Draft on the Forms of Industrial and Commercial Activities in the Tang Dynasty

Author: Liu Yufeng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-09-01
Features: Weapons made by the Imperial Arms Bureau were uniformly managed by the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War had a chief official, the Minister of War, ranked as Third Grade, "in charge of the policies of instruments and cultural artifacts of the state." The Ministry of War was subordinated to the and two bureaus, each with dedicated officials responsible for their duties, details of which can be found in 《》 Volume 16 《》. According to 《》, "In the first month of the Qianyuan year, the Imperial Arms Bureau was renamed the Imperial Arms Commissioner, with one chief commissioner, two deputy commissioners, and two judicial officers, all of whom were inner court officials." The management of arms production fell into the hands of eunuchs, and the name of the administrative agency was also changed. Later, the authority of arms storage was transferred from the Ministry of War to the bow and arrow depot under the command of eunuchs, further changes in the management system, but it remained state-owned. Another major part of state-owned industry in the Tang Dynasty was coinage, which also had a specific administrative and management system. Before the twenty-fifth year of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong (737 AD), the Central Shaofu Bureau directly managed ten coinage furnaces and also had leadership over the coinage depots in various states, known as "the Shaofu Bureau of the imperial court set up ten furnaces, and the states were also included." The local coinage depots in various states had one supervisor, appointed by the military governor or prefect of the state; one deputy supervisor, appointed by the chief assistant; one secretary, appointed by the judicial officer; one supervisor of coinage, appointed by the assistant; and clerks, local officials were responsible for coinage together. In the second month of the twenty-fifth year of the Kaiyuan era, this management system was replaced. That month, "Lu Wenxin of the Censorate was appointed as the Commissioner of Coinage for all provinces," and through the establishment of fiscal special envoys, the Shaofu Bureau's authority over nationwide coinage was taken away. After the An Lushan Rebellion, the management system of state-owned coinage continued to change, forming a multi-head management and operation situation with coinage commissioners, salt and iron transport commissioners, provincial military governors, and prefects (during Emperor Wuzong's reign), all holding the power of coinage. This caused some confusion, but the government maintained a monopoly on coinage, with coinage being state-owned and private coinage being illegal. The above ministries, including the Ministry of Works, Shaofu Bureau, Construction Bureau, Imperial Arms Bureau, and Coinage Bureau, constituted the main management system of state-owned and handicraft industries in the Tang Dynasty, responsible for major production categories. Historical records show that in the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the central government and the Eastern Palace and Inner Court, there were also some state-owned industrial and handicraft management agencies, such as:
(1) The Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture had a Directorate, with two directors, ranked as Upper Eighth Grade. Four mountain assistants, ranked as Upper Ninth Grade. There were also eight bureaus, sixteen clerks, ten supervisors, and five guards. Their duties were "The director of the Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture is in charge of selecting and supplying rice and wheat for the imperial court. The assistant director assists. For the use of nine grains, there are coarse and fine, curd and leaven, and flour and fat, all supplied according to their fineness and with varying levels of consumption." "The director of the Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture is also in charge of grinding and milling rice, flour, oil, and candles." (2) The Directorate of the Ministry of Light Food and Drink. The Ministry of Light Food and Drink had a Directorate, with two directors, ranked as Lower Eighth Grade. Two assistant directors, ranked as Lower Ninth Grade. Two supervisors, ranked as Lower Ninth Grade. There were also three bureaus, six clerks, twenty light food and drink attendants, thirteen wine craftsmen, one hundred and twenty wine servers, and four guards. The director of the Directorate of the Ministry of Light Food and Drink was "in charge of supplying the sacrifices of the state and the five varieties of wine and three types of wine. The assistant director assists. On the day of the suburban sacrifice, he leads his subordinates to fill the wine vessels. If the sacrifice to the Grand Temple is offered, he supplies the wine for the wine and fills the six ritual vessels. If it should be presented, he supplies spring wine, autumn clear wine, fermented wine, and autumn wine." It was a specialized agency for brewing and supplying wine to the imperial court. The Tang government also used its strong power to loot and plunder private industrial and commercial enterprises in various ways. For example, in March of the twenty-second year of the Kaiyuan era (734 AD), "the wealth of the merchant Ren Lingfang in Jingzhao was confiscated for over six million strings of cash." Another example is during the early Tianbao era, when Wang Jia was serving as the Commissioner of Population and Labor, "the order was issued that high officials in the local state were responsible for the rental and labor taxes, and their families were ruined, with the matter taking years to resolve, and they were stripped bare to please the times." After the An Lushan Rebellion, to replenish the treasury, while heavily taxing merchants, the government launched a high tide of looting against industrial and commercial enterprises. For example, after Emperor Shaozong ascended the throne, "the censor Kang Yunjian was sent to Jianghuai, and Tao Rui was sent to Shuhan. The wealthy merchants and households were all registered for their family wealth, and their goods and properties were taxed, with one-fifth being collected as 'forced loans,' amounting to millions." Another example is that Yuan Zai, as the Commissioner of Rent and Labor, in the Jianghuai region, "selected corrupt officials as county magistrates to oversee them, regardless of whether they were in debt or not, whether they were rich or poor, and if they had grain and silk, they would send troops to surround them, confiscate their property and divide it equally, sometimes taking eighty to ninety percent, called 'white registration.' Those who refused were severely punished. If a person had ten bushels of grain, they would be heavily fined to await orders." During the Dali era of Emperor Daizong, the eunuch Liu Xixian "urged (Yu) Chaoren to set up a prison in the Northern Army, summoned young thugs from the city markets, and framed wealthy people in the city as lawbreakers, arresting them and torturing them cruelly, confiscating their property and handing it over to the army, markets, and cities, calling it 'human and land prison.'" By the Jianzhong era of Emperor Dezong, to raise funds for suppressing feudal lords, the government even used false pretexts to loot industrial and commercial enterprises. Historical records state that in April of the third year of the Jianzhong era (782 AD), "Taijian Doctor Wei Dubein and Chen Jing, citing the lack of funds for military campaigns and rent and labor, requested borrowing money from wealthy merchants in the capital. Each merchant was left with ten thousand strings of cash, and the rest was confiscated by the state. An edict was issued for the prefect of Jingzhao, Chang'an, and Wannian to thoroughly search for wealthy merchants in the capital, with severe punishments. The Chang'an magistrate Xue Ping carried a scourge and searched through the streets and markets, with people unable to bear the lashes and even hanging themselves. The capital was in chaos, as if it had been robbed." "They also seized pawned chests and money, and all who accumulated money, silk, grain, and wheat were forced to give one-fourth, sealing their chests and granaries, causing the people to close their businesses. A total of two million strings of cash were seized." Although Emperor Dezong issued an edict in July of the same year to stop borrowing from merchants and seizing pawned chests, promising to return the original amount later, in reality, the money was only borrowed and never returned. Moreover, by the following year, in June of the fourth year of the Jianzhong era (783 AD), the Commissioner of Taxation Zhao Zan again proposed the implementation of the tax on house structures: "Each pair of beams in a house constitutes one room, divided into three grades: first grade, two thousand per room; second grade, one thousand per room; and third grade, five hundred per room. The officials in charge held pens and lots, and calculated each house. For every room confiscated, sixty lashes were given, and those who reported were rewarded with fifty strings of cash." The industrial and commercial enterprises in the capital were also doomed. As everyone knows, our country is the original homeland of tea trees and one of the earliest countries in the world to drink and cultivate tea. During the Shuhan period, literature records the cultivation and sale of tea in Shu. Over the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, tea tree cultivation expanded to the Yangtze River Basin, and drinking tea gradually became a custom, with tea trade developing on a large scale. In the Tang Dynasty, our country made significant progress in tea tree cultivation, tea garden management, and tea production, reaching a high level. According to 《》 Volume 6, written by Feng Yan, a Censorate and Assistant Minister of Personnel during Emperor Dezong's reign, by the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong, due to the promotion of the Zen master of Taihang Lingyan Temple, the custom of drinking tea quickly spread from the southern Yangtze River Basin to the northern Yellow River Basin. "From Zou, Qi, Cang, and Li, it gradually reached the capital and cities, with many shops opening to sell tea, regardless of whether they were officials or commoners, taking money to drink, and the tea came from Jianghuai, with boats and carts arriving continuously, piled up in mountains and valleys, with many colors and types." With the promotion of figures like Lu Yu, "tea culture flourished, and no prince or official did not drink tea." It was clear that drinking tea had become a nationwide craze, and tea had quickly become a major commodity, with tea from the south being transported to the north, and tea trade being bustling and lively. This, in turn, led to the emergence of many famous and high-quality teas in tea-producing areas. In the Yuanhe era of Emperor Xianzong, Li Zhao, a Secretary of the Chancellery, recorded this in 《》 Volume 2 in more detail: "Customs valued tea, and the names of tea varieties became more numerous. In Jiannan, there was Mengding Stone Flower, small square, or scattered teeth, known as ; In Huzhou, there was Guzhu Purple Bamboo; In Dongchuan, there was Shenquan, Xiaotuan, Changming, and Shoumu; In Xizhou, there was Biji, Mingyue, Fangru, and Zhuyu; In Fuzhou, there was Fangshan's Luyaa; In Kuizhou, there was Xiangshan; In Jiangling, there was Nanmu; In Hunan, there was Hengshan; In Yuezhou, there was Yihu's Hanchao; In Changzhou, there was Yixing's Purple Bamboo; In Wuzhou, there was Dongbai; In Luzhou, there was Juhuan; In Hongzhou, there was Xishan's Baolu; In Shouzhou, there was Huoshan Huangya; In Qiuzhou, there was Qimen Tuanhuang, and the merchants of Fuliang were not included." It was truly a multitude of famous teas, competing for beauty. Many famous teas were also traded to the Tibetan and Uyghur regions. All this indicated that by the time of Emperor Xuanzong, private tea industry had rapidly emerged as a new industry, with some early signs of capitalist production methods. The rapid development of private tea industry was both a result of the improvement of tea production in the Tang Dynasty and the Tang government's non-interference and free development of private tea industry. The Tang government not only had tributary trade with the surrounding minority regimes but also had tributary trade with foreign countries, all under the political halo of regime relations, engaging in actual commodity exchange. Historical records show that the Tang government implemented the same systems and regulations for the reception of tributary envoys and the return of tribute as those for the surrounding minorities. The 《New Book of Tang》 Volume 2211 《Western Regions》 praises the Tang government's treatment of tributary envoys: "The Tang government provided for the return of gifts, enfeoffment, travel expenses, and relay stations, from Gaoqi to Goryeo in the east, to Champa in the south, to Persia, Tibet, and Jiankun in the west, to the Turks, Khitan, and Mohe in the north, known as 'eight barbarians,' and those outside were called 'distant lands,' with expenses provided based on the distance from the capital." As for the rewards for tributary goods, the Tang government had a relatively detailed system, which is detailed in the previous section on ethnic trade management and will not be elaborated here. However, the difference was that in controlling the number of tributary envoys entering the capital, the Tang government's restrictions on tributary envoys from foreign countries were much stricter than those on surrounding minorities. The 《New Book of Tang》 Volume 48 《Official Records of the Three Departments》 states: "Tributary envoys from distant lands who come to pay homage and offer tribute have half of their entourages left at the border; those who come by sea are to have one chief and two attendants enter the capital in Guangzhou." It was stipulated that half of the tributary entourage from foreign countries coming by land should be left at the border by the border government departments and only half of the personnel allowed to enter the capital with the envoy; for those entering the capital through Changzhou by sea, only the envoy and their attendants were allowed to enter the capital, with clear restrictions on the number of tributary envoys from foreign countries entering the capital. While tributary envoys from surrounding minorities sometimes had to leave some personnel at the border due to their size, the Tang government did not have a clear institutional regulation on the number of personnel entering the capital. The strict control over the number of tributary envoys from foreign countries entering the capital reflected the Tang government's more cautious consideration of national security. The Tang government's management of tributary envoys from foreign countries entering the capital through ports other than Guangzhou can be found in 《The Journey of Kukai to Tang for Law Seeking》. The text records that Kukai arrived in Chizhan Town, Hongkou, Fuzhou on August 10, the twentieth year of the Zhengyuan era (804 AD), with the Japanese tributary envoy. "At that time, the Japanese envoy's ship usually sailed from Yangtze River to Suzhou and Yangzhou. The border of Min was remote and rarely saw foreigners, and the local officials closed the ship and waited for orders. Kukai then wrote a letter to the Fujian Provincial Military Governor, Yan Jimei, who was moved and opened the ship to inquire, providing funds and food, and borrowing thirteen rooms, and reported to the capital for instructions. The entire ship was filled with gratitude and tears. After several days' orders arrived, the envoy provided seven precious saddles. On the third day of the eleventh month, a group of twenty-three people, including Kukai, went up the Min River to Chang'an. On the twenty-first day of the twelfth month, they arrived at Changle Station east of Chang'an. On the twenty-third day, eunuch Zhao Zhong arrived with twenty-three fine horses of the Flying Dragon House to welcome them, along with wine and meat to comfort them. They entered the city through Chunming Gate and stayed in the official residence of Xuanyang Fang. On the twenty-fourth day, the imperial letter and tribute were presented by the supervisor Liu Ang, and the emperor accepted them with praise. It can be seen that after the Japanese tributary envoy arrived in Fuzhou, the local government of Fuzhou, on one hand, entertained the envoy, and on the other, reported to the court for instructions on how to handle it. After the imperial order arrived, the prefecture allowed the order to allow twenty-three people in the envoy to enter the capital, while the rest and their ships returned to Mingzhou to wait for the return of the envoy entering the capital. When the envoy group arrived near the capital Chang'an, eunuch Zhao Zhong was responsible for a reception and comfort, then entered the capital and was settled in the official residence. The next day, the imperial letter and tribute were presented by an eunuch, and Emperor Shaozong accepted them with praise. Although the number of the envoy entering the capital was not limited to three, it can still be seen that the government was very cautious and serious in managing tributary envoys, and there were also clear restrictions on the number of people. The fact that eunuch Zhao Zhong led twenty-three Flying Dragon fine horses to welcome the envoy suggests that the scale of the twenty-three-person envoy entering the capital was already stipulated by Emperor Dezong's 'imperial order.' In conclusion, as an auxiliary means for the Tang government to communicate politically with foreign countries, tributary trade had a special significance. This type of trade did not involve the domestic population and was entirely handled by the Tang government, making it official trade.