He went back to Confucius for his citations but his real intention was to breathe new life into Sung bureaucracy
One of China's most celebrated and controversial statesmen, Wang An-shih, came to the Confucianist revival stage of the Sung dynasty in the second half of the 11th century. The emperor was Shen-tsung, who reigned from 1068 to 1085, a conscientious and hard-working ruler. Wang (1021-1086) was scholar, poet and hard-driving administrator. Although he undertook his reforms under the Confucian banner, he was aware of the impossibility of really returning to the sage king examples that he recommended to the emperor. Above all he exemplified the pragmatic genius that has often emerged in China when the hand of entrenched bureaucracy became too heavy.
His first reform was of state finances. The goals were economy and budgetary efficiency, yet Wang also understood as most of his contemporaries did not that an expanding economy and the general welfare of the people were essential to the production of more revenue for the state. Few of his innovations were original. What made them exceptional was their number and the breadth of his concept.
Wang An-shih began with a drastic revision of the system of taxing and state marketing. Instead of shipping tax grain or other tribute in kind to the capital, government officials were authorized to resell the goods collected and use the proceeds to buy what the government needed. This speeded up the economy and economized on transportation and storage. Eventually a large-scale state marketing operation emerged with the government playing a larger role in the economy than it had before. Another interesting and remarkably modern economic measure was Wang's system of crop loans to provide farmers with seed, implements and other necessities in the spring. Repayment with interest was at harvest time. The goal was to keep the farmers out of the hands of usurers, increase production and bring added revenue to the government.
To reduce defense costs, Wang revived a militia scheme that had fallen into disuse. The Sung armies were made up of professional mercenaries paid from tax revenues. The cost was high, and the armies had to be fed and housed whether or not they were fighting. Wang organized each district for self-defense and policing. Families were grouped into units of ten, a hundred and a thousand, and took their turns at providing able-bodied service. The result was both collective security and collective responsibility, because each group was held to account for the conduct of its individual members.
Wang reversed this administrative solution in connection with the minor functions of local government. These had been performed by individuals and households on an unpaid draft basis. The level of efficiency was poor. Instead of requiring 'such service, Wang imposed a graduated monetary tax on the rich and hired personnel to perform the official services.
Previous reformers had wanted to go back to the well-field system of agriculture. This would have required a redistribution of the land. Wang recognized the difficulty and substituted a square-fields system to simplify and maximize tax returns. All taxable land was divided into units of one square li. Levies were graduated in accordance with the productivity of the unit.
Confucianists of early Sung had criticized the bureaucratic examination system for the stress placed on literary style and memorization of the Classics. Until Wang, no one had dared challenge the entrenched bureaucracy. For the traditional forms of composition and note memorization, he substituted an essay on the general meaning of the Classics. When this gave rise to problems of judging the candidate's performance, Wang prescribed a standard essay form and provided a modernized commentary to accompany a revision of the Classics and serve as a guide for both civil service candidates and judges.
Wang's examination reforms aroused more controversy than had his economic and social measures. Were the new measures in true keeping with Confucianism or didn't they bear a remarkable resemblance to the hated imposition of, Legalism? The argument of Sung times eventually pulled down Wang and has continued into modern times. Wang defended himself with the citation of classical precedents for almost everything he did-and with some reason. The benevolent paternalism of the sage kings that Confucius held up as supreme examples could scarcely be brought into existence without the exercise of state power.
Wang hit upon the Rites of Chou, which he revised, as a principal example and support for his program. In his preface to the revision, he wrote: "When moral principles are applied to the affairs of government ... the form they take and the use they are put to depend upon laws, but their promotion and execution depend upon individuals. In the worthiness of its individual officials to discharge the duties of office, and in the effectiveness with which its institutions administered the law, no dynasty has surpassed the early Chou. Likewise, in the suitability of its laws for perpetuation in later ages, and in the expression given them in literary form, no book is so perfect as the Institutes of Chou."
Opponents claimed that the revision was a forgery. Later historians attributed the fall of Northern Sung to Wang's adoption of the book as the lodestone of his political thought.
The first important expression of Wang's views came in a memorial to the emperor. Sometimes called the "Ten Thousand Word Memorial", it was primarily concerned with the recruitment of able officials. This reflected the fact that in China as elsewhere, a reformer had to tackle the bureaucracy first of all. He strikes a balance between the Legalist emphasis on the importance of the laws and institutions and the Confucian idea that good government ultimately depends on men of character and ability and not legalistic restrictions. In the end, he concludes that the need for reform may justify the use of coercion. This is the text of the memorial:
Your servant observes that Your Majesty possesses the virtues of reverence and frugality and is endowed with wisdom and sagacity. Rising early in the morning and retiring late in the evening, Your Majesty does not relax for even a single day. Neither music, beautiful women, dogs, horses, sightseeing, nor any of the other objects of pleasure distract or becloud your intelligence in the least. Moreover, Your Majesty selects those whom the people of the empire would wish to have assisting Your Majesty, entrusts to them the affairs of state and does not vacillate in the face of slanderous, wicked, traitorous and cunning officials. Even the solicitude of the Two Emperors and Three Kings did not surpass this. We should expect, therefore, that the needs of every household and man would be filled and that the empire would enjoy a state of perfect order. And yet this result has not been attained. Within the empire the security of the state is a cause for some anxiety, and on our borders there is the constant threat of the barbarians. Day by day the resources of the nation become more depleted and exhausted, while the moral tone and habits of life among the people daily deteriorate. On all sides officials who have the interests of the nation at heart are fearful that the peace of the empire may not last. What is the reason for this?
The cause of the distress is that we ignore the law. Now the government is strict in enforcing the law, and its statutes are complete to the last detail. When then does your servant consider that there is an absence of law? It is because most of the present body of law does not accord with the government of the ancient kings. Mencius said: 'There are now princes who have benevolent hearts and a reputation for benevolence, while yet the people do not receive any benefits from them, nor will they leave any example to future ages-all because they do not put into practice the ways of the ancient kings.' The application of what Mencius said to our own failure in the present is obvious.
Now our own age is far removed from that of the ancient kings, and the changes and circumstances with which we are confronted are not the same. Even the most ignorant can see that it would be difficult to put into practice every single item in the government of the ancient kings. But when your servant says that our present failures arise from the fact that we do not adopt the governmental system of ancient kings, he is merely suggesting that we should follow their general intent. Now the Two Emperors were separated from the Three Kings by more than a thousand years. There were periods of order and disorder and there were periods of prosperity and decay. Each of them likewise encountered different changes and faced different circumstances, and each differed also in the way they set up their government. Yet they never differed as to their underlying aims in the government of the empire, the state and the family, nor in their sense of the relative importance and priority of things. Therefore, your servant contends that we should follow only their general intent. If we follow their intent, then the changes and reforms introduced by us would not startle the ears and shock the eyes of the people, nor cause them to murmur. And yet our government would be in accord with that of the ancient kings.
The most urgent need of the present time is to secure capable men. Only when we can produce a large number of capable men in the empire will it be possible to select a sufficient number of persons qualified to serve in the government. And only when we get capable men in the government will there be no difficulty in assessing what may be done, in view of the time and circumstances, and in consideration of the human distress which may be occasioned, gradually to change the decadent laws of the empire in order to approach the ideas of the ancient kings. The empire today is the same as the empire of the ancient kings. There were numerous capable men in their times. Why is there a dearth of such men today? It is because, as has been said, we do not train and cultivate men in the proper way.
In ancient times, the Son of Heaven and feudal lords had schools ranging from the capital down to the districts and villages. Officers of instruction were widely appointed but selected with the greatest care. The affairs of the court, rites and music, punishment and laws were all subjects which found a place in the schools. What the students observed and learned were the sayings, the virtuous acts and the ideas underlying the government of the empire and the states. Men not qualified to govern the empire and the states would not be given an education, while those who could be so used in government never failed to receive an education. This is the way to conduct the training of men.
"What is the way to select officials? The ancient kings selected men only from the local villages and through the local schools. The people were asked to recommend those they considered virtuous and able, sending up their nominations to the court, which investigated each one. Only if the men recommended were proved truly virtuous and able would they be appointed to official posts commensurate with their individual virtue and ability. Investigation of them did not mean that a ruler relied only upon his own keenness of sight and hearing or that he took the word of one man alone. If they wanted to ascertain a man's virtue, they inquired into his conduct; if they wanted to ascertain his ability, they inquired into his utterances. Having inquired into his actions and utterances, they then tested him in government affairs. What was meant by 'investigation' was just that-to test them in government affairs. Yao employed Shun in exactly this way. How much the more must they have done this in the employment of lesser personages than Shun. Taking into consideration the great expanse of the nine provinces, the vast distances within the four seas and the innumerable lesser posts of administration to be filled, it is obvious that a large number of scholar officials are needed. It is not possible for the ruler to investigate each case personally, nor can he entrust this matter to any other individual, expecting that in a day or two he could inquire into and test their conduct and abilities and recommend their employment or dismissal. When we have investigated those whose conduct and ability are of the highest, and have appointed them to high office, we should ask them in turn to select men of the same type, try them out for a time and test them, and then make recommendations to the ruler, whereupon ranks and salaries would be granted to them. This is the way to conduct the selection of officials.
In ancient times, officials were selected with great care, appointed to posts which suited their qualifications and kept in office for a reasonable length of time. And once employed, they were given sufficient authority for the discharge of their duties. They were not hampered and bound by one regulation or another, but were allowed to carry out their own ideas. It was by this method that Yao and Shun regulated the hundred offices of government and inspired the various officials.
Today, although we have schools in each prefecture and district, they amount to no more than school buildings. There are no officers of instruction and guidance; nothing is done to train and develop human talent. Only in the Imperial Academy are officers of instruction and guidance to be found, and even they are not selected with care. The affairs of the court, rites, music, punishment and correction have no place in the schools and the students pay no attention to them, considering that rites and music, punishment and correction are the business of officials, not something they ought to know about. What is taught to the students consists merely of textual exegesis (of the Classics).
That, however, was not the way men were taught in ancient times. In recent years, teaching has been based on the essays required for the civil service examinations, but this kind of essay cannot be learned without resorting to extensive memorization and strenuous study upon which students must spend their efforts the whole day long. Such proficiency as they attain is at best of no use in the government of the empire, and at most the empire can make no use of them. Therefore, even if students remained in school until their hair turned gray, and spent their efforts the whole day long pursuing the instructions given them, when finally appointed to office they would not have even the faintest idea of what to do.
Scholars today think that civil and military affairs are two different things. 'I know only how to handle civil affairs' (they say). The duty of guarding the frontiers and the palace is left to common soldiers, who are usually corrupt, ruthless and wholly unreliable. Were their ability and behavior such that they could maintain themselves in their own villages, they would never have had to leave their kith and kin to enlist in the army.
Formerly, those scholars who had learned the way of the ancient kings and whose behavior and character had won the approval of their village communities were the ones entrusted with the duty of guarding the frontiers and the palace in accordance with their respective abilities-this is the way in which the rulers of ancient times entrusted weapons to men and secured themselves from all danger, both within and without. Today this most important responsibility in the empire, which the ruler should assign only to men selected with great care, is given to those corrupt, ruthless and unreliable men whose ability and behavior are not such that they can maintain themselves in local villages. That is why we are always anxious over the security of our frontiers and fearful that the imperial guards may not be depended upon to keep the peace. Indeed, who today is unaware of the fact that the frontier guards and imperial guards cannot be depended on to keep the peace? But since the educated men of the land regard the carrying of weapons as a disgrace, and since none of them is able to ride, shoot, or has any familiarity with military maneuvers who is there to take up this responsibility but the hired soldiery? As long as military training is not given, and men of a higher type are not selected for military service, there is no wonder that scholars regard the carrying of weapons as a disgrace and that none of them is able to ride or shoot or has any familiarity with military maneuvers. This is because education is not conducted in the proper way.
In the present system for electing officials, those who memorize assiduously, recite extensively and have some knowledge of literary composition, are called 'splendid talents of extraordinary accomplishment' or 'men of virtue, wise, square and upright'. These are the categories from which the ministers of state are chosen. Those whose memories are not so strongly developed and cannot recite so extensively, yet have some knowledge of literary composition and have also studied poetry in the shih and fu forms, are called advanced scholars (chin-shih). The highest of these are also selected as the ministers of state. It can be seen without any question that the skills and knowledge acquired by men in these two categories do not fit them to serve as ministers. And yet those who discuss such matters today hold -to the opinion that we have used this method for a long time to select our officials, that through it capable ministers have often been obtained, and that it is not necessary to follow the ancient system of selection in order to obtain 'scholars. This is defective reasoning.
In addition, candidates are examined in such fields as the Nine Classics, the Five Classics, Specialization in one Classic and the Study of Law. The court has already become concerned over the uselessness of this type of knowledge and has stressed the need for an understanding of general principles (as set forth in the Classics). Nevertheless, those obtained by emphasizing general principles are not better qualified than under the old system. Now the court has also opened up another field of examination, 'Understanding of the Classics', in order to promote those proficient in classical studies. However, when we consider the men selected through 'Understanding the Classics', it is still those who memorize, recite and have some knowledge of literary composition who are able to pass the examination, while those who can apply them to the government of the empire are not always brought in through this kind of selection.
It has already been made clear that officials are not selected with care, employed in accordance with their competence and kept in office long enough. But in addition, entrusted with office, they are not given sufficient authority to fulfill their duties, but find their hands tied by this law or that regulation so that they are unable to carry out their own ideas. Yet your servant is convinced that most of those holding office are not of the right kind, so that if given authority and not restrained by one regulation or another, they will let go and do whatever they please. Nevertheless, there has not been a single case in history, from ancient times to the present, which shows that it is possible to obtain good government merely by relying on the effectiveness of law without regard to having the right man in power, if he is bound by one regulation or another in such a way that he cannot carry out his ideas.
Your servant also observes that in former times when the court thought of doing something and introducing some reforms, the advantages and disadvantages were considered carefully at the beginning. But whenever some vulgar opportunist took a dislike to the reform and opposed it, the court stopped short and dared not carry it out. Now when a law is set up, it is not for a single individual to enjoy its benefits alone. Therefore, even though the government of the ancient kings was able to benefit all under Heaven, nevertheless, at times following a period of corrupt government, when many men sought for personal advantage, the task of setting up laws and institutions was not without difficulties. Since it was difficult to set up laws and institutions and since the men seeking personal advantages were unwilling to accept these measures and comply with them, the ancients who intended to do something had to resort to punishment. Only then could their ideas be carried out.
"Now the early kings, wishing to set up laws and institutions in order to change corrupt customs and obtain capable men, overcame their feelings of reluctance to mete out punishment, for they saw that there was no other way of carrying out their polity.”
Wang An-shih's crop loan measure, which in effect made him the father of the ever-normal granary, was submitted to Emperor Shen-tsung in 1069. The system had already been tried out in Shensi province. This is the text:
In the second year of Hsi-ning (1069), the Commission to Coordinate Fiscal Administration presented a memorial as follows:
The cash and grain stored in the ever-normal and the liberal-charity granaries of the various circuits, counting roughly in strings of cash and bushels of grain, amount to more than 15,000,000. Their collection and distribution are not handled properly, however, and therefore we do not derive full benefit from them. Now we propose that the present amount of grain in storage should be sold at a price lower than the market price when the latter is high; and that when the market price is low, the grain in the market should be purchased at a rate higher than the market price. We also propose that our reserves be made interchangeable with the proceeds of the land tax and the cash and grain held by the Fiscal Intendants, so that conversion of cash and grain may be permitted whenever convenient.
With the cash at hand, we propose to follow the example set by the crop loan system in Shensi province. Farmers desirous of borrowing money before the harvest should be granted loans to be repaid at the same time as they pay their tax, half with the summer payment and half with the autumn payment. They are free to repay either in kind or in cash, should they prefer to do so if the price of grain is high at the time of repayment. In the event disaster strikes, they should be allowed to defer payment until the date when the next harvest payment would be due. In this way not only would we be prepared to meet the distress of famine, but since the people would receive loans from the government, it would be impossible for the monopolistic houses to exploit the gap between harvests by charging interest at twice the normal rate. (The government charged 2 per cent a month, less than private lenders.)
Under the system of Ever-Normal and Liberal-Charity granaries, it has been the practice to keep grain in storage and sell it only when the harvest is poor and the price of grain is high. Those who benefit from this are only the idle people in the cities.
Now we propose to survey the situation in regard to surpluses and shortages in each circuit as a whole, to sell when grain is dear and buy when it is cheap, in order to increase the accumulation in government storage and to stabilize the price of commodities. This will make it possible for the farmers to go ahead with their work at the proper season, while the monopolists will no longer be able to take advantage of their temporary stringency. All this is proposed in the interests of the people and the government derives no advantage therefrom. Moreover, it accords with the idea of the ancient kings who bestowed blessings upon all impartially and promoted whatever was of benefit by way of encouraging the cultivation and accumulation of grain." (The proposal was accepted by the emperor, put into effect in the limited areas of Hopei, Ching-tung and Huai-nan and subsequently extended.)
Ch'eng Hao originally was a supporter of Wang An-shih but came to oppose him on the crop loan system. In a memorial, he argues that the system was unpopular and that force was necessary to exact repayment. However, it is uncertain whether the peasantry was really opposed or whether Ch'eng was speaking for a powerful minority. Historically, there is no evidence of violent opposition to Wang's crop loan system but the administration may have been inequitable. The interest charge was sufficient to tempt venal officials. This is Ch'eng Hao's memorial:
Recently your servant has presented repeated memorials asking for the abolition of the advancing of crop loans at interest and abolition of the (Economic) Adminstrators. Day and night your servant waits expectantly, and yet Your Majesty still has not acted ...
Now whether the state is secure or insecure depends upon the feelings of the people; whether there is order or disorder hinges upon how things are handled at the start. If great numbers of people are opposed, then whatever one may say, one will not be believed; but if all the people are of one accord, then whatever one does will certainly succeed. It is impossible to bend by force and win by words alone. And what we have heard proposed in recent days only makes matters worse. Your servant reads the memorials of the Commission to Coordinate Fiscal Administration which dispute memorials presented by other high officials and makes accusations against officials who have not carried out its orders. This only intensifies the feeling of alarm both inside and outside the court. It is to uphold one particular viewpoint and suppress the public expression of other views; it is to lose the support of the people at the start, all on account of a minor matter. Weighing the relative importance of things, this would hardly seem the proper thing to do.
Your servant considers that Your Majesty already sees clearly into the heart of the matter and fully realizes what is right and what wrong. The mind of Your Majesty does not hesitate to make a change; it is only the minister in charge of the government who still persists in his obstinacy. Thus the people's feelings are greatly agitated and public opinion becomes more clamorous. If one insists on carrying end. Your servant hopes that Your Majesty will resolutely exercise your divine judgment and consider solutely exercise your divine judgment and consider in advance what success and failure hinge upon. Rather than pursue one mistaken policy at the expense of a hundred other undertakings, would it not be better to bestow a grand favor and reassure the people's minds by doing away with the disturbances caused by those sent out to enforce these decrees, and by manifesting your humanity to the extent of abolishing the interest charged on crop loans? Moreover, when the system of buying and selling grain is put back into effect, our accumulated reserve will expand. The government will then be without fault in its administration and public opinion will have no cause to be aroused. I humbly beg Your Majesty to consider the memorials presented by your servant and act upon them. 1t would be a most fortunate thing for the whole empire."
Wang An-shih defended his five major policies in this memorial, but conceded that for three of them, much would depend on effective administration:
During the five years that Your Majesty has been on the throne, a great number of changes and reforms has been proposed. Many of them have been set forth in documents, enacted into law and have produced great benefits. Yet among these measures there are five of the greatest importance, the results of which will only be felt in the course of time and which, nevertheless, have already occasioned a great deal of discussion and debate: (1) pacification of the Jung barbarians, (2) the crop loans, (3) the local service exemption, (4) the collective security militia and (5) the marketing controls.
Now the region of Ching-t'ang and the T'iao River in the northwest extends over 3,000 Ii and the Jung tribes number 200,000 people. They have surrendered their territories and become submissive subjects of the empire. Thus our policy of pacifying the Jung barbarians has proved successful.
In former times the poor people paid interest on loans obtained from powerful persons. Now the poor get loans from the government at a lower rate of interest and the people are thereby saved from poverty. Thus our policy on agricultural loans has worked in practice.
It is only with regard to the service exemption, the militia and the marketing controls that a question exists as to whether great benefit or harm may be done. If we are able to secure the right type of man to administer these acts, great benefits will be obtained, but if they are administered by the wrong type of man, great harm will be done. Again, if we try to enforce them gradually, great benefits will be obtained, but if they are carried out in too great haste, great harm will be done.
"The Commentary says: 'Things not modeled after the ancient system have never been known to last for a generation.' Of the three measures mentioned above, it may be said that they are all modeled after the ancient system. However, one can put the ancient system into practice only when he understands the Way of the ancients. This is what your servant means about great advantages and disadvantages.
The service exemption system is derived from the Institutes of Chou (Rites of Chou) in which the fu, shih, hsu and tu are mentioned. They are what the King's System (section of the Book of Rites) describes as 'the common people who render services to the government'.
However, the people of the nine provinces vary in wealth and the customs of the various regions are not the same. The classifications used in the government registration (for local service) are not satisfactory for all. Now we want to change it forthwith, having officials examine every household so that they will be assessed on an equitable basis, and requiring the people to pay for the hiring of men for all kinds of local services, so that the farmers can be released and return to their farms. If, however, we fail to secure the right kind of person for the administration of this measure, the classification of people into five grades (in proportion to their financial status) is bound to be unfair, and the hiring of men to perform services would not be executed in an equitable manner.
The militia act had its origin in the ch'iu-chia system (in which units of 128 families each provided men and weapons for military service) of the Three Dynasties which was adopted by Kuan Chung in Ch'i Tzu-ch'an in Cheng and Lord Shang in Ch'in; and was proposed by Chung Chang-t'ung to the Han ruler. This is not just a recent innovation. However, for hundreds of years the people of the empire have been free to live together or to disperse and go in all directions as they choose, not subject to any restriction. Now we want to change it forthwith, organizing the people into units of five and tens and attaching one village to another. Unlawful activities would thus be kept under observation while benevolence would be manifested to all; the soldiers would be housed in their own homes and ready for any use. If, however, we fail to secure the right kind of person to administer this measure, the people will be alarmed by summons and frightened by mobilization, and thus the people's confidence will be lost.
The marketing controls originated with the Supervision of the Market in the Chou dynasty and the Price Stabilization and Equalization System of the Han dynasty. Now with a fund of 1,000,000 cash we regulate the prices of commodities in order to facilitate the exchange of goods and also lend the people money on which they must pay the government an interest of 'several tens of thousands of cash annually. However, we are aware of the fact that commodities and money do not circulate very well in the empire. It is feared that officials eager for personal fame and rewards will seek to achieve speedy results within a year's time and thus the system will be subverted.
Therefore, your servant considers that the above three measures, if administered by the right kind of person and put into effect with due deliberation, will bring great benefits; whereas, if administered by the wrong men and put into effect with too great haste, they may do great harm.
Thus if we succeed in carrying out the Service Exemption Law, the seasonal agricultural work of the farmers will not be disturbed and the manpower requirements (of the state) will be borne equally by the people. If the Militia Law is carried out, the disturbances caused by bandits will be brought to an end and our military power will be strengthened. If we succeed in carrying out the Marketing Control Law, goods and money will be circulated and the financial needs of the state will be met."
Su Shih (1037-1101) was poet, calligrapher and painter as well as public official. At first he agreed with Wang An-shih's reforms but subsequently came to oppose them and was driven from the court. In the following memorial to the emperor he criticizes the new labor service, crop loans and the state marketing system:
What a ruler has to rely upon is only the hearts of men. Men's hearts are to the ruler what roots are to a tree, what oil is to a lamp, water to fish, fields to a farmer or money to a merchant.
Now Your Majesty knows that the hearts of the people are not happy. Men, whether with the court or outside, whether worthy or unworthy, all say that from the founding of the dynasty to the present, the fiscal administration of the empire has been en trusted solely to the commissioner, assistant commissioners and the supervisors of the Finance Commission, who for more than 100 years have left no matter unattended. Now, for no cause, another commission has been set up in the name of 'Coordinating the Policies of the Three Fiscal Offices'. Six or seven young men are made to discuss fiscal policies day and night within the bureau, while more than 40 aides are sent out to explore the situation. The vast scale of their initial operations had made people frightened and suspicious; the strangeness of the new laws adopted has made officials fearful and puzzled. Worthy men seek for an explanation, and failing to get any, cannot relieve their anxiety; small men simply conjecture as to what is going on at court and give voice to slander, saying that Your Majesty, as the master of 100,000 chariots (a large empire and army) is interested in personal profit, and the official in charge of the government administration, as the chancellor of the Son of Heaven, is concerned with controlling wealth. Business is at a standstill and prices of goods have been rising. From place's as near as the Huai River to places as far as SzeChwan, hundreds of mouths are talking and hundreds of views are expressed. Some say that the main store in the capital (a sarcastic reference to the central government and its activities) is considering the establishment of superintendencies, that there is going to be a prohibition on (private production of) wine in the mountain wilds of Kweichow, that monks and nuns in permanent residence (at monastaries and nunneries) are to be arrested and that the salaries of officials and soldiers are to be reduced. Statements like these are countless. And it is even said that the government intends to restore the punishment of mutilation.
Now the Commission to Coordinate Fiscal Administration has the reputation of seeking for profit, while the six or seven young men and their 40 or more aides are instruments for the pursuit of profit . . . The man who plunges into the forest with a pack of hunting dogs and then protests, 'I am not hunting', would do better to get rid of the hunting dogs. Then the animals will not be so frightened. The man who takes out fishing nets and heads for the water but then protests, 'I am not going fishing', would do better to get rid of the fish nets and then men would believe him. Therefore your servant considers that in order to expunge the slander, to call forth harmonious feelings, to restore public confidence and to put the nation at rest, nothing better could be done than to abolish the Commission to Coordinate Fiscal Policies. The purpose of Your Majesty in establishing this office was but to promote advantages (or profits) and eliminate disadvantages. So if abolishing it does not promote advantages and climinate disadvantages, then it should not be abolished; but if abolishing it makes all in the empire happy and puts their hearts at peace, then there is certainly nothing wrong with what promotes such advantages while removing disadvantages. Why, then, should it not be abolished?
Since ancient times men drafted from the households in each district have always had to be used for local services. It is just the same as the five grains always having to be used for food, hemp having to be used for clothing, boats having to be used for crossing rivers or bullocks and horses having to be used for traveling on land. Although sometimes other things have been used instead, still in the long run this could not be made a regular practice throughout the empire. Now some people have heard that in the regions of Chekiang and Kiangsu, a few prefectures hire men to perform these services, and they want to extend this practice throughout the empire. This is like seeing the dates and chestnuts of Peking and Shansi, or the taro root of Szechwan, and then advocating that the five grains be done away with. How could that be made feasible? Besides, they want the proceeds from government factories to be used for the hiring of public storage and transport officer's. Although they are expected to render long-term service, they receive meager payment for their labors. Since they receive so little for such long service, from now on they may be expected gradually to fall away and go elsewhere. How seriously this will affect the whole basis and functioning of local governments can well be imagined.
Although in recent years, households in the rural districts have been allowed to hire men (to perform these services), nevertheless, if these hired men ran away, the households still had the responsibility (of replacing them). Now in addition to the Twice-A-Year Tax, another tax item has been introduced called the labor charge, which pays for the government's hiring of men. Thus the government has taken upon itself the responsibility for the hiring of men. Since Yang Yen in the Tang dynasty abolished the system of (land) taxes in grain, labor taxes (on able-bodied men) and the cloth exaction ( on households), and replaced it with the Twice-A- Year Tax, the sum of all taxes collected in the 14th year of Ta-li (779) was used as the basis for determining the rate. The labor and cloth taxes were all combined in 'the Twice-A-Year Tax. Yet now, while the Twice A-Year Tax is kept as before, how can a labor tax again be demanded? When a sage introduces a law he always takes thousands of generations into consideration. How can we add another item to the regular tax?
Households of which a female is head and those with only a single male are the most unfortunate of all under Heaven. The first concern of the ancient kings was to show them compassion; and yet now the first concern of Your Majesty is to make them pay for local services. These are the households in which the family line will be discontinued when its present members die or those in which the only male is still too young. If several years were allowed the latter, he would become an adult, render service, grow old and die, and have his property confiscated by the government (because there is no one to inherit it). How can a ruler so rich as to possess all within the four seas have the hardness of heart not to take pity on such persons?
There has long been a prohibition against the practice of crop loans. Now Your Majesty has inaugurated the system and make it a regular practice year after year. Although it is declared that there shall be no compulsion to make people take loans, nevertheless after several generation, if there should be oppressive rulers and corrupt officials, can Your Majesty guarantee that there will be no compulsion? In the days ahead this system will be hated by all under Heaven and it will be recorded in the dynastic history that the crop-loan system began with Your Majesty. What a pity! Besides, when silk was bought in the Southeast, payment was originally supposed to be in cash, while in obtaining horse fodder from Shensi, cash was not allowed in commutation. Edicts were issued by the court and the officials usually enforced them. Nevertheless, salt is always accepted now in payment for silk and cash is allowed in commutation for fodder. From this we can see that the declaration against the use of compulsion in taking of crop loans is also an empty formality.
Even if the regulations are strictly enforced and there is really no compulsion, those people and households who would willingly apply for it must be the poor and families in need, for if they had any surplus of their own, why would they come and do business with the government? But when the poor people are 'Whipped and pressed to the extreme, they will run away, and when they have run away, their debts to the government will be apportioned among their neighbors who are collectively responsible. Such a course can have no other outcome; logically it could not be otherwise.
Moreover, of all such measures the ever-normal granary may be considered the best. It is modest in what it seeks to preserve and yet far-reaching in its effects. Suppose a county of 10,000 households has only 1,000 bushels of grain in storage. When the price of grain is high, if the 1,000 bushels are put on the market, the price of goods is kept 'stable. When the price of goods. in the market is kept stable, there is a sufficiency of food in the land. There is no hoarding of grain by some while others beg for food, no pursuing and pressing by the headman of the village to make people pay back their loans. Now if the ever-normal granary is converted to a crop-loan fund, and one bushel of grain is lent to each household, then what will be done to relieve the hunger of all those besides 1,000 households provided for? Besides, there is always the fear that the government funds of the ever-normal granary will prove insufficient. If all the funds are used up to buy the grains, then none will be left for the money lending; if the fund is held for lending purposes, then very little grain will be bought. Thus we can see that the ever-normal granary and the crop-loan system are by nature incompatible. How much can we expect to achieve by it, if we destroy one for the accomplishment of the other? The government will incur a deficit and the people will incur harm. However much we may regret it later, what can be done then?
During the time of Emperor Wu of Han, the financial resources of the nation were exhausted, and the proposal of the merchant Sang Hung-yang to buy commodities when prices were cheap and sell them when prices were dear was adopted. This was called equal Distribution. Thereupon business came to a standstill and banditry became widespread. This almost led to revolution. When Emperor Chao ascended the throne, scholars all rose up in opposition to the theory (of Sang). Ho Kuang (the chief minister) heeded the desires of 'the people and granted their request that the system be abandoned. Then all under -leaven were reconciled to the throne and no further trouble arose. It is surprising to hear this kind of proposal raised again. When this law was first introduced, it sounded as if very little was involved. they said merely that goods bought cheaply here should be transferred elsewhere when prices were high, using implies near at hand to ease scarcity afar. But offices and staffs have been set up all over, and a large amount of cash has been appropriated. The big and wealthy merchants have all become suspicious and dare not move. They 'believe that although it has not been openly declared that the government will engage in buying and selling, permission nevertheless bas been given to exchange commodities, and it has never been, heard that the government engages in the exchange of goods without competing with the merchants for profit. The business of merchants is very complicated and it is difficult to practice. When they buy, they give money in advance; when they sell, they collect the money afterward. Many are the means they use to supplement each other; intricate and involved are their dealings. By these means, their twofold profit is obtained. Now for the government to buy such and such a commodity, it must first set up offices and staffs, so that the expense for clerical and fiscal 'services is considerable at the outset. If not of good quality, an item will not be bought; if not paid for in cash, an item cannot be purchased. Therefore the price paid 'by the government must be higher than that paid by the people. And when the government sells goods, it will still suffer the disadvantages mentioned before. How can the government get the same profit as the merchant? The court has not taken these factors into consideration, and yet has appropriated 5,000,000 cash for this venture. Once the money is disbursed, I hear it cannot be collected again. Even should there be some slight gain from it, the loss in revenue from taxes on merchants will certainly be greater.
The preservation or loss of a nation depends upon the depth or shallowness of its virtue, not upon its strength or weakness. The length or shortness of a dynasty depends upon the stoutness or flimsiness of its social customs, not upon its richness or poverty. If its moral virtue is truly deep and its social customs are truly stout, even though the country is poor and weak, its poverty and weakness will not affect its duration and existence. If its virtue is shallow and its social customs flimsy, even though the nation is rich and strong, .this will not save it from coming to an early end. When a ruler knows this, he knows what is important and what is not important. Therefore the wise rulers of ancient times did not abandon virtue because the country was weak, nor did they permit social customs to suffer because the country was poor."
Another of those opposed to Wang An-shih was Ssu-ma Kuang (1019-1086), one of the greatest scholar-statesmen of the Confucian revival. A long and distinguished career was behind him when he left the government (in 1070) and devoted his energies to his monumental history of China. Ssu-ma Kuang served briefly as prime minister after the death of Emperor Shen-tsung and was responsible for abolishing many of Wang's reforms. This is from Ssu-ma's "Petition to Do Away With the Most Harmful of the New Laws":
Your servant sees that the late emperor was sagacious and intelligent, did his utmost to govern well, and sought to employ an able man to assist him in achieving peace and order. This man was entrusted with the administration of government. His advice was acted upon, and his plans were followed. Nothing could ever come between them ... (The late emperor) was indeed an extraordinary ruler, such as not every generation produces and even in a thousand years is rarely met with. Unfortunately, the one in whom he placed his trust was a man who largely failed to understand the feelings of men and the principles of things, and who could not fulfill the expectations of his sage master. He was self-satisfied and self-opinionated, considering himself without equal among the men of the past and present. He did not know how to select what was best in the laws and institutions of the imperial ancestors and to bring together the happiest proposals put forth throughout the empire, so as to guide the imperial intelligence and assist in accomplishing the great task. Instead, he often adulterated the traditional regulations with his own ideas, which he termed the New Laws. Whatever this man wanted to do could neither be held up by .the ruler nor changed by the people. Those who agreed with him were given his help in rising to the sky, while those who differed with him were thrown out and cast down into the ditch. All he wanted was to satisfy his own ambitions, without regard to the best interests of the nation.
Human inclinations being what they are, who does not love wealth and high rank and who does not fear punishment and misfortune? Seeing how the wind blew and following with the current, the officials and gentry vied in proposing schemes, striving to be clever and unusual. They abandoned what was right and picked up what was wrong; they supported what was harmful and rejected what was beneficial. In name they loved the people; in fact they injured the people. In name they benefited the nation; in fact they did the nation harm. The crop loans, the local service exemption, the marketing controls, the credit and loan system and other measures were introduced. They aimed at the accumulation of wealth and pressed the people mercilessly. The distress they caused still makes for difficulties today. Besides, there were frontier officers who played fast and loose, hoping to exploit their luck. They spoke big and uttered barefaced lies, waged war unjustifiably and needlessly disturbed the barbarians on our borders ... They strewed the wastelands with the skeletons of so many hundreds of thousands of soldiers and abandoned hundreds of millions in weapons and goods in strange lands. Besides, officials who liked to create new schemes which they might take advantage of to advance themselves suggested setting up the collective security militia system (pao-chia), horse-raising system and the horse-care system as a means of providing for the military establishment. They changed the regulations governing the tea, salt, iron and 'other monopolies, and increased the taxes on family property, on buildings encroaching on the street, on business and so forth in order to meet military expenses. The result was to cause the people of the nine provinces to lose their livelihood and suffer extreme distress, as if they had 'been cast into hot water and fire. All this happened because the great body of officials were so eager to advance themselves. They misled the late emperor and saw to it that they themselves derived all the profit from these schemes while the emperor incurred all the resentment. This was not at all what the late emperor had originally intended ...
Now the evils of the New Laws are known to everyone in the empire, high or low, wise or ignorant. Thus when Your Majesty revised these laws to even a slight extent, all the people near and far congratulated each other. Yet there are still some measures which are harmful to the people and hurtful to the state, which have many disadvantages and no advantages, such as the collective security militia system, the local service exemption payment and the general commanderies. These three matters are of immediate and urgent importance, and are the first of the things which 'should be abolished. Your servant is going to report on them in separate memorials, hoping that it may please your sage will to grant us an early decision and act upon them."
Ssu-ma Kuang presented the separate memorials and summarized his reasons as follows:
Your servant has already pointed out that training and inspection of the militia involves a great expenditure of labor and money for both the government and the people, and yet the militia is of no real use in war. To pay money in lieu of local services is easy on the rich and hard on the poor, who must contribute to the support of idlers and the vagrant (paid to perform the services). It results in the peasantry losing their property and being reduced to utter misery without recourse or appeal. The general commanderies now have absolute control over the army administration, while local civil officials have no authority whatsoever and no means of coping with emergencies.
"The best plan now is to select and keep those new laws which are of advantage to the people and of benefit to the state, while abolishing all those which are harmful to the people and hurtful to the state. This will let the people of the land know unmistakably that the court loves them with a paternal affection. Those officials who are oppressive will be bound to change and serve loyally. Those people who have been estranged and embittered are bound to change and give their support and approbation to the court. This worthy achievement will be crowned with glory and there will be no end to the blessings it bestows. Would this not be splendid?"
After Ssu-ma Kuang's death, political forces that accepted Wang An-shih ideas regained power and held office much of the time until the downfall of Northern Sung in 1126. Many of Wang's measures were briefly revived. Some-such as the public service system, the local security and militia system and the essay he introduced for the civil service examinations - reappeared in later dynasties. Yet Wang's reputation among later generations of Confucian scholars was not high. Above all, he was denounced for having disregarded "human feelings". Chu Hsi, the Sung philosopher whose work was highly influential in the neo-Confucianism of subsequent dynasties, was a critic of Wang An-shih. However, he shows objectivity in the following attempt to reach a balanced assessment of Wang's strengths and weaknesses:
We were discussing Wang An-shih's meeting with Emperor Shen-tsung. 'It was a chance that comes only once in a thousand years,' I said. 'Unfortunately, Wang's ideas and methods were not correct so that in the end everything went to pieces the way it. did.' Someone asked: 'When Wang An-shih started, was he so self-assured about his methods and tactics, or did he become so only later?' I replied: 'At first he felt only that something should be done. But later when other people began to attack him, he became obstinate and unyielding. Unless one reads his diary one has no way of understanding the full story. As a matter of fact, he became so overbearing in argument and so contemptuous of everyone around him that men like Wen Lu-kung (Wen Yen-po) did not dare to utter a word.' Someone asked about Ssu-ma Kuang's reactions. I replied: 'He saw only that Wang An-shih was wrong and this led him to go too far in the other direction. When the whole matter first came under discussion, men like Su Tung-p'o also felt that reforms should be undertaken, but later they all changed their minds completely.'
"The implementation of the reforms was actually planned by all the statesmen together. Even Ch'eng Hao did not consider them to be wrong, for he felt that the time was ripe for a change. Only later, when everyone's feelings were aroused, did Ch'eng Hao 'begin to urge Wang An-shih not to do things that went against human feelings. Finally, when Wang had rejected the advice of everyone else and was using all his power to enforce his policies, the other statesmen began to withdraw. Tao-fu asked: 'If even the man in the street could tell that the implementation of these reforms would be harmful, why was it that Ch'eng Hao did not consider them wrong?' I replied: 'The harm came from the way that Wang put them into practice. If Ch'eng Hao had been doing it, things would certainly not have ended up in the mess they did.' It was asked: 'What would have been the situation if only (the elder statemen) Han Ch'i and Fu Pi had been employed in the government.' I replied: 'Those two gentlemen would have made no changes at all.' 'Suppose Ssu-ma Kuang had been in sole charge?' it was asked. 'He is altogether a different sort of person again,' I said. 'If the two Ch'eng brothers had assumed the responsibility,' it was asked, 'would things not have been different?' I replied: 'In the case of Ch'eng Hao things would have been different, provided he had full discretion in all matters."
Jen-chieh remarked that the pao-chia (militia) system which Wang An-shih put into effect in the capital area naturally aroused opposition at the start. But when the gentlemen of the Yuan-yu party abolished it entirely, what they did was to upset completely a system that was already well established. 'That is quite true,' I replied.
It was the opinion of the various worthy men of the Yuan-yu party that in general everything should go according to established ways. Their idea was to correct the mistakes arising from the changes (made by Wang An-shih) during the Hsi-ning and Yuang-feng periods, but they did not realize that they were lapsing into mere standpattism. Since the empire exists, soldiers must be trained, abuses must be corrected and government affairs must be properly ordered. How could one simply do nothing at all?"