Disclaimer: All the historical materials in this article are from the book "Essays of Tianxiangge", and the author guarantees the authenticity of the historical materials, and at the same time there is no innuendo or politics involved.
Which dynasty in history has the best life for the common people? To answer this question, we must first discern a clear concept: what kind of life is the best? I believe that this issue can be considered from four perspectives. Looking at the economy first, the people must have enough access to money. To put it bluntly, the commodity economy must be developed. From this point of view, I think the people of the Ming and Qing dynasties lived the best.
Because according to Mr. Qian Mu's statement in the Outline of National History, since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the first bud of capitalism appeared in the Jiangnan region of China. According to Mr. Qian Mu's research, it is said that in some areas of Yangzhou, every day when the sky is slightly bright, a large number of ordinary people will gather on a certain bridge, waiting for various employers to hire them. In other words, there were already a large number of people who made a living by selling free labour-power.
Without the Opium Wars, these people would have evolved into the earliest working class! Therefore, I think that at the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the commodity economy was already highly developed, and the way for ordinary people to make a living was not only farming or examination. So, their lives are the best! Look at the price level. From this point of view, I think the ordinary people of the Song Dynasty lived the best.
Let's take Wu Dalang as an example. From the "Water Margin", it can be seen that this person walks the streets and alleys and sells burnt cakes for a living. Folks, logically, this kind of business is too small to make too much money, right? But it is this kind of small business that allows Wu Dalang to own a small two-story building on the street and can afford to marry a beautiful wife. It can be seen that the price level of the Song Dynasty is really not high! Therefore, I think the people of the Song Dynasty lived the best!
Third, from the perspective of political power, I think the ordinary people of the Song Dynasty lived the best. Why? Because it is not difficult to open the twenty-four histories, it is not difficult to find that in the entire Song Dynasty, there has never been a single case of literal hell, let alone the Ming Dynasty's kind of extermination of the Nine Tribes. On the contrary, according to Mr. Gu Jiegang's argument, during the Song Dynasty, the subordinates played against the emperor and did not have to call themselves slaves. Between officials and people, there is no such hierarchy as in later generations! Therefore, I think the people of the Song Dynasty lived the best!
Finally, from a cultural point of view, I think that the ordinary people of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods lived the best! Why? Because during this period, a situation of a hundred schools of thought appeared in the ideological circles. This is the first ideological emancipation trend in China's history! The next liberation will not wait until the end of the 19th century! At this time, the people can freely express their opinions, and they can also freely choose the country they want to go to.
If you look at Confucius, a cloth cloth, you can still travel around the world and give lectures everywhere. You can also set up private schools and collect disciples! There are many more, like Han Feizi, Sun Tzu, Zhang Yi, etc., who can "sell what they have learned to the imperial family" at will! Finally, to sum up, which dynasty in history has the best life for ordinary people? From different perspectives, we can draw different conclusions. But in general, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, or the Song Dynasty, or the Spring and Autumn Warring States, there were only these three periods, and the lives of the common people were relatively good!