The Study On The Process And Cause Of The Silver Monetization In Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty was a turning point of Chinese history, the political and economic structures of society were going to have a deeply transformation. It was the transformation from ancientry to modernity, and the connection between Chinese and Global economy. The development of monetary system whose core was silver monetization, was a directly response to the transformations of society, and furthermore, it impelled this transformation effectively.In chapter one ,writer looked back the monetary system of Ming Dynasty to correspond of the policy adjust. Since he had found the nation, Zhu Yuan Zhang published HONG WU copper money and Da Ming Bao Chao notes, and strictly forbade trading gold and silver at the market. Afterward following emperors continued this policy, but the copper money value was cheap and inconvenient to take, also the notes depreciated soonly because of the overflowing publishment. From folks'reflection, the silver had already became the trust of merchandise, its usage scale was also in gradual extension. While Zheng Tong Dynasty coming, the monetary policy of government became disjointed with social reality. The order of " rice wheat in exchange for silver", namely farmer did not pay the real object for the farm tax and excise tax any longer, but exchanging for silver to pay. This was exactly the new variety of Ming Dynasty service revenue, it was called "Jin Hua Yin".After abandoned the order of silver forbidden, the government finance income increased, silver exchanging made widely available from farm tax to others. Officials' salary, military payroll also paid silver." At the beginning of WAN LI dynasty, Zhang Ju Zheng took charge of finance reform to promoted the Yi Tiao Bian Law, this was another great reform of tax and service system in Chinese history that united complicated tax kinds as one to collect silver. The silver becomes only currency that have a full currency talent.In chapter two,it would mainly analyze the exteriors and inner factors to push the silver monetization in Ming Dynasty. By the investigation of Tang , Song and Yuan Dynasty, silver as a monetary and superior had already been familiar by ruler and common people. Because the small scarcity of silver totally amount ,it did not became a large-scale and universal currency at that time. Silver monetization could launch in Ming Dynasty, because the period domestic circulate of silver total amount was far above ex-generation. Analyzed local silver production and overseas silver quantity,the silver(mainly America silver and Japanese silver) that discovered overseas constituted local silver circulation. The huge sum of overseas silver pushed the silver monetization of the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, the government bureaucrats who had established and performed the national policy and the some farseeing thinkers faced silver monetization and proceed the consideration from different angle, also put forward to some views of agreement or opposition.This text took the history of monetary system and the economics as the main theories basis to research the problem. By exploring《Ming Shi·Shi Huo Zhi》and《Ming Shi Lu》related original data,it reappeared the actual circumstance that monetary system development and silver monetization, including the basic reason of Da Ming Bao Chao depreciation and the copper currency sparsity and the service system adjustments. Placed the whole process in the historical condition with background, and combine other decisive factors of government inner part, this text delicacy analyzed Ming Dynasty silver monetization of the origins, process and influence, tried to delineate a whole characteristic of social economic development in Ming Dynasty.