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How rich were the common people in the developed economy of the Song Dynasty?
The Song Dynasty was a very cool dynasty, and its history began with the idiom “yellow robe plus body”. General Zhao Kuangyin of the Later Zhou Dynasty led his troops northward to defend against the enemy, passing through Chenqiaoyi stationed.
Zhao Kuangyin woke up drunk in the morning, and as soon as he left the house, his subordinates put on yellow robes. The generals shouted long live, Jiangshan was easily obtained.
However, whether Zhao Kuangyin was really drunk or pretended to be drunk at the time, and whether he knew about the yellow robe in advance is unknown. Every time there is a change of dynasty in Chinese history, there will always be a farce where the new master repeatedly resigns and tears, saying “I can’t do it, how can you force me to be the emperor”. Forced” ascended the throne.
Zhao Kuangyin basically belongs to such a “virtuous” monarch.
Although the beginning is a bit old-fashioned, Zhao Kuangyin’s Song Dynasty has been extraordinary since then, which is impressive. Zhao Kuangyin was born as a professional soldier. It stands to reason that he should be brave and ruthless, keen to attack, and value martial arts over literature.
Unexpectedly, this Song Taizu turned out to be a good man who loves life and world peace, and tried to avoid killing as much as possible to solve the problem. For example, not long after he first ascended the Great Treasure, Zhao Kuangyin erected a monument in a secret room of the Taimiao. After the new emperor of the Song Dynasty ascended the throne, an illiterate eunuch would take him to the secret room to look at the monument. No one but the emperor knew what was written on the stele.
It wasn’t until the Jin army broke through Bianliang City and entered the Taimiao that the truth became clear. There were three articles written on the stele, to the effect: First, do not kill the descendants of the Chai family (descendants of the Later Zhou Dynasty). If you commit suicide, you cannot kill them publicly; secondly, do not kill scholar-bureaucrats, especially those admonishing ministers; thirdly, if your descendants violate the first two rules, they will be punished by heaven and earth.
The “three precepts against rocks” not only set the bottom line for the emperors of the Song Dynasty to govern, but also set the tone for the economic policy of the Song Dynasty. Generally speaking, there are three words: no tossing.
The whole country takes economic construction as the center, and if it can resolve disputes peacefully, it will not resort to force; if it can reconcile internal contradictions, it will not intensify conflicts.
Under the guidance of the national policy of not tossing, the economy of the Song Dynasty surpassed all previous records in one fell swoop. The year with the highest fiscal revenue in the Song Dynasty reached 100 million guan (1 guan = 1000 liters). Even in the Southern Song Dynasty, which lost half of the northern country, the fiscal revenue could reach 100 million guan.
This kind of income record is not only unprecedented in ancient China, but also unprecedented. For example, the fiscal revenue of the Ming Dynasty was an order of magnitude worse than that of the Northern Song Dynasty. The situation in the Qing Dynasty was slightly better during the Kangxi and Qianlong heydays, but it was not half of the fiscal revenue of the Northern Song Dynasty.
The lives of ordinary people in the Song Dynasty were also better than those in other dynasties. Sima Guang once felt heartbroken that the world was going downhill, and even peasants and soldiers wore silk shoes, which was too extravagant!
Look at the reasons why the one hundred and eight generals in “Water Margin” went to the Liangshan Mountains. Some came because of murder and arson, some came because they violated the laws of the court, and some came here for idleness and happiness. Here we come! How did such a situation of stability, unity and prosperity come about? We should not overestimate the achievements of the Song Dynasty 1,000 years ago. Taxes supported the country and society of the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty was still very traditional in its bones.
As mentioned in the first part of this book, the high-yielding Champa rice entered China during the Song Dynasty, which inspired China’s population to exceed 100 million. With more people, tax revenues naturally increased.
