What do you think?
Rate this book
盐铁论--中华经典名著全本全注全译丛书 (中华书局出品)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 7, 2022
441-Discourses on Salt and Iron-Kuan Huan-Debate-81BC
Barack
2022/11/06
"On Salt and Iron", written about 81 BC. An important history book compiled and written according to the records of the famous "Salt and Iron Conference", the literary genre is dialogue. The book records a great debate on the politics, economy, military, diplomacy, and culture of Emperor Zhao of Han at that time. The core of the debate on salt and iron is the debate between state-run monopolies and the free economy advocated by Sang Hongyang. A total of 60 articles.
Huan Kuan, whose birth and death years are unknown, was a native of Runan County (now in the southwest of Shangcai, Henan Province), and he governed "Gongyang Spring and Autumn". Emperor Xuan was appointed as Lang, and the post-officer was appointed to the prefect of Lujiang. He is knowledgeable and good at writing.
Emperor Zhao of Han, Liu Fuling, was born in 94 BC and died in 74 BC. The eighth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty (including the former Shaodi and the Hou Shaodi in the period of Empress Lu), the young son of Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and his mother is Mrs. Gouyi. In the second year of Houyuan (87 years ago), he was established as the prince, and he ascended the throne in the same year. Huo Guang, Shangguan Jie, Jin Riyu, and Sang Hongyang were assisted by Emperor Wu's widow who entrusted Huo Guang to the throne. Due to the waste of money and poor people's livelihood at home, the policy of lightly swindling the poor and giving the people a break was adopted. The rent was reduced or exempted many times, and the refugees were recruited. In the sixth year of Shiyuan (81 B.C.), the Xianliang Literature of the County and the State was called to hold a conference on salt and iron, and then he was dismissed. Reconciled with the Huns again. Political stability is relatively stable, and social and economic recovery has been achieved. It opened a good situation for "Zhaoxuan ZTE".
Sang Hongyang, presumably born in 155 BC, died in 80 BC. A native of Luoyang, Henan, he was a statesman and financial expert in the Western Han Dynasty, and one of the ministers of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Sang Hongyang was born into a merchant family. He successively held the posts of Zhongshi Zhong, Da Nong Cheng, Su Duwei, Da Si Nong, and so on. Since the third year of Yuanshou (the first 120 years), with the strong support of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, economic policies such as Suanjin, Gaojin, Yantie Guanying, Equal Loss, Equalization, Currency Reform, and Wine Judgment have been implemented successively. 100,000 people were stationed in the fields and garrisoned the borders to defend against the Huns. These measures have been successful to varying degrees, greatly increased the government's fiscal revenue, and laid a solid material foundation for Emperor Wu to continue to carry out the cause of Wenzhi and Wugong, but they also brought certain negative effects and caused criticism. In the second year of Houyuan (87 BC), Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, and Sang Hongyang moved to the post of Censor Doctor and was equal to Huo Guang and Jin Riju as auxiliary ministers. In the sixth year of Shiyuan (81 B.C.), the Yan-Tie Conference was held. Sang Hongyang debated with Yan-Tie’s official camp and policies such as equal losses and equalization of “competing with the people” because of the virtuous literature. After the meeting, the liquor monopoly was changed to taxation, and other policies remained unchanged. In September of the first year of Yuanfeng (80 years ago), Sang Hongyang was involved in the rebellion of Liu Dan, the king of Yan and Shangguan Jie's father and son, because of political differences with Huo Guang, and was implicated and killed.
Table of Contents
The first
Force farming second
There is a third
wrong coin fourth
No-till fifth
retro sixth
non-martingale seventh
Chao Cuo eighth
Assassination ninth
Any policy has advantages and disadvantages, and sometimes the effects good and bad may affect different people. The debate on whether to go public or private has existed for two thousand years ago. Unless, like some developed countries, it can suck blood from other countries in the world, the wealth of the country will inevitably compete with the people for profit. When wealth is concentrated in the hands of the state, it can concentrate its strength on great things. But in this process, the interests of ordinary people will inevitably be damaged. The trade-off between the two is difficult. The way of the emperor, in the final analysis, is the way of balance.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was talented and ambitious and had many ideals and aspirations. All these grand plans required the most basic support, which was money. The monopoly of salt and iron has been discussed and discussed, and the core point is whether the court should voluntarily give up this income. It is always difficult to revoke one's own life. From the emperor's point of view, each increase in the income of the court can do more important things; from the point of view of the officials, it can allow many people to obtain personal benefits from it. The victims are mainly ordinary people. And the general public has the least right to speak. The emperor and ministers are the final decision-making group. Even if representatives of public opinion are invited, it is conceivable that the result will be anything.
Sang Hongyang and literary virtuous people insist on their own words and have their reasons. If we look at this debate from the perspective of today's people, the biggest point is that the debate is qualitative, lacking data, and not quantitative enough. Without numbers, there is no persuasiveness. Sang Hongyang believes that it is a fact that the official battalion of salt and iron can enrich the national treasury, but can you further point out how much of this fund will be accounted for? And how high is the expected loss to ordinary people? Literary Xianliang believes that the official camp of salt and iron has led to collusion between officials and businessmen, and hoarding is unusual. Can you give figures to prove how deep this level is? Of course, in terms of social productivity at the time, it was very difficult to say these numbers. But in fact, it provides ideas for our possible debates. It is not enough to just state the facts. We must also use figures to illustrate the degree of this fact and its priority. If you state the facts in your favor, and I state the facts in my favor, the discussion will never end.
Today, in our opinion, it is a matter of course that the currency is issued uniformly by the state. But more than 2,000 years ago, China also had a period when private individuals could mint coins. Although the times were different, the social framework and technical level were different, but human nature was similar. So it is conceivable that if private coinage is opened up today, a similar situation will occur in our society. The official and private ownership of the coinage is of course a very extreme example. In the past, salt, iron, and wine were all important strategic resources. Today, this category may be broader, including railways, minerals, and tobacco. Whoever controls these strategic resources determines the foundation of a country.
Sang Hongyang is an official of the imperial court, and he represents the interests of the supreme ruling group with the emperor at the core. Literary virtuous people come from the people, they represent the general public, and they speak for the interests of the common people. The interests between the two are inherently difficult to reconcile. Although different paths lead to the same goal in the long run, when it comes to short-term actions, it is easy to run in the opposite direction. If the country wants to be strong, the oppression of ordinary people may increase. People move freely, and the power of the government may be weakened. Do you want a big government or a small government? People were arguing before 2000, and people are still arguing today. Maybe after 2000, the issue will not be settled. At the end of the day, the butt determines the head. Whichever interest group I sit in, I speak for which interest group.
In a high position, the pattern is higher. In other words, those in high positions pay more attention to those grand propositions, open up new territories, and leave their names in history. What they pay attention to, and what ordinary people pay attention to, can't be the same after all. Small people worry about their livelihood all their lives, even if they shed blood and sacrifice for major events, it is just a footnote of the times. In peaceful and prosperous times, they work hard all their lives; if they encounter troubled times, they are nameless bones in a foreign land. The big man ridicules the little man that he is not high-level and only cares about his one-third of an acre of land. Isn't it true that he doesn't have back pain while standing and talking? Why do ordinary people care about the overall situation? When things are done, what ordinary people get is nothing but the leftovers of the big men, and their names will not be left in the history of the youth; if they fail, the big men may still have room to turn around, and the small people will be ruined.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, heroes rose together, monarchs and doctors, military generals and advisors. The stars are bright, but how many of them can end well? No matter how dazzling the merits are, is it worth it? Is it not a kind of wisdom to retreat bravely and enjoy the years of life? Obsession is power, and you will probably always get power, however big or small. Obsession is wealth, and in the end, there will probably always be an estate, but more or less. But with too much obsession, it is easy to see only the benefits and not the risks. A mediocre person who sees a lot of risks will stay stagnant; a hero is encouraged by his interests, and he will continue to move forward, but the heights are very cold, and if he falls, he will be completely different. Probably what is worth imitating is that when you advance, you can build a career, and when you retreat, you can enjoy the rest of your life. Maybe this kind of life can be called wisdom.
Displaying 1 of 1 review