An Analysis About Bao Shi-chen's Reform Thought Of Cao-yun

Mr. Kang you-wei sighed and said: "Cao-yun (transporting grain by canal to the capital or as military assistance) is one of the most important systems for Chinese." Looking back over the Chinese history, It's fully true what Mr.Kang You-wei had said.From the Qin Dynasty having unified the whole nation to the Qing Dynasty being perished, Cao-yun had been playing a significant role in maintaining the social stability and the national centralization in the 2000 -years' feudal dynasties. It's a huge economical aorta in the previously successive dynasties. It held an important status in the Chinese traditional society which had been no substitute. Emperor Kang-xi even booked it in the palace's colume as one of three the most important decisions and "think it over day and night". It was because of its importance that became the focus of the previous government and the public to study. There were varieties discussions, suggestions and opinions about Cao-yun. But there is no doubt that Bao Shi-chen was one of the outstanding representatives on the times, being famous for his practicality and feasibility. Bao Shi-chen is a famous scholar of "studying the social and putting his knowledge into practise", a reformer, a poet, and a calligraphy critic in the times of emperor Qian-long, Jia-qing, Dao-guang and Xian-feng in the Qing Dynasty. He devoted himself to investigating Cao-yun, River-controled work, Salt administration, Agriculture, Criminal law, Folklore, Military and so on all his life and put foreward many constractive ideas and opinions in those aspects.His thought of Cao-yun reform lied mainly in five areas: First: Transporting grain by marine instead of by canal to the capital or as military assistance. It's the reform about route of the transporting grain. That meant the abolition of traditional route. To do this, the government could not only eliminate all sorts of disadvantages in transportability by canal but also save a lot of manpower, material resources and financial supports for the managemant of the Yellow River, Huai River and the canal. It really meant to kill two birds with one stone. Second: Employing businessmen to carry grain. This was the reform of the moderm operation. That was, to change the traditional transportability by government into by business. If the former focused only on the technical changes, so the latter clearly already touched the traditional economy and management structure of the feudal society. "transporting grain by marine" was not invented by Bao Shi-chen at first, but among "the suggestion carrying grain by business, Bao Shi-chen is the forerunner." It's precisely this point that made Bao Shi-chen's reform thought have a modern flavour. It was the concrete embodiment of commodify economy's huge development in the modern society eve. Tt also demonstrated that the thought of Bao Shi-chen's reform was breaking through "tradition" to "modern". Third: Giving into consideration of both public and personal interests. Many scholars in the past who discussed the thought of Bao Shi-chen's reform in Cao-yun more often overlooked this important point. Little did they know that it was this point that made the thought of Bao Shi-chen's reform have more interests for the nation and the people, and also made it more feasible. It's core content was how the government could safeguard the national interests so as not to be harmed and how could guarante the ship business profit. Fouth: Comprehensive managment. From the Qing dynasty Emperor Jia-qing and Dao-guang then on, the national strength even more went on the decline, politics was even more corrupted, the corrupt officials ran amuck, the flood was more and more serious day by day. Although since the Qing government "does not have a year not to administer rivers" and even "uses up wealth of the world to bestow on rivers", but with little effect. So, Bao Shi-chen raised a huge cry: "do not cause the human to harass the canal, do not cause the human to harass the river." "We must transport grain by marine at the moment and concentrate our efforts on the river improvement as the best plan." His meaning was to set aside the financial resource, physical resource, manpower to administer rivers. This thought was more foresighted than those officials' at the same time although these officials also initated the tansportation by marine but only regarded it as temporary measure because of flooding. Fifth: Openning up wasteland to get rid of the Cao-yun. How to solve the shortcomings of the Cao-yun finally? How to alliviate the southrest farmer's overweight pressure caused by the Cao-yun? How to settle down the people who originally relied on the Cao-yun and the canal once the transportation by marine was carried out all over the nation? Bao Shi-chen believed that, the basic solution was to open up wasteland in the north---especially in the areas of sufficient water approaching the capital. As the matter stood both may satisfy the needs of the capital and may relax "the sufferings of the people" dewelling in the southeast provinces (mainly Jiang-su province Zhe-jiang and An-hui provinces.) and eliminated latent "the big trouble in the southeast." So "the Cao-yun must be abolished, the tax may be reduced." Simultaneously the government also may recruited the massive refugees and the unemployed sailors to open up wasteland, solve the serious problems caused by deficient land resource and other social crises.During the Emperoe Jia-qing and Dao-guang when the national strength was fading day by day, the administrative efficiency of local officials were ruinning, the shortcomings of the Cao-yun were growing thick as hail, and the social contradictory was tending to incisive. Bao Shi-chen sorrowed about national affairs, hoped to express the sufferings of the people, initiated vigorously the Cao-yun reform. He was really a foresighted and sagacited thinker, a reformer who was exetremely concerned over the livelihood of the people. He stood in the reality and took a broad view in the future. His views and the thoughts were partly accepted and carried out by some local officials at that time. It not only had a significant influence at that time, moreover also had a positive function to the later generation. More importantly, in the conversionous process from the theoretical "mastering knowledges for practical use" to personally set an example of "studying the social and putting his knowledge into practise", being aware of or not aware of what he had done, Bao Shi-chen actually had a great self-breakthough the times. He was not only a pioneer of openning a new times but also an early illuminative thinker.