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The Song Dynasty established a relatively complete storage system from the central to the local level, and played an important role in the supply of troops, relief of disasters and famines, and regulation of food prices.
However, the problem of corruption in the warehouse administration of the Song Dynasty also continued to appear, which not only affected the normal performance of the storage function, but also aggravated local financial losses, increased the burden on the people, and further intensified social conflicts.
Song Dynasty warehousing system and organization management
The storage system of the Song Dynasty mainly included the Jingshi granary, the prefecture and county granary, the reserve warehouse, the zhuanpan warehouse, and the large army warehouse. The Jingshi granary is a granary managed by the central government, mainly storing grain for the palace and the residents of the capital.
The state and county granaries are granaries managed by local governments, mainly storing grain for the local people. The reserve warehouse is a granary built to fight against disasters and famines, and is mainly used to reserve food for relief of disaster victims and supply of the army.
Transferor-general warehouses are used to store temporarily allocated grain to regulate food prices. The large army warehouse is used to store military food for the use of the army.
The warehouse management institutions of the Song Dynasty were mainly divided into central warehouse management institutions and local warehouse management institutions. The central warehouse management agency is composed of officials in charge, warehouse officials, warehouse officials and other personnel, and is responsible for managing the grain warehouse and the large army warehouse of the Beijing Division. The local warehouse management agency is composed of warehouse officials, warehouse officials and other personnel, responsible for managing the state and county grain warehouses, reserve warehouses and transfer warehouses.
In the Song Dynasty, the selection of warehouse officials was very strict, requiring officials not only to have professional knowledge and skills in managing grain silos, but also to have high political ethics and behavioral ethics. In addition, warehouse officials need to undergo examinations and evaluations before they can take on warehouse management jobs.
However, although the Song Dynasty established a sound warehousing system and management institutions, there were still various frauds and corrupt behaviors, such as favoritism by warehouse officials, erosion of grain, and falsification of accounts. These corrupt acts have seriously affected the normal performance of the storage function, aggravated local financial losses, increased the burden of the people, and further intensified social conflicts.
Corruption in warehouse management in the Song Dynasty
The corruption in warehouse management in the Song Dynasty was mainly reflected in the three links of grain storage, preservation and expenditure. In the process of storing grain, phenomena such as unfair estimation, increased consumption, collusion between warehouse officials and households, and powerful forces occur from time to time.
In the process of grain storage, phenomena such as stealing grain and rice, falsifying accounts, and passivity have also appeared repeatedly. In the process of grain expenditure, it is also common to withhold military grain, distribute grain and rice for disaster relief, and illegally encroach upon and divert.
In the process of grain collection, because grain is part of fiscal taxation, some warehouse officials and local officials often have unfair estimates and increased consumption. In some places, tyrants and households will also collude with warehouse officials to evade the collection of warehouse grain by partnering up and concealing them.
In the process of grain storage, stealing grain and rice is one of the most common problems. Warehouse officials sometimes made false statements or falsified their accounts to cover up the actual theft of grain. In addition, some warehouse officials also have the problem of passivity and slack, low work efficiency, and lack of responsibility for warehouse management.
In the process of grain expenditure, it is also common to withhold military grain, distribute grain and rice for disaster relief, and illegally encroach upon and divert. Since army food and grass were crucial to victory in the war, some warehouse officials would maliciously withhold military food.
In times of famine, disputes often arise over the distribution of grain and rice for disaster relief. In addition, some warehouse officials will divert the grain for personal or private gain, causing huge losses.
The cause of corruption in the cang
The existence of corruption in the Song Dynasty stemmed from many reasons. Among them, local financial difficulties are a major reason. As the central government continues to increase the collection of local financial resources, local finances are increasingly embarrassed. Under such circumstances, in order to fill the financial gap, some local officials often seek personal interests in warehouse management, leading to corruption.
Another reason is that the warehouse officials are cheap. During the Song Dynasty, warehousing officials were relatively poorly paid, and their standard of living tended to be poorer.
Under such circumstances, some warehouse officials will take advantage of their positions to embezzle in order to obtain more income. This situation also exacerbates the problem of corruption in the cang.
In addition, the transportation and storage conditions of stored grain and rice are also a cause of corruption in warehouse administration. Rice and grain itself are perishable, and there is wear and tear during storage and transportation. At the same time, the warehousing technology at that time was also relatively backward, so that the warehousing officials and others could also "profit" from it.
The impact of corruption in the cang
The existence of corruption in the Song Dynasty brought many adverse effects to society, the government and the people. First of all, the storage function cannot function properly.
As an important place for storing goods, the management of the warehouse should be strictly standardized, but the existence of warehouse corruption has led to problems in the management and operation of the warehouse, and the storage function is difficult to be effectively played, resulting in the waste and loss of food and materials, affecting the interests of the country and the people.
Second, corruption in cangzheng has increased the burden on the people and intensified social contradictions. In the Song Dynasty, warehouses stored state materials, but the existence of warehouse corruption led to problems in warehouse management, so that the loss of state finances was passed on to the people.
At the same time, the problem of corruption in the cangning government will also cause social contradictions, make the social order more unstable, and hinder the development and progress of society.
Third, corruption in the cangs has exacerbated local fiscal embarrassment. During the Song Dynasty, local governments often needed to collect food and supplies from warehouses to solve financial difficulties.
However, due to the existence of corruption in warehouse administration, the materials in the warehouse are likely to be misappropriated or wasted, making the financial situation of local governments more difficult and difficult to meet the needs of the people and the development requirements of society.
In short, the existence of corruption in the Song Dynasty brought many adverse effects to society, the government and the people, and was a loss to the interests of the country and the people.
Therefore, the problem of warehouse corruption should be paid attention to, and effective measures should be taken to prevent and control it, so as to ensure the normal operation of warehouses and the financial security of the country. At the same time, it is also necessary to strengthen the management and supervision of warehouse officials, improve their quality and professional ethics, and eliminate the problem of corruption in warehouse administration from the source.
Measures to prevent and control warehousing corruption in the Song Dynasty
Improve the supervision and management system In the Song Dynasty, the central warehouse supervision and management was quite strict, and a special agency was set up to supervise and manage the warehousing. At the local level, there are similar bodies for supervision.
In addition, the Song Dynasty allowed the public to supervise, and the people could report problems in warehouse management through "more than lawsuits" or "appeals". This multifaceted oversight helps to identify and correct problems.
Formulate warehousing laws and regulations The Song Dynasty formulated a series of warehousing management regulations, such as the "Warehouse Law" and "Grain Law", which clearly stipulate the behavior of warehousing officials, which is of great significance for ensuring the order of warehousing management and correcting illegal behavior. The penalties for violations are also clearly stipulated, and violators will be severely punished, thus creating a deterrent.
Improving the Quality and Integrity of Warehouse Officials The Song Dynasty adopted a strict selection system for warehouse officials, requiring warehouse officials to have certain qualities and abilities, so as to improve the level of warehouse management.
In addition, the Song Dynasty also implemented the "Chonglu Law", that is, improving the treatment of warehouse clerks to ensure that they had better motivation to work. These measures help to improve the quality and integrity of warehouse officials, thereby reducing corruption.
To sum up, the Song Dynasty adopted a variety of measures to prevent and control warehousing corruption, such as improving the supervision and management system, formulating warehousing laws and regulations, and improving the quality and morality of warehousing officials.
Although these measures could not fundamentally solve the problem of corruption in the warehouse administration in the Song Dynasty, they played a positive role in preventing and controlling the corruption of warehouse officials to a certain extent.
We should learn from this, continuously improve the supervision and management system, strengthen the construction of the legal system, and improve the quality and quality of warehouse officials, so as to better protect national food security and the interests of the people
The study of corruption in the Song Dynasty is not only a review of history, but also enlightenment for today's society. On the road to ensuring national food security and people's interests, preventing and controlling warehouse corruption is a problem we must face. We need to learn from history and explore prevention and control measures suitable for today's society.
Improving the supervision and management system, formulating laws and regulations on warehousing, and improving the quality and morality of warehousing officials are all effective means to prevent and control warehousing corruption. However, we must also realize that these measures will not completely solve the problem of corruption in the cang.
With the changes of the times, the form of warehousing management is also changing, we need to further explore prevention and control measures to meet the needs of the times, and constantly improve the warehousing supervision and management system.
At the same time, we also need to strengthen public supervision and participation, so that the public can become an important force in the prevention and control of corruption in the warehouse administration. In the current society, public supervision has become one of the important ways of social management, and we need to better play the role of public supervision in warehouse management, so as to promote the prevention and control of warehouse corruption to a higher level.
In short, the measures taken to prevent and control warehouse corruption in the Song Dynasty have enlightening significance for today's society. We need to sum up experience from history, explore prevention and control measures that meet the needs of the times, and promote the prevention and control of warehouse corruption to a higher level, so as to better protect national food security and the interests of the people.