Why was salt in ancient times collected by the state and managed by the state?

Because this is related to the country's income problem, in ancient times, salt and iron have always been controlled by the state, unified management, and private sales are not allowed, because these two things are related to every family in ancient times, is a large income, so it has always been managed by the state. In ancient times, salt and iron had the same important position, because these two things, the people's lives are inseparable, is a large amount of capital income, so the ancient court will not let this fund be controlled by the people, if it is controlled by itself, it is easy to be confused. <>

In fact, don't underestimate this little bit of salt every day, this is an indispensable part of every family every day, and it will be a lot of money over time, so the salt comes from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

Period, it was already managed by the state, at that time it was because the treasury of the Han Dynasty was empty, considering that salt was something that every common people needed, so it would be a lot of income, which could fill the emptiness of the treasury in time, so it began to control salt, since then, the imperial courts of all dynasties have been uniformly managing salt, and the same as salt has been managed by the state in a unified manner, that is, iron, iron was also indispensable in life in ancient times, but it is not easy to obtain from nature, Therefore, it is also under the unified management of the state. <>

In addition to bringing revenue to the government, another point is that if it is managed by the private sector, it will lead to social chaos. Salt needs to be refined by technology, not as easy to obtain from nature as water, plus salt is vital to every family, if the management power of salt is allowed to private management, then there may be a monopoly of profiteers, the phenomenon of coaxing **, then it will cause social turmoil, which is not conducive to the stability of the country, so it must be managed by the state. <>

Because salt is a high-tax food, in ancient times, salt taxes ranked first or second in the proportion of total national income. It can't be replaced by anything. In order to stabilize tax revenue, the state has monopolized the purchase and sale of salt.

Salt has always been a strategic material, related to the country's plan, in ancient times were managed by the state in a unified manner, salt is a natural thing, the daily consumption is huge, food is indispensable, the profits are incomparable, and the tax is amazing.

In ancient times, salt was indispensable for the people and even for the state, it was a large amount of money, and if the state left it alone, then the country would be easily confused.

Salt is cheap. In ancient times, salt was not like this. Like many things, he belonged to the aristocracy.

In ancient times, would salt have been so expensive? First of all, because table salt is an official monopoly. Readers with a deeper understanding of history should know that a system was practiced in ancient times, that is, the official salt and iron works.

The system stipulates that only ** can sell salt consumer goods. For the public, this is also a state monopoly, prohibiting private salt. Old salt is ridiculously expensive.

As the saying goes: "three hundred meters of salt for one kilogram".

When salt was the most expensive, today it's equivalent to 200 yuan a kilogram. Why? For ordinary people, the ** of salt was objectively high in ancient times, and was maliciously hypnotized by some peddlers for huge profits.

According to Guanzi, Guan Zhong, the famous prime minister of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period, believed that "only official mountains and seas can be used", that is, the cost of going through state monopoly is higher. So, why did ancient China grab wealth, increase taxes, and keep the country running?

Salt is the most monopolistic livelihood and strategic necessity. The salt tax is one of the main ailments of the country's finances. The maintenance of state power requires significant financial support.

The main reason for the high salt in ancient times is that the demand for salt in ancient times is large, and the salt production areas are concentrated, which is convenient for tax control, so the salt tax is also very high. In ancient times, there were not many places where salt was produced. In addition to the Salt Industry Association, salt was a special substance in ancient times, monopolized and controlled by the state, which, combined with the influence of geographical location, was also very expensive to transport.

We all know that salt comes from the evaporation of seawater. In ancient times, when science and technology were not developed, because a large amount of ancient salt belonged to the most regulated industry, therefore, quality was not considered in mines and production. For example, during the Song Dynasty of Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, ** said in the memory that salt was mixed with sediment during transportation, and the taste was bitter but inedible, and the salt was high and of poor quality; Since the old salt belongs to the most controlled industry, the quality is not considered when extracting and producing.

For example, during the reign of Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, the ** said on a monument that salt was mixed with sediment.

Mainly because in ancient times, the refining technology of salt was not developed, so the yield of salt was very low.

This is because the cost of manufacturing salt is relatively expensive, and salt is also an official item, the market demand is relatively high, the output is relatively low, and the relationship between supply and demand is not balanced, so it is very expensive.

Because in ancient times, the salt-making technology was not very mature, which would lead to a shortage of supply, and the imperial court would control it.

According to the "Salt Monopoly Measures" promulgated by the Prime Minister No. 696 in 2017, salt resources belong to the state, and the state protects salt resources and develops and utilizes them in a planned manner. The state encourages the development of production and implements planned management of the production and operation of salt. The specific management measures shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state.

Edible salt, national reserve salt, and soda ash and caustic soda salt designated by the state shall be uniformly allocated by the state. The wholesale business of salt is operated by salt companies at all levels. Where there is no salt company, it shall be organized and operated by a unit authorized by the people at or above the county level.

The retail business of salt shall be the responsibility of commercial enterprises, grain enterprises and retail units of supply and marketing cooperatives designated by the competent department of commerce.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Guan Zhong established the salt monopoly in the economic reform of Qi State, so that the salt profit was "a hundred times higher".

In ancient China, the monopoly of salt was also known as the ban. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, various dynasties have implemented varying degrees of monopoly on the salt industry (other monopolized commodities may also include iron, wine, tea, mineral products, etc.).

In this way, the salt that is legally sold is called official salt, and the salt that is illegally sold is called private salt. During the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, ** specialized in the debate on the monopoly of salt, wine and iron, the content of which was compiled by Huan Kuan into "Salt and Iron Treatise".

The debate concluded that the iron and wine monopolies should be abolished and the salt industry should be retained. In the time of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, salt was changed from a monopoly to a tax. Although salt is a necessity of life, it is not lacking in Chinese mainland as a whole. Sea salt is produced in coastal areas, and well salt is found in Sichuan and other regions.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered that the salt and iron business should be completely taken over by the government, and the monopoly was implemented, and the government directly organized the production, transportation and sales of salt, and prohibited private operations.

After the Western Han Dynasty, salt control came and went, and even in the early Sui and Tang dynasties, the salt industry was completely laissez-faire for 128 years, and salt taxes were exempted. However, after the Anshi Rebellion, ** was in financial difficulties, and the salt monopoly began to be implemented again.

Salt can affect the sovereignty and integrity of the country The reason why the Suishu Basin in Sichuan is called the land of abundance is not only because of the geographical location of the Hongzhu faction, but also because there is China's largest salt well, Zigong Salt Well, in the south of Sichuan. The ancient Shu Kingdom, Qin Shi Huang, and Han Gaozu were able to achieve a hegemony

Resources such as salt were scarce in ancient times, and the methods of refining were also limited, resulting in the importance of salt.

Salt is generally a human necessity and is subject to the unified control of the state.