The Supervision And Stimulation Of Agriculture In The Ming Dynasty

As a large agricultural country,ancient China has a long tradition of agriculture supervision and stimulation.After Song and Yuan,agriculture supervision and stimulationthe in the Ming Dynasty carried forward some characteristics in the design of agricultural policy and system of the former generation.And on this basis,it made a development of the time and local conditions.In order to describe the complete picture of the agriculture supervision and stimulationthe in the Ming Dynasty,an investigation on its official system,rituals and specific policies has been made.And then,it is possible to make a comprehensive evaluation of its ideological connotation,characteristics and effects,and sum up its experience and enlightenment to the development of modern agriculture in China.The setting of agriculturals official in the Ming Dynasty did not get rid of the Chinese agricultural official system's traditional tendency that almost every officials can be a agricultural official.From the central to the local,the responsibility of agriculture supervision and stimulation presented a phenomenon of diffusion.There used to be some special officials that in charge of agriculture supervision and stimulation in the Ming Dynasty,which followed the example of Song and Yuan.And it was even specific to the county level.But the establishment of agricultural officials was always accompanied by a lot of controversy in the Ming Dynasty.The setting of local agricultural officials presented a fluctuation.This showed a predicament of the real needs and Ming goverrnment's own limitations in the setting of agricultural officials in the Ming Dynasty.On the formulation and practice of agricultural rituals,the tradition of emperor tilling was rebulit in the Ming Dynasty.Emperor Taizu and Emperor Shizong tried to make the ritual of emperor tilling an annual custom.Emperor Shizong even rebulit the ancient ritual of sericulture.However,these efforts to strengthen the supervision and stimulation function of agricultural rituals were attributed to failure.In the Ming Dynasty,the majority of emperor's tilling rituals were only executed after the accession of a new emperor.And its political function gradually overwhelmed its original agricultural function.In specific policies and methods to agriculture supervision and stimulation,Ming government took different policies and methods according to the different objects.Residentson the census register were the main objects of agriculture supervising and stimulating in the Ming Dynasty.For this part of labourers,requirements and methods to agriculture supervision and stimulation were more abundant.These labourers were asked to be loyal to agricultural production,plant different commercial crops and do farm work in the right season.To ensure their enthusiasm for agricultural production,Ming gvernment took some stimulating policies including emperor inspection,tax and corvee reduction,giving and leding means of agricultural production,helping solve the land problem,and some supervisal policies including officials touring and elders supervising.In addition,Ming government also attached great importance to the agriculture supervision and stimulation of refugees and soldiers.The supervision and stimulation of refugees were often due to local conditions,more targeted and powerful.As to the agriculture supervision and stimulation of soldiers,it mainly relyed on the military management and had its own system.Agriculture supervision and stimulation in the Ming Dynasty had rich connotation of farming-based ideology,people's livelihood thought and moral education thought.It showed characteristics of combining punishment with leniency and strengthening of local agriculture supervision and stimulation.Although Ming government suffered a failure in the institutionalization of the agriculture supervision and stimulation,the supervision and stimulation has played an important role in promoting agricultural production,moral education and declaring political authority.Agriculture supervision and stimulation in the Ming Dynasty was complex and contradictory.It reflected a variety of functions of agriculture supervision and stimulation as a strategy of feudal state governance in the Ming Dynasty.At the same time,it showed Ming government's selections in the national governance and its resorting to every conceivable means to keep its regime.The experience of agriculture supervision and stimulation in the Ming Dynasty has implications on the reconstruction of agriculture culture,promotion of agricultural technology and the establishment of modern agricultural supervision and stimulation system for China nowadays.