In ancient China, the payment of wages was mainly carried out in the form of Yulu. The Yulu system originated in ancient society and was initially mainly based on physical objects. With the development of the times, it gradually evolved to be mainly based on money, but in the feudal society, the Yulu system was still strictly restricted.
Beginning with the Qin and Han dynasties, the system of servants and positions of officials was further improved, and it became a long-standing system in the history of Chinese feudal society. According to the division of ranks, officials can be divided into nine grades, fifteen ranks and twenty-four grades, and different official positions have different standards for servitude. This system lasted until the end of the Qing Dynasty.
How to determine the amount of money for officials? Beginning with the Qin and Han dynasties, one of the core principles of formulating the Yulu system was "equal taste, equal taste". For example, a local official far away from the imperial court may receive the same amount of money as a minister close at hand. This principle guarantees equal rights for officials and avoids the unfair influence of status hierarchy on Qi Lu.
For the different official positions, the standards were generally set by the financial institutions of the imperial court. To put it simply, the higher the official position, the higher the rank. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the core components of the official Yulu were direct fenghe and lu rice, where direct feng, which was distributed in the form of currency, and lu rice referred to the amount of rice that could be received each year.
In addition, the performance of officials is also affected by some special factors, such as the rank of the official position, work performance, the official himself's education and qualifications, and so on. These factors may have a certain impact on the integrity of officials.
In ancient China, officials valued the richness of subsidies in addition to their regular salaries. The so-called subsidy refers to legitimate income, not gray income obtained by corruption or ingenuity. In ancient times, some rewards were directly rewarded with money, and even more so with rewards, wine, meat, chariots and horses, and even slaves and houses. In the Han Dynasty, the imperial court had regular rewards twice a year, divided into spring gifts and waxes, of which waxes were more affordable, in addition to money and grain, beef was also rewarded.
However, in ancient times, there were some problems with the salaries of officials. For example, due to official corruption and other reasons, many officials will increase their income by accepting bribes, embezzlement, etc., and even some officials will obtain more income by means such as bending the law and favoritism. In addition, due to the government's financial shortfall and other reasons, sometimes the imperial court was unable to pay officials on time or in full.
In short, the salaries of officials in ancient China were paid in the form of lilu, and the standards of lilu for different official positions would be distinguished according to status, rank and contribution. In addition to normal salaries, subsidies are also an important part to protect the legitimate rights and interests of officials. However, there are problems such as corruption and financial pressure on the Government, which also affect the salary situation of officials.