Status,Values And Roles

Through the history of Ming China,commercial economy was increasingly booming,accompanied by the gradual expanding of commercial ties and merchants' growing social standing.The Ming government,on the one hand,took merchants as an indispensable part of the society and hence treated them equally with other social groups,recognized the positive effects brought by commercial activities,like boosting the wealth of the empire and improving people's livelihood.Taking account of their pursuit of benefits and the pains and difficulties they suffered,the government likewise established rules and regulations relevant to commercial system,improved the administration of commercial taxation and adjusted state monopoly so as to ensure the order of commercial activities.On the other hand,since the government attached great importance to agriculture and the maintenance of social stability,it took some measures,such as punishing those who didn't live upon agriculture,preventing from trading with foreigners,issuing traffic permits and banning maritime trade,which restrained commercial activities.Nevertheless,the Ming government was not meant to suppress commercial development.It tended to accept and permit instead of hinder or reject commerce.As to the severe oppression occurred in middle and late period,it was caused by the abuse of imperial power and was accused and refuted by officials and common people.Though scholar-officials in Ming government had the intention to help peasants and replenish agricultural tax by levying commercial tax,the establishment of trading venues in frontiers as traditional means of eliminating fraudulence and violence and restricting monopoly was reiterated.Also,commercial tax was not necessary when state expenditure was met.Officials asserted that commerce was important to people's livelihood and merchants in turn were part of the state just as other plebeians and at the same time showed solicitude to merchants.They hence opposed to exploit merchants while proposed to intensify supervision and control for the sake of mutual benefits.Facing the reality that more commercial tax was required by state finance,some scholar-officials reinterpreted traditional view on taxation,like “making inspections in trading venues without levying tax ” as “having trade could increase state wealth”.Part of their other views on commerce,like “enriching peasants and supporting merchants”,“attaching equal importance to agriculture and commerce ”,“taking both industry and commerce as the root of a state”,reflected the characteristics of that era.Despite commercial taxation had never become the most important in the annual government revenues and the government should have made more extensive adjustment for a better acceptance of the monetized taxation,scholar-officials' perspectives on the relations among state,merchants and peasants showed that commerce had great potential of developing in the imperial society.Merchants had equal legal rights as other plebeians in commercial lawsuits.Local officials punished severely those who robbed,defrauded or exploited merchants and commercial firms while prohibited smuggling,tax evasion and other illegal activities.Beyond sticking to judicial justice,they also disposed the interest of all parties involved properly in light of the contractual practice in commercial activities.In this way,merchants'appeals could be expressed and their rights were maintained through legal approach just as others.Also like other plebeians,merchants had the opportunity to take the imperial examination,make petitions and obtain the identity of licentiate by donating money.Yet,confined by household registration,merchants'offspring couldn't take any examination outside the registered residence.In middle and late period,in order to solve this problem,the government created a particular“commercial household registration”(??)in the Salt Distribution Commission(???)in regions around Liang'huai(??)and Liang'zhe(??),which showed certain favor to salt dealers.The state had need for merchants' financial resources and the commercial market,thus built a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with merchants in aspect of economic benefit distribution.For example,the government controlled and administered salt source while recruited merchants to do the business.For merchants,they made money from it,in the meanwhile,safeguarded the frontiers and increased state wealth.For the government,it fought against bullies,administered salt affairs and made flexible policies so as to guarantee the cooperation between the state and merchants could go smoothly.Salt administration reform in middle and late Ming intended to coordinate different interests among salt merchants and officials by meanings of economic regulations and rules.For the sake of further cooperation,officials at that time proposed to rescue and compensate salt producers and merchants.The two parties' cooperation also reflected in tea administration and measures of attracting merchants to purchase and deliver goods when defending borders,supporting military,relieving people in famine or making constructions was necessary.Government manipulation and taxation abuse were inevitable in the process.Even so,either the establishment of salt and tea administration or their reformation was based on the mutual needs of both parties.Besides recognizing commerce was a way of making a living and redistributing capital,some scholar-officials endowed merchants' career with more justifiable significance.From the perspective of social righteousness,they took seriously the important role played by merchants who had wealth and virtue in the public,especially their specialty of managing money matters.Since middle period,the two groups,intellectuals(including scholar-officials and Confucian scholars without official titles)and merchants,communicated frequently and tended to mix together.More and more families were Confucian followers while were engaged in commerce.This not only showed the society enjoyed more and more openness and freedom,but also required merchants to take Confucianism as their behavioral guidance.Since scholar-officials and merchants shared almost accordant values,their interactive relationship was further sustained.Meanwhile,some officials had a clear understanding and caution towards the negative results of the commercialized trend,making efforts to regulate merchants' behavior with the traditional Confucian creed.The syncretization of intellectuals and merchants created relatively relaxing environment for the development of business.People in Ming dynasty chose occupation in light of their personal condition and family needs.They realized that being a Confucian and merchant at the same time had positive effects on sustaining family survival and development.Many merchants showed their talent in doing business,and at the same time followed the Confucian ethics and Confucian approach to uphold principles and pursue material benefits(???)which was focused on filial piety,integrity,benevolence and proper manners.They even held tolerant attitude towards the changing role of merchants and Confucian scholars,and stated that merchants could behave as good as Confucians when were guided by Confucian thoughts.Some merchants who mastered Confucianism could utilize these traditional cultural sources meanwhile participated in local and state affairs initiatively by way of relieving people in disaster and poverty,managing local construction work,making proposal to and working for the government,reflecting their strong sense of responsibility and realistic concern.They further expanded their influence in the folk society together with gentries,carried more public duties,and gradually became a group power needed by the government.This reflects the potential prospect of a social system dominated together by gentries and merchants within the imperial system.It's concluded that,commerce,as a component of the imperial society,which was assimilated and tolerated,fitted into the existing imperial system.The commercial development neither overthrew the state power nor dissolved social structure.Instead,it supported the social and economic foundation of the imperial state.The prosperity of commercial economy was compatible with the solidification of the imperial system in Ming dynasty.Their mutual accommodation and coexistence became a historical trend.