Bai Juyi's "Pipa Xing" depicts the profit-oriented and helplessness of the merchants, which is not only a tribute to the poet's narrative skills, but also a side reflection of the commercial prosperity of that era.
In ancient times, because navigation technology had not yet developed, China was relatively closed, and the small peasant economy had been the dominant economic form of China's feudal dynasty, but this did not prevent the prosperity of commerce.
During the Tang Dynasty, the prosperity of commerce reached a peak, among which the trading of tea is a good example. Although we can't go deep into the profitability of the tea buying industry in ancient times, it is enough to show that the commercial activities at that time were very active.
Ancient poems can not only make us feel the beauty of rhyme, but also reflect the state of life in ancient times, providing a window for us to understand that era.
Although China's feudal dynasties were usually dominated by agriculture, it was not without the existence of a commodity economy. The Spring and Autumn Period of the pre-Qin period had already shown the initial form of the commodity economy, and the frequency of commodity exchange was also increasing due to the unification of the country and the prosperity of society in the Qin and Han dynasties.
The Tang and Song dynasties were a period of high prosperity of the commodity economy of the Chinese feudal dynasty, and the prosperity of the market economy in the Song Dynasty is known to everyone, and some people even believe that the Song Dynasty already had the rudiments of capitalism.
However, the Song Dynasty basically followed the Tang Dynasty in terms of business model and social division of labor, and the high economic prosperity of the Tang Dynasty was not found in the previous dynasty. So, how did the market economy develop in the Tang Dynasty?
During the Tang Dynasty, commercial prosperity reached its peak and the market economy was active. The reason behind this is the unification of the country as a whole, the strength of the military, the improvement of productive forces and the growth of consumer demand.
However, even in the Tang and Song dynasties, when the market economy flourished, the rulers still put agricultural development in the first place, and the economic model dominated by agriculture did not change, but the proportion of the commodity economy increased.
Due to the overall backwardness of the productive forces, any changes in war, climate, policy orientation, population, etc., may have a serious impact on the small peasant economy of feudal society. However, the Tang Dynasty was relatively less affected by these factors, so the transition from a natural economy to a commodity economy proceeded smoothly.
The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were the most chaotic period in ancient China, with frequent regime changes and the coexistence of many ethnic groups. However, the Sui dynasty laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Tang dynasty by basically ending the situation of multiple political divisions and promoting the integration of multiple ethnic groups in the north and south.
During the Wude period, the Tang Dynasty set the capital of Guanzhong, and after the Anshi Rebellion, the country generally maintained peace for more than 100 years, which was also a key factor in the prosperity of agriculture and commerce.
Climate also had an important impact on the prosperity of ancient dynasties, and the yield of ancient agriculture was closely related to the growth of crops, as well as rainfall, temperature and humidity. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the climate was warm and humid, with abundant rainfall, which was very conducive to the growth of crops.
In addition, the productivity of the Tang Dynasty was relatively high, and the agricultural production technology was not inferior to that of later generations, and various new farming tools such as the Quyuan plough continued to emerge, and wrought iron agricultural tools such as the crane's beak hoe were also basically popularized.
At the same time, water conservancy projects and new irrigation tools are constantly emerging, which provide conditions for the liberation of productive forces and fertile soil for the development of commerce.
The policy orientation of the feudal dynasty has always been based on agriculture, but in the eyes of rulers who are unstable or too conservative in the general environment, the stability of agriculture often requires the sacrifice of commercial development.
This is the embodiment of the policy of valuing agriculture and suppressing business. In all dynasties and generations, the implementation of the policy of heavy agriculture and suppression of business was not exactly the same. In the early Tang Dynasty, merchants were taxed much higher than peasants, while limiting the time and space for commodity trading.
In addition, the early Tang Dynasty also devalued the social status of merchants by promulgating the "Cheap Merchants Order". However, the Tang Dynasty's implementation of the policy of heavy agriculture and suppression of commerce was quite flexible. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, the country had just recovered from the war, and it was very necessary to develop agriculture and curb commerce.
By the time of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, the idea of heavy agriculture was still dominant, but the suppression of commercial activities had decreased.
During the Tang Dynasty, in order to ensure the orderly conduct of commercial activities, a lot of efforts were made in commercial legislation, not only formulating perfect laws and regulations on commodities, prices, currency, etc., but also implementing various commercial stimulus policies in the early stage, such as canceling the market tax and transaction tax for merchants.
In addition, in terms of restrictions on the types of goods, the Tang Dynasty showed a forward-looking vision, for important taxes such as salt and iron, the Tang Dynasty allowed the people to market and sell salt in an orderly manner, which not only reflected the first"Let it benefit the people"Policies have undoubtedly promoted the prosperity of commerce.
As another important tax **, tea was also established in the late Tang Dynasty, and was followed and refined by the Northern Song Dynasty, forming a government agency specializing in tea such as the Tea and Horse Division, which basically monopolized the sales and marketing of tea.
In the early and middle Tang Dynasty, tea could circulate freely in the market, and even tea was surprisingly profitable, which was an indirect incentive policy for merchants at that time. Although the early Tang Dynasty implemented a policy of suppressing commerce, the wealthy merchants were basically unaffected, and the attitude towards such merchants was basically laissez-faire, which aggravated land annexation, but was also conducive to the development of the commodity economy.
The Tang Dynasty did not lack a huge market, and the "Kaiyuan Dynasty" under the rule of Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty peaked at 52 million. Unlike the Ming and Qing dynasties that imposed a ban on the sea in the previous dynasties or later generations, the Tang Dynasty's attitude towards foreign countries was tolerant, laissez-faire, and even supported, which was also an important manifestation of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty's commodity economy.
Not all ancient feudal dynasties were practiced like the Qing Dynasty"Closed off the country"policy, but most of the rulers had reservations about communication with foreign nations. Although there was communication, it was always dominated by the Central Plains Dynasty, and the foreign states were in a vassal position, and the status was subordinate, and the goods of the Central Plains Dynasty were welcomed by the foreign states, but the goods of the foreign countries were not valued by the Central Plains Dynasty.
However, the commodities of the Tang Dynasty were not one-way, opening up a number of trade routes, among which the famous Silk Road reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. In the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the Maritime Silk Road arose, and exchanges between the East and the West became increasingly frequent.
During the Tang Dezong period, the "Huanghua Sida Ji" recorded in detail a number of trade routes between the Tang Dynasty and foreign countries, including Yingzhou-Andong Road, Dengzhou-Goryeo Road, Xiazhou-Datong, Yunzhong Road, Annan-Tianzhu Road, etc.
These were just a few of the main trade routes that led the Tang Dynasty to the surrounding parties, and there were countless derived trade routes.
The Tang Dynasty's emphasis on foreign affairs was not only the development of merchant trade routes, but also a comprehensive consideration of ensuring the safety of business travel and ensuring the smooth flow of trade routes. To this end, the Tang Dynasty set up the Western Regions Protectorate in the west, and set up many post offices along the trade route, according to the "Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty", the Tang Dynasty set up more than 1,600 post offices in the country.
In addition, the Tang Dynasty also made full use of water and sea transportation, developed shipbuilding, and opened up maritime trade routes with the West. The commercial activities on the canal were very active, and cities such as Chang'an, Luoyang, Quanzhou, Chuzhou, Guangzhou, Bianzhou, and Yangzhou also arose.
During the Tang Dynasty, commerce flourished, and foreign ships came to Annam and Guangzhou every year. Exotic merchants set up shops and engaged in commercial activities here, and Hu merchants and feudal merchants were everywhere. "
Gentiles"、"Huayi"、"Hu Han"The frequent use of such words reflects the prosperity of multi-ethnic exchanges and communication in the Tang Dynasty. The economic and cultural exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and foreign countries became more and more frequent, and there were even spectacles of foreigners serving as officials in the Tang Dynasty and Tang people serving as officials in Persia and Arabia, which is enough to prove the open spirit of the Tang Dynasty.
The commodity economy of the Tang Dynasty was not only tolerant and open to the outside world, but also to the inside, and due to the increase in productivity, a large number of peasants were liberated from heavy agricultural labor and devoted themselves to commercial activities.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, the hukou system was strict, and most peasants were confined to a fixed range of activities, and once they left the hukou area without authorization, they would be severely punished, and even regarded as exiles, or even executed.
In the Tang Dynasty, the development of agriculture was accompanied by a corresponding relaxation of the hukou system, and many peasants were allowed to move freely after becoming merchants, which promoted the prosperity of the market economy.
The prosperity of the commodity economy also greatly improved the status of merchants"Shinong Industry and Commerce"The traditional rankings began to fade, and businessmen began to make their mark on the stage of history.
In ancient times, merchants were often suppressed, especially the feudal etiquette system. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, merchants could only wear white plain clothes, and were not allowed to decorate luxuriously, even if they were rich, they were restricted. Merchants were forbidden to ride horses, and there were many restrictions on ceremonies such as weddings and funerals, and the rulers tried to treat merchants as the bottom of society.
Businessmen are not allowed to communicate with people of high status, let alone enter politics, and the status of businessmen is only temporary. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, for the sake of developing agriculture and ensuring social stability, commercial activities were suppressed, but later with the development of the commodity economy, merchants were no longer regarded as lowly occupations, but there was a prosperity of business for the whole people, and even some ** and royal family members began to get involved in commerce.
The enthusiasm for business activities in all walks of life was inseparable from the strong economic power of the merchant class, and the Tang government often even borrowed money from local wealthy merchants to build temples and livelihood projects.
In the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty, as the state's power declined, the government began to impose heavy taxes on the merchant class in order to maintain the country's rule. Although the commodity economy of the Tang Dynasty reached an unprecedented prosperity, the disadvantages of the commodity economy began to emerge due to the imperfection of the legal system and the gap between the rich and the poor caused by land annexation.
For example, the boom in the commodity economy led many government officials to get involved in commercial activities and establish close ties with merchants, leading to corruption in the government and the military. In addition, the concept of extravagant consumption of the government, aristocrats and big businessmen has gradually formed, the function of the commodity itself has gradually diluted, becoming an important part of economic exchange, many commodities have been extravagant, and people's consumption concept has turned to materialism.
The Tang Dynasty was an incomparably open feudal dynasty, which created unprecedented opportunities for the development of the commodity economy. However, an overly prosperous market economy was not always a good thing for a feudal dynasty based on a small-scale peasant economy.