the exchanges between merchants and dignitaries, it is stillIt is mainly based on marriage.
3. Participate in the imperial examination to gain fame
Due toThe businessmen had great enthusiasm and hope that their descendants would be able to enter the court and become officialsTherefore, they will be rigorously cultivated from an early age. First of all, it is to psychologically shape the traditional Confucian concept for them, develop the habit of loving reading, and thus establish the ideal and goal of becoming an official in the court. The spread of this atmosphere led to the fact that in the Song Dynasty, there was a situation in which "those who are fathers and brothers are to blame for their sons and younger brothers, and those who are mothers and wives are humiliated by their sons and husbands who do not learn".
And secondly, it isGive them the best help in their learning conditionsNot only are there servants to serve and prevent distraction, but there are also famous teachers teaching and many ancient books and classics to read.
Great Song merchant. In addition, because businessmen are exposed to more social classes, they also deeply understand the importance of networking, and they startedUse money to pave the way for the careers of your descendantsFor example, Xu Xiang in the Song Dynasty was born in a merchant family, and after his father Xu Tang envied and saw the Jinshi come out, "the Chime family property was handed over to the handsome man at that time", and his intentions can not be described as bad and bitter. In order to ensure that their offspring are truly foolproof when taking the exam, businessmen will even bribe the examiners to ensure that there are no accidents, which is rather despicable, but it is also trueThe embodiment of the means of the big businessman,
In society, businessmen still have great wealth and do not need to worry about their own liveshas such a deep obsession with entering the court and being an official, to a certain extentIt has promoted the development of a studious atmosphere in the whole society。At the same time, although their main purpose is to cultivate their own descendants, they objectively provide a place and environment for some ordinary children to study. Economically, because they were born into merchant families, they had a clearer understanding of the merchant group than the nobles and commoners, so after becoming officials, they would also formulate special policies for this group, so as toIt has a direct impact on the development of business. Politically, after a large number of descendants of businessmen who have not been assessed by the imperial examination enter the court as officials, it will inevitably cause disorder in the rule of officials and corruption in the government** Filthy officials are in the majority
Teenagers enter the office. On the one hand, the merchants of the Song Dynasty overrode the majority of the society with their wealth and enjoyed countless scenery; But on the other side, itsThe fact of low social status has always plagued them。It is this great contradiction between the material and the spiritualIt aroused their desire to make their descendants become officials in the court. At the same time, the occurrence of this phenomenon is also the embodiment of the traditional Chinese Confucian concept: the father establishes a family, and the descendants pass on the family. And if the son of a merchant wants to pass on his father's huge family business, there is no other way to do it safely except to become an official.