Research On The Warehouse System In The Song Dynasty

The dissertation regulates the type, establishment, source and expenditure of grain, function, administration, drawback of public granary system in Song Dynasty. On these bases, summarize the characteristic features of it.Through rectifying the granary and fiscal system in the first three empires, Song Dynasty had already established complete public granary system from the central and the local authorities. The construction of the granary in counties were more complicated than before, it constructed the special administration, complex supervision, and detailed management. From the angle of fictionalization, it guaranteed central control to the local. However, the practical administration still had lots of problems and maladies, revealing the non-institutionalized and official corruption, which was the regular problem in administration of Song granary system.The rulers in Song established huge bureaucratic system, to prevent the evil of long standing. Song Dynasty drafted more than 100,0000 recruits to deal with the internal disturbance and foreign aggression. It gave Song dynasty heavy press in finace for the cost suppling officers and soldiers, especially for the troops. The capital of Song Dynasty, As the living and defending place for empire and officials, with a population of more than one million and almost 10,0000 recruits, so the granary in there guaranteed the supply of grain. For this reason rulers put lots of attention on it and built up strict administration and supervision. Huge military expenditures put the importance on grain supply in military, so the tax granaries were established for reserving and transporting army provisions.Song Dynasty was concerned on relieving policies so many granaries were constructed to prepare against natural disasters. Changpingcang, yicang reached maturity, in the mean time, guanghuicang, huimincang, fengchucang were constructed. In southern Song Dynasty, local granaries on famine relief sprung up represented by shecang, infusing new vitality into granary system. In Song Dynasty, relieving granary system composed of central granaries as changpingcang, yicang while with the support of local granaries as shecang was eventually created.To sum up, based on the previous dynasties basis, with the social and economic development, the public granary system in Song Dynasty developed further, representing new changes and characteristics. The army provision was important than that against famine in the whole fuction of granary because of Song dynasty’s political and military situation. Granaries for preparing against natural had have a great development, especially local granaries since southern Song Dynasty. The relationship between granary and market became more insparable with the development of commodity economy and the commercialization of grain in Song Dynasty. It was very seriouis at the annexation of land and polarization in income distribution in Song Dynasty, so the granary system played more and more important role in coordinating the rich and the poor contradictions. With the progress of the society, People’s thoughts about granary on famine relief had further development.