In China's five-thousand-year history, we have always believed that the Tang Dynasty was a rare prosperity in history, so economic strength must also be very strong. In fact, the Song Dynasty, which followed the Tang Dynasty, was also a dynasty with strong economic strength but low profile. Judging from the existing historical records, the Song Dynasty can be regarded as the most economically developed dynasty in the world at that time.
What is even more valuable is that the Song Dynasty was facing the eyes of many foreign enemies and powers at that time, and many wars were facing war reparations, in this case, the economic strength of the Song Dynasty could be so strong, which shows that the economic development of the Song Dynasty has a very mature system.
So next, let's analyze how the Song Dynasty maintained this huge empire when the amount of war reparations was huge.
Strong economic background
1. Social stability
If we want to develop the economy well and have strong economic strength, the first thing we must do is to maintain the stability of the political situation, that is, to maintain social stability. We all know that in the last years of the Tang Dynasty before the establishment of the Song Dynasty, it experienced a long period of division of feudal towns, and the people suffered unspeakably.
In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, it was a series of conquests, so the people urgently needed a stable social environment. The Song Dynasty was born in such an environment.
In addition, the history of Zhao Kuangyin,the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, was also a famous yellow robe, so after ascending the throne, the first thing he did was to release the military power with a glass of wine and take back the military power in the hands of the generals.
It also implements the basic national policy of governing the country by civilians and emphasizing literature over force. To a certain extent, this has also promoted the stability of the regime and safeguarded the sovereignty of the country.
2. Promotion of the maritime industry
Due to the development of science and technology in the Song Dynasty, the navigation industry of the Song Dynasty was also very developed. Relying on the development of the navigation industry, the Song Dynasty established good trade exchanges with many Western countries.
In addition, the maritime regulatory system at that time was far less stringent than that of later dynasties, so the people of the Song Dynasty had many ways to conduct seafaring trade.
Policy implications
1. No longer inhibit land annexation
China has been a big agricultural country since ancient times, and the self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy has dominated. In the Song Dynasty, in order to further improve the efficiency of agricultural production, the Song Dynasty formulated different tax policies from other dynasties and began to collect taxes according to the occupation of land.
From the perspective of tax policy, the country's population is divided into main households and customers, the main household refers to the original land in the family, while the customer has no fixed land, and lives by leasing the land of other main households, similar to tenants.
The taxes to be paid by the main household and the customer are also different, and the customer only needs to pay a certain amount of grain and money to the main household at a fixed time, and does not have to pay taxes. The main household is different, and the main household needs to pay taxes on time according to the number of acres of land.
In addition to the main household and customers, the gentry were also required to pay taxes. As a result, the Song Dynasty paid more taxes than other dynasties, and the Song Dynasty's financial resources were far greater than those of other dynasties.
2. Attach importance to agricultural production
In addition to the measures implemented in land taxation that did not inhibit land annexation, the Song Dynasty also attached great importance to agricultural production. During the Song Dynasty, officials often sent professional officials to help those farmers who had problems in agricultural affairs to ensure the smooth progress of agricultural production.
During the Song Dynasty, iron farming tools developed rapidly, and in some areas of the south, there were even advanced watering tools such as barrel trucks. And with the continuous improvement of planting technology, the grain production of the Song Dynasty continued to increase.
Grain products such as rice in the southern region have become three crops a year, and in addition to meeting people's appetite needs, the Song Dynasty also obtained a large amount of grain reserves.
In addition to the most important food products, cash crops were also widely promoted during the Song Dynasty. Cash crops such as tea and sugar cane began to be rapidly cultivated, and these cash crops expanded the money bags of the Northern Song Dynasty.
3. Cancellation of curfew policy
All the dynasties before the Song Dynasty, even the Tang Dynasty, which was known for its openness, had always practiced a curfew policy. At night, after a certain hour, all streets are not allowed to pass.
The advantage of this is that there will be no riots at night because someone is running around. However, by the Song Dynasty, the curfew policy was abolished.
Taking the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Beijing, for example, at night, the lights are bright, the shadows are longing, the shops are lined up, and they are all open for business, and the entertainment venues are similar to the tile hooks.
The lively night market life of the Song Dynasty also promoted the prosperity of the Song Dynasty's commerce, which in turn promoted the development of the Song Dynasty's taxation and national strength.
The development of handicrafts
If the agricultural economy of the Song Dynasty was the foundation of the country, then the handicraft industry of the Song Dynasty was the sail that promoted the economic development of the Song Dynasty. The handicraft industry of the Song Dynasty benefited from its general environment and developed rapidly under this circumstance.
1. The porcelain industry, tea industry and printing industry have developed rapidly
Jingdezhen, as we know it today, was developed by relying on the porcelain-making industry of the Song Dynasty. In addition, due to the emergence of movable type printing, the speed of printing has been rapidly improved.
With the rapid cultivation of the cash crop tea, the tea industry also came into being. The development of the above handicraft industries has promoted the rapid development of the economy of the Song Dynasty.
The economic development of the Song Dynasty benefited from policy support and a stable political and social environment. As a result, the economy of the Song Dynasty could withstand years of large war reparations. Moreover, on this basis, it can not be affected and always be in the leading position of the world at that time.
References: History of the Song Dynasty, Zizhi Tongjian, General History of China