Economist in Chinese History (Three Pillars of Tax Reform) Yang Yan Zhang Juzheng Yongzheng (center)

The book picks up

The "Two Taxes Law" has two innovations, first, fixed taxes, and second, monetary collection. The effect was obvious, and the financial revenue of the imperial court increased rapidly, supporting the famous "Dezong Zhongxing". However, such a simple and crude tax reform will deal a huge blow to agriculture, industry and commerce throughout the country, and it will inevitably be resisted by the powerful forces in various localities, and the class contradictions will become more acute, resulting in intensified social turmoil. Less than thirty years after its implementation, the "Two Taxes Law" existed in name only, and the once glorious Tang Empire also completed its final "return to the light" and gradually went to its demise.

If we look back and observe the background of Yang Yan's tax law reform, it is not difficult for us to find that the "two tax laws" were introduced hastily, and there are not too many supporting measures, more like a temporary measure, rather than a long-term strategy, so the implementation of future generations, but also more amendments, greatly discounted.

The time came to the ninth year of the Ming Empire (1581), and Zhang Ju, who was the first assistant of the official, was carrying out a pilot summary for many years, and launched his tax reform, known in history as the "One Whip Law", which is believed to be another major tax law reform in ancient China after the "two tax laws" of the Tang Dynasty.

First, on the basis of various prefectures and counties, all kinds of positive taxes, miscellaneous taxes, and tributes from the imperial court are uniformly collected and apportioned according to the advantages and disadvantages of land. Second, all kinds of local servitude, miscellaneous service, etc. will be folded into the human tax and levied according to the population. The subject matter of expropriation shall be cash and shall not be offset in kind.

The significance of the "one whip law" is positive, and while increasing the financial revenue of the imperial court, it plugs the loopholes of exploitation in various places and essentially reduces the burden on the people. In addition, since the local government can no longer make the people serve all kinds of servitude and miscellaneous services and various reasons for apportionment, but can only use the form of employment and procurement, which objectively expands employment and promotes the development of commercial activities.

Finally, I would like to say that Zhang Ju is one of the few people who recognize the importance of commercial activities and advocates "attaching equal importance to agriculture and commerce", which is in line with the view of Sang Hongyang in the Western Han Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng's reforms were successful, and he offended the bureaucracy as a result, ultimately leading to his discredit.

According to the history books, Zhang Juzheng was "able to speak at the age of one, read at the age of two, and composed poetry at the age of three". But the clever Zhang Juzheng never imagined that the "one whip method" that he had devoted his life to would actually have a bug, and this bug would indirectly become the hypnotic of the Ming Empire. (To be continued)