Why did the ancient times emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce, did the merchant rich really

In ancient China, there was a saying of the "Four Peoples", that is, "Shinong Industry and Commerce", and merchants were ranked last in the entire social system, and there is no doubt that their status was low. There were three main reasons for the low status of merchants in ancient times.

1. Merchants originated from the remnants of the Shang Dynasty and were deliberately suppressed by the rulers since the beginning of their formation

After the Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Shang Dynasty, the remnants of the Shang Dynasty and the remnants of the Shang Dynasty launched many armed rebellions. The rulers of the Zhou Dynasty were strongly wary of the remnants of the Shang Dynasty, forbidding them to own land and real estate, and they had to engage in trafficking and trading to make a living, living a life without a fixed place to live. Therefore, the origin of merchants determined that their social status was not high in ancient times.

Second, the ancient dynasties all built their countries on agriculture, and the merchants who "did not do anything to produce crops" were naturally not favored by the rulers

In the ancient historical period of thousands of years, agriculture has always been the fundamental guarantee for the survival of all dynasties. Only when enough manpower is invested in agricultural production can enough food be produced to sustain the survival and operation of the entire country. However, the merchants left the land and "did not do anything to produce crops", and they could earn huge profits without engaging in agricultural production, causing more and more people to leave the land to go into business and seek wealth, and in the long run, it may lead to a decrease in the agricultural population, low enthusiasm of agricultural producers, and then endanger grain production.

3. The ancient rulers excluded and discriminated against merchants in order to consolidate their own rule

The reason why the ancient emperor was able to become the lord of the world was nothing more than because he had the most abundant wealth and strength in his hands. And businessmen can also accumulate huge wealth through business, even to the extent that "the rich rival the country". With enough money, you can recruit troops and horses to form an army, you can purchase and manufacture armor and weapons, and you will have the strength to call the emperor.

As a result, these wealthy merchants were seen by the emperor as an unstable factor that threatened their rule. Zhu Yuanzhang's killing of Shen Wansan was also based on this reason.

For the above three reasons, it is not surprising that the merchant had a very low status in ancient times, and was ranked at the bottom of the four peoples.

Because in the eyes of the ancient monarchs, merchants would threaten their dominance, so they had to emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce. However, many wealthy businessmen had a close relationship with the government in ancient times, and their influence was not small.

Because of the low productivity and low productivity of grain in ancient times, the status of peasants engaged in agricultural production was high, while merchants were not directly engaged in production, but only engaged in the purchase and sale of goods.

In ancient times, there was a ranking system for scholars, farmers, industrialists, and merchants, and according to the concept of the time, in addition to making a few bucks in business, there was no social status at all. This tradition is also unreasonable, those who produce exclusively for the economic development of the country are not taken seriously, and those in power control the world, this phenomenon is a disadvantage of feudal society.

Farmers in ancient China were more popular than merchants because they played a key role in the economy. Farmers provide a steady stream of food for the people**, and their labor is essential to maintaining the country's infrastructure.

In addition, the peasant class was given special tax privileges to help offset their often meager incomes. Businessmen, on the other hand, are seen as exploitative and opportunists who make a living by exploiting the poor. This difference in status was often reflected in the popular literature of the time, with many works extolling the peasant class and casting a negative view on the merchant class.

In ancient China, peasants were an important class of social stability, and for most peasants, because of the immovability of the land, the peasants were relatively easy to control, so for the vast majority of dynasties, the peasants would be put in the first place.

Because in ancient times, farmers worked hard and relied on their own manual labor, while businessmen mainly used their minds, and there was a saying since ancient times, saying that there are no businessmen and no treachery, so in ancient times, businessmen were very treacherous and very unfavorable, so the status of farmers was higher than that of businessmen.

Because in ancient times, many people had to eat, and the peasants were farming, and if there were peasants, there would be enough food, and if the peasants did not work, the country and society would fall into chaos.

Business will coordinate the economy, fill the gap, promote, enrich the people, and benefit each other, if the people are **10,000 taels, no one will ask the emperor for food all day long, and the emperor is worried that he will be invalid!

Agriculture in ancient times was very important, it could provide food for the army, and it was related to the life and death of the country.