Some Studies About Grain In The Tang Dynasty

In about 300 years of the Tang dynasty, especially in the first half , Chinese feudal society achieved its prosperous time. Although there are some positive factors such as political brightness, social stability, and economic development had laid the solid social basis for the Tang dynasty's prosperity, the ruler's attitude to social economy as well as the policy and measures they formulated also played an important role. As basic livelihood of the people and important matter of the governing, the grain had its much more important status.Through analyzing the government's opinion and policy of grain, knowing its utilization and characteristics, we may realize that it had direct relation with the Tang Dynasty's rule as well as with the living condition of the people. Thus, this thesis plans to use the historical methods and some concepts. of economics to discuss the policy and management of the Tang Dynasty's grain. Meanwhile we want to analyze the success and failure of the Tang Dynasty's grain policy to discover the deep-seated physical causes of its rise and fall. Simultaneously, we except that our research will be beneficial to study the current economic problems.The thesis mainly includes five parts:First,the view points of grain in the Tang Dynasty. The people of the Tang dynasty took grain as an serious problem. They realized that the grain was the most basic subsistence goods of the people and important strategic resources as well as reserves. Because the food security were closely related to the national security, the government must take all sorts of measures to resume and develop grain production, to guarrantee the people's and the country's grain reserves, and thus control the price and circulation of the grain.Second, to summarize the general situation of the Tang Dynasty's food production. The Tang dynasty's grain production presented conspicuously imbalance in periods as well as in regions. By large, in the earlier period of the Tang dynasty the grain economy sustained developing and the superiority was in the north China; in the later peroid of the Tang dynasty the grain economy suffered serious damage and then gently restored, the superiority moved to the south China. There were some different characteristics of grain production such as crop species, farming system, grain output and the grain circulation in different region in the Tang Dynasty.Third, we elaborate on the Tang Dynasty's grain policy and management so that we can discover the correlation between the policy and its rule. The government took a series of policy and measures to govern the circulation of grain ,including grain procurement , grain transportation, grain reserve and grain assignment and so on, as to meet the country's needs, stabilise the social order and to consolidate the feudal political power. Every task had its department and personnel and their function and responsibility was stipulated exhaustively by the law. All of these formed a relatively complete grain management system and it played a vital positive role in the government's normal work and social stability.Fourth, to explain the utilization of the grain policy and to analyze the positive effects on its rule. The government also took the grain as an important tool for governing the country. It was very important for their utilizing the grain policy substantially to realize the social stability, to carry on the macro-economic regulation, to increase the state financial income, to control the national army and local influence, etc.Fifth, a short summary of the success and failure of the grain policy and management and its value at present. There were three characteristics of the Tang dynasty's policy and regulation of grain. First, in the policy, the food security was considered as same important as the national security. Second, in the management, the grain was controlled strictly. Third, in the utilization, the grain operation was regarded as one method for governing the country.The high respect and strict regulation of the grain in Tang dynasty resulted in two effects. On one hand, it had laid the solid social basis for Tang dynasty's consolidation, stability and prosperity; on the other hand, it also made the rulers control their people more strictly, increased the peasents' burden, limited the vigor of market, and therefor was the policy root of the peasents' long-term poverty in the feudal society. To make the past serve the present, the analysis of the Tang dynasty's grain policy and management also has important value to the current national grain policy and management.