Change will lead to generalization, generalization will lead to success, and success will last long. In China's thousands of years of feudal history, there have been many famous changes, which enabled the development of the government at that time and the longevity of the regime.
However, among these reforms, there are always similarities but different characteristics, which ultimately determine whether this reform can succeed. During the Western Han Dynasty, Sang Hongyang's changes played an important role in the development of the early Han Dynasty.
However, also in the early days of the establishment of the political power, Wang Anshi's reform in the Northern Song Dynasty ended in failure. They are both equally losers. Why do Sang Hongyang and Wang Anshi's reforms have different results?
In these two reforms, the same conditions existed, but because of different needs, the two reforms took completely opposite paths. The essential reason is that the needs for political power in the early Western Han Dynasty and the early Northern Song Dynasty were different, and needs determined business. Therefore, these two reforms showed different results. 1. In the early Western Han Dynasty, the strong demand for development promoted Sang Hongyang's "equal loss" reform
(1) The foundation left by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty strongly promoted Sang Hongyang's "equal loss" reform Reform
The Western Han Dynasty has been pursuing a political development path since the establishment of Liu Bang. However, due to the excessive devastation of the war in the late Qin Dynasty, it took decades for the Han Dynasty's economy to develop. Therefore, as the national strength Rishengcai has provided certain opportunities for development.
Under the leadership of the talented and strategic Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the emergence of a unified situation became a real possibility. However, the development of this unified situation did not last long. With the death of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the national fiscal revenue showed a certain crisis.
What is inseparable from this is that the perennial campaigns of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in the later period made finances tight, which forced local financial reforms to be put on the agenda.
Sang Hongyang, who was born in a merchant family and later held an important position in national economic construction, became the best candidate at this time as a two-generation veteran. Faced with the situation that fiscal expenditures were unable to make ends meet, Sang Hongyang reformed the fiscal policy during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and began to implement the method of equalizing losses.
This is inseparable from the policy of unifying finance and returning official iron to official casting during the good emperor period. It was also precisely because of the foundation of the fiscal policy left by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that it provided strong support for the subsequent implementation of Sang Hongyang's equalization method.
Similarly, the power of local princes in the Han Dynasty was weakened to varying degrees because of the favor orders adopted during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. This made it less difficult for Sang Hongyang to implement his subsequent policies.
The method of equal loss is aimed at the mutual exchange between the central and local governments to achieve the purpose of increasing national treasury revenue. Under the influence of this situation, Sang Hongyang is undoubtedly correct in his analysis. , in line with the financial reforms carried out in the correct form in the Western Han Dynasty at that time.
(2) Specifically for financial reforms, Sang Hongyang’s method of equalizing losses was successfully implemented
After the fiscal revenue and expenditure became insufficient, Sang Hongyang adopted the method of “equalizing losses.” " method has opened up new sources of fiscal revenue. In terms of the content of the Sanghong Yangjun Transmission Method, trading of complementary products in the region changed the original use of specialties from various places as national taxation to monetary taxation as an important way of fiscal revenue.
This allows the court to obtain national finances without buying and selling. Each other achieved the purpose of increasing national treasury revenue. For this reason, Sang Hongyang also wrote "Salt and Iron Theory".
Through these mutually beneficial methods, both the central and local governments were able to participate in market institutions, thereby developing business and increasing fiscal revenue.
Under the equalization reform at that time, it was also in line with the people's pursuit of improving living standards and further restoring national strength during the Western Han Dynasty.
At the same time, with the implementation of the equalization method, the emergence of some monopoly industries at that time was reduced. The wealthy merchants who had been restricted during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty; through the equalization method, the monopoly of these large merchants could be restricted to a certain extent.
At the same time, through this kind of material trading, it can play a relatively large role in dealing with some natural and man-made disasters.
This improves the guarantee for the stability of business and the development of businessmen. After that, all subsequent rulers of the Han Dynasty basically followed this fiscal policy without making much changes.
This is hugely different from the results of Wang Anshi's reform. It is also a fiscal reform, but Wang Anshi's equalization method is only short-lived and cannot develop for a long time. 2. Under the attack of multiple parties, Wang Anshi's "all lose" method failed in the end
(1) The entanglements among the parties in the Northern Song Dynasty made Wang Anshi's "all lose" method very difficult
Wang Anshi's reform As an important event in the history of the Northern Song Dynasty, the reform ended in disgrace. This was inseparable from the fierce party struggle in the Northern Song Dynasty at that time.
As a statement of the strength of a collective group, there have been disputes between different parties since the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty. During Wang Anshi's reform period, there was an interest struggle with Sima Guang's faction. Therefore, when the equalization method was implemented, it was repeatedly obstructed by these opponents.
This also makes the equalization method promoted by Wang Anshi during the reform period just in form, but in terms of real effect, it does not have a greater effect than Sang Hongyang during the Western Han Dynasty. .
Wang Anshi’s military calligraphy during the Reform period was mainly to make certain financial adjustments to the southern region where the economy was relatively developed at that time. Through this action, the purpose of solving the redundant expenses in the Northern Song Dynasty was achieved. However, it was precisely because of the fierce party struggle in the Northern Song Dynasty that it was difficult to implement Wang Anshi's equalization reform.
During Wang Anshi's implementation of the equal loss method, some officials in his own party were dragged down by party strife and were abandoned and exiled. This made party strife in the Northern Song Dynasty an extremely serious matter.
This has hindered Wang Anshi’s talent source for implementing the equalization time method. When Wang Anshi implemented the equal loss method, there were often vacancies in the set equal loss positions for some reasons. This resulted in the same "all loss", but Wang Anshi was not able to do what Sang Hongyang did.
The political party dominance was one of the main obstacles for Wang Anshi to promote calligraphy, but at the same time, because the policy environment of the Southern Song Dynasty was different from that of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Anshi's reforms at that time could not be extended to the people, and they were just called The reforms of a few people. It was precisely because of the emergence of military calligraphy that the interests of some businessmen were harmed during the Northern Song Dynasty, which aroused the resistance of the citizens at that time to the equalization method.