Chinese economic statecraft ideas in the Song period (960-1279).

摘要

This dissertation studies how Chinese statesmen from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries perceived the economic life of their time in relation to both state economic policy and private economic activities.; Each chapter studies the use of a concept(s) selected from literary essays or policy discussions of the Song period and traces their evolution or changes in meaning over time. Chapter one presents an analysis of the ideal of the well-field system and its antithesis, the concept of "engrossers" (jianbing), a typical negative view of private wealth held by the traditional Chinese state. Chapter two centers around Song debates on rural credit service and explores ideas originating in this period that re-evaluated the role of private wealth. Chapter three examines the concept and policy of "urging sharing" (quanfen) in famine relief for the purpose of examining the interaction between the government and the private sector in a local context, and assessing the vulnerability of private wealth to state interference. Chapter four discusses Song opinions on the relationship between the state and commercial wealth. Chapter five addresses Song writers' opinions concerning the control of the quality and supply of bronze coins, the main currency in the Song. Chapter six is a chronological review of the evolution of the concept and policy of chengti, a method for adjusting the exchange value of paper money.; The role of the state in economic development and the relationship between the state and private wealth provide broad themes that link together the individual chapters. Classical Chinese economic thought emphasized the role of the state in manipulating the exchange value of goods in the market and in suppressing the power of large-scale private wealth in order to help the poor. These ideas were inherited and used by reformist Song statesmen in the 11th century to justify state fiscal reforms. This wave of state activism triggered responses from other statesmen and scholars who saw the danger of excessive state intervention. They re-examined and re-interpreted classical concepts and formulated new discourses that favored a more autonomous market economy and protection for private wealth.