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The ancient Chinese tax system carried the heavy responsibility of the state finances, and taxation was regarded as the most important source of state and government revenue. This article will explore a key element in the fiscal and taxation system of the Tang Dynasty, the tax and grass system, which was crucial to the country's finances. It is worth noting that the tax and grass system of the Tang Dynasty has a long historical origin, and there are some differences in the implementation and scope of each place.
First of all, regarding the origin of tax grass, although it was practiced in the Tang Dynasty, the roots of this system can be traced back to the Qin and Han periods. In ancient China, the earliest collection of taxes and grass dates back to the Qin and Han dynasties, and early Chinese peasants were required to pay a tax on artemisia, which led to an increase in the burden on farmers. In the Qin Dynasty, the tax on artemisia was levied according to the number of acres of land, for example, three stones of artemisia were levied per hectare of land, and this unit was called "stone".
The scope of tax grass collection was territorial in the Tang Dynasty, and one of the main uses was to provide food for the royal horses, especially in the areas within 500 li of the two capitals, which provided artemisia to supply the idle stables of the imperial horses. For remote areas 500 miles away, the government allocated land to support horses for self-sufficiency. This system played a crucial role in ensuring the supply of fodder for military mail transportation.
In the Tang Dynasty, the collection method of tax grass depended on the collection area, which was first levied according to the number of acres of land, and later with the introduction of the two tax laws, tax grass became an additional tax on land tax, which was levied according to the number and season of land acres. The implementation of this system has certain difficulties, because the properties of different places are different, and in order to meet the financial needs of the state, the Tang government has adopted a flexible collection policy and exchanged various items for each other, which is called the discount system. This system of compromise played an important role in the tax system of the Tang Dynasty, but it also faced some problems, such as the abuse of power by local officials, which increased the burden on the people.
The type of tax grass levied is mainly Artemisia annua, which is to meet the needs of the national horse. In addition, the specific collection standards of tax drafts were stipulated in the Tang Dynasty, but this system has certain differences in different regions, so there are no specific quantitative rules for local governments to follow.
The collectors of tax grass are mainly local officials, who are entrusted with the specific collection of tax drafts. Although the position of "grass head" is not mentioned in historical records, it is clear that the officials responsible for other tax collections, such as "cloth head" and "branch head", can be clearly seen.
In general, the Tang Dynasty's tax and grass system played an important role in the ancient Chinese tax system, not only for supplying imperial horse food, but also influencing the behavior of local officials during the collection process. The flexibility of the discount system provides a guarantee for the country's financial stability, but there are also some drawbacks that need to be continuously improved. The origins of this system can be traced back to the Qin and Han dynasties, and its evolution and implementation methods vary from place to place in the Tang dynasty. The tax system played an integral role in the economic and political development of Tang China.
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