Handicraft Industry And Commerce Run By Government And Individual In Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was an important stage in history of Chinese ancient handicraft industry and commerce, which ascended to its pinnacle with a unique mode in Western Han Dynasty and served as a link between past and future. This thesis concentrated on handicraft industry and commerce run by state and individual in Han Dynasty with taking into consideration their administrative organization, key department, management features and influence on the people's livelihood, in order to find out the advantages and disadvantages, success and failure. How handicraft industry and commerce run by state and individual made a strong impact on commercial economy and what historical position their development mode took were two questions the thesis tries hard to answer in six chapters.The first chapter introduces the development of handicraft industry and commerce before Han Dynasty. In slavery production of Shang Dynasty existed handicraft industry operated by government, and relevant official department appeared in Western Zhou Dynasty. Guan Zhong, the prime minister of Qi Kingdom in Spring and Autumn Period, nationalized the resources of mountain and sea. Another reformer Shang Yang, the prime minister of Qin Kingdom in Warring States Period, laid stress on agriculture while putting yoke on commerce. Their measures aimed at restraining the development of handicraft industry and commerce run by individual and ended their short-lived prosperity. After Qin Kingdom beat all rivals and reunified China, its government continued previous economic policies and took over all handicraft industries. As a result, the state owned handicraft industries and commerce got monopolization protection, but those private ones gradually withered. As for the administrative organizations of handicraft industry and commerce in Han Dynasty mentioned in the second and third chapter, they were the department called as Da-si-nong, Shao-fu, Shui-heng-du-wei and Gong-guan of locality, which covered the distilling salt, smelting metal, minting, weaving silk, lacquer ware and brewing wine. And crucial productions went on according to the policy of proportionating tribute and balancing price, which accumulated enormous wealth for the central government. The production scale of official distilling salt and smelting metal in Han Dynasty was enlarged, particularly after Emperor Liu Che consolidated the minting, in despite that these achievements revealed the expansion of handicraft and commerce run by the government. Except its large scale, the technique of dye weaving silk had made great strides and produced a lot of fine silk. The same progress was also made in lacquer production, although they were used as luxuries by aristocrat. With the purpose of meeting financial need and supplying enough luxuries, the handicraft industries and commerce operated by government had evident limitation in itself and unfavorable influences on the common's livelihood featuring the monopolization, self-support and technique improved fast only to producing luxuries.In contrast to the sole operator in official handicraft industry and commerce, there were many active individual participants in private ones, such as shopkeepers, investors with small capital and eminent financiers, who are referred to for many times in the last three chapters. They were mainly interested in weave production, smelting iron and brass, minting and fair business. Therefore, the private handicraft industry and commerce had a full impact on people's livelihood, upsurge the economy, made more people become richer and increased the social consumption. Under the stimulation, the commercial economy reached its acme in early days of Han Dynasty. Unfortunately, after Liu Che ascended the throng, the virulent expansion of official monopolization frustrated the flourishing commercial economy to nadir. Nevertheless, the unique development mode of handcraft industry and commerce in Han Dynasty should deserve its historical position of juncture between past and future, which passed down to following dynasties and exerted its profound influence on them.