Why did there be no merchants in the Song and Yuan dynasties

First of all, the so-called "merchant" Shang refers to the Shang Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty's commerce was very prosperous, and the merchants were good at doing business.

Secondly, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Guan Zi divided the basic division of labor among the civilian occupations in ancient China into four categories: scholars, farmers, workers, and merchants, and merchants ranked last, which shows that the social status of commerce and merchants is low, and it is naturally not taken seriously. Therefore, the merchants of the Song and Yuan dynasties also had no status, but it is undeniable that the economic development of this period was very prosperous, just look at the "Qingming Riverside Map".

Finally, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, a wealthy businessman in Jiangnan - Shen Wansan, a very famous businessman.

The Song and Yuan dynasties were a period of very developed commerce.

Every dynasty has merchants, but because of China's traditional heavy agriculture and suppression of business, merchants have become an unrespected profession, unless there are special contributions or major achievements of businessmen can leave a name in history, like Fan Li in the Spring and Autumn Period, Shen Wansan in the early Ming Dynasty.

Since ancient China, the traditional social hierarchy is.

Shinong Industry and Commerce...

So at that time, people were still more resistant to this profession.

That doesn't mean there wasn't...

Every dynasty has merchants...

In ancient times, merchants had a low status and were looked down upon even if they had money.

Although the economy was very developed during the Song Dynasty, the status of merchants in the Song Dynasty was still very low, and they basically did not have much right to speak, and the policy adopted was still to emphasize agriculture and suppress business.

Especially for businessmen have a very harsh business tax, some ** will try their best to collect various taxes on businessmen.

During the Song Dynasty, commerce was very developed, mainly because the emperors of the Song Dynasty encouraged the development of commerce very much, mainly because the emperors of the Song Dynasty did not want to be with ethnic minorities at that time.

In the event of war, they will try to make the people rich and develop the domestic economy as much as possible. At that time, the economic prosperity of the Song Dynasty was manifested in all aspects, especially in the Song Dynasty, there were trousers and trousers, and the market was not restricted in business hours.

Overseas is also encouraged**.

We will not choose to close the country, so from this point of view, it will also expand the entire market.

In ancient times, there was actually a saying that the merchants of the Shinong industry and commerce, so the status of merchants in many dynasties was not high, very humble, except for the economic prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, the status of merchants gradually improved, and the merchants of the Song Dynasty were gradually active, and for the merchants of the Song Dynasty, the status was originally very low, so at this time they will pay more attention to the credibility of themselves, if they do not pay attention to their own credibility, there is no way to continue to survive. At the same time, in the early Song Dynasty, there were also clear regulations that required merchants to be prohibited from taking the imperial examinations.

After that, he went to Song Yingzong.

It was only during this period that this concept was changed to a certain extent, allowing businessmen to enter the officialdom and improve their social status.

Finally, in the ancient Chinese dynasty, because of the emphasis on class, the political status of merchants was relatively low, which is also because if the merchants were allowed to enter the imperial court, it might not be conducive to the centralization of power.

If it is serious, it will threaten social stability.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), merchants played an important role in the economy and society. The economy of the Song Dynasty was highly developed, and merchants were an important part of this development.

In the early Song dynasty, merchants were considered to have a lower status than scholars and peasants. They are considered necessary, but not worthy of respect. However, as the economy grew and commercialization increased, the status of merchants began to rise.

During the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD), merchants began to gain greater social and economic power. Their influence in local and regional politics has grown, and many have been able to amass significant wealth. They also began to take a more active role in the Empire, serving as ** and advisors.

During the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 AD), the economy continued to grow and merchants became more powerful. They played an important role in the development of the monetary economy, and many became wealthy and influential members of society. They also began to invest in large commercial enterprises, such as the maritime relations with foreign countries, which were an important source of income for the dynasty.

Overall, the status of merchants in the Song Dynasty increased with the development of the economy. They became an important part of society and played an important role in the economic growth and development of the dynasty. They were respected and valued members of society, and their wealth and influence allowed them to participate in the politics and governance of the empire.

The status of the merchants in the Song Dynasty was still relatively high, and the Song Dynasty was the only one in ancient China that did not practice it for a long time"Suppress the big disturbance of Bi Shang"The policy of the dynasty, but also vigorously promote and promote the prosperity of Li Ling's commerce, and allow merchants to enter the office, the social status of merchants has improved and improved, and even attracted some officials to also engage in commerce, due to the development of commodity economy and the prosperity of commerce, merchants with their strong economic status, brought about the improvement of their social status.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, the economy prospered, the country opened up to the outside world, the status of merchants gradually improved, and merchants gradually became active. But later, the status of merchants was suppressed again, and the professional ranking of "scholars, farmers, and businessmen based on Yuanming" was formed, and businessmen ranked last.

The group of Shangjia originated from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and the change of dynasty led to the overthrow of the rule of the Shang Dynasty by the Zhou Dynasty, and the people of the Shang, especially the royal family, in order to improve their embarrassing life, began to sell some of their own items in exchange for living needs.

Of course, the merchants of the Song Dynasty had various organizations, but the literature was far less than that of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

In fact, the policy of exchanging grain for salt in the Ming Dynasty mentioned by @Zheng Jie upstairs was already very mature in the Song Dynasty. To put it simply, the ** of the Song Dynasty recruited merchants to transport grain to the border areas where they were needed, and the ** of the border issued a voucher according to their location and what the merchant transported, and then the merchant took this voucher to Kaifeng to cash in the money - many times, ** did not pay directly, but granted the merchant a license to buy and sell a certain amount of tea and salt, and let the merchant go to Jianghuai to buy goods. Why is that?

Because the tea and salt history of the Song Dynasty was monopolized by the state, the profits were very lucrative, and merchants obtained the qualifications to buy and sell a certain amount, and they would definitely be able to make money.

At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, it was mainly to recruit merchants to send grain to the capital, where the army was most concentrated. Later, the frontier was tight, and more and more troops were stationed in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei, and merchants were also needed to transport them. Why didn't the Song Dynasty transport grain by itself?

Because ** to do this, either the common people are peasants, and they are unwilling to leave their land, plus the local officials may seek personal benefits from it, and the administrative costs are very high; Either you have to use the box army to transport, the box army in the Song Dynasty has to be responsible for all kinds of things, building roads, bridges, houses, etc., of course, there are also responsible for transporting grain, it is difficult to organize a box army to transport grain to the border area temporarily, it is not easy. So, sometimes it's a good idea to work with a businessman. Of course, there is no business or treachery, and problems are inevitable.

The merchants of the Song Dynasty were very powerful. When Li Jiqian attacked Lingzhou, the food of the ** organization could not be delivered, so the merchants could. But the merchants' asking price was also very expensive - a thousand yuan per bucket of millet, which was about 20 times more expensive according to the price of goods at the time.

It is impossible to do this without a certain merchant organization to rely on.

The most famous merchant organization of the Song Dynasty was probably the tea merchants of the Southern Song Dynasty – not only because they later rebelled, but also because the imperial court sent a man named Xin Qiji to suppress the bandits. In the Southern Song Dynasty, tea continued to be the monopoly of the state. The Southern Song Dynasty had to raise a very large army and pay New Year's coins, so the finances were stretched, and the tea monopoly was a big income.

Where there is a monopoly, there is smuggling, and the greater the profit of the monopoly, the more developed the organization of the smugglers. From the Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing dynasties, as far as the merchant organization is concerned, there should have been considerable continuity. Perhaps the best material to reflect this is the Huizhou documents.

Its contents involve transaction deeds, contract documents, succession documents, private account books, government registers, government decrees, litigation documents, meeting books, township rules and regulations, letters and documents in Huizhou, etc.

Finally, it should be emphasized that the historical materials of the Song Dynasty, compared with the Ming and Qing dynasties, are not only smaller in number, but also very different in structure. The Song Dynasty was still dominated by the accounts of literati and doctors, and in the economic field, such as long compilations, such as the Song Dynasty, and miscellaneous records of the government and the opposition since the establishment of Yan. Therefore, we can only look at the role of businessmen in national finance and local governance through their perspectives, and it is difficult for us to know how the businessmen group sees themselves, how they organize and manage themselves, and it is difficult to discuss the merchant gangs in depth.

But it must be a mistake to say that there were no large merchant organizations in the Song Dynasty.

The development of commerce was gradual, and the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce began to be implemented in the Warring States period of the Shang Dynasty, and it was cited as a model in the millennium, indicating that this policy was beneficial.

Although in the Song Dynasty, the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce had been loosened, it had not yet reached the point of complete overthrow. Although the market system of the Tang Dynasty has been abolished, in order to curb commerce, the rulers still came up with many ideas, such as salt and iron, and the most profitable aspects related to the national policy of the country are absolutely not allowed to interfere with commerce. At the same time, it is also to ensure the financial revenue of the state.

Those who have three catties of brine salt are still sitting dead", "private tea is forty for one or two, and forty-two apprentices for two years" ("Qingyuan Article Legal Affairs"). The monopoly of Song liquor is "Yongjiu", and the liquor and koji are monopolized by the government, and private production is prohibited, and violators are severely punished by death.

It can be seen from this.

With the development of the commodity economy for hundreds of years, the commodity industry in the Ming and Qing dynasties was complicated and the number increased, and the merchant team increased.

Growing stronger, the competition is becoming more and more fierce. The rulers of feudal society have always pursued the policy of emphasizing the basics and suppressing the last, and in the ranking of social classes, the merchants of "scholars, farmers, industrialists, and merchants" are also condescending to the last. For businessmen, the state does not have explicit legal protection, and the people discriminate against businessmen as "profiteers".

Therefore, in that era, merchants used their natural township and clan relations to connect, support each other, and help each other, so they became the recipients of the market ** and the maker and left and right of the market**. At the same time, while avoiding internal vicious competition and enhancing external competitiveness, the merchant gang could use the collective power to better protect itself in the feudal system, and the merchant gang came into being in this specific economic and social background.

Therefore, the merchant gang did not appear by chance, but was formed under various opportunities and conditions, as well as various environments and oppressions.

Because at that time, China had always valued agriculture over commerce, attached great importance to the development of agriculture, and inhibited the development of commercial activities.

At that time, gate valve control was dominated by the low social status of merchants.