"On Salt and Iron" is an important historical book written by Huan Kuan in the Western Han Dynasty according to the records of the famous "Salt and Iron Conference", which describes a great political, economic, military, diplomatic and cultural debate during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
In the sixth year of Zhao Di (8 1 BC), it was ordered to gather virtuous scholars recommended by counties and countries to investigate the sufferings of the people in Beijing. At this gathering, moral writers demanded the abolition of the official monopoly of salt, iron and wine and the abolition of all officials. At this meeting, the government represented by Sang Hongyang and the people represented by Xianwen had a heated debate. In fact, it is an overall evaluation and estimation of the policies implemented during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Equal loss and fair standard are two measures to intervene in the market and adjust prices by administrative means during the period of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. Equal damage is to set up equal damage officials in various places to be responsible for the collection, sale and transportation of goods. Local tributes should be converted into money and handed over to the loss-making officials, who then buy cheap and sell expensive from place to place to adjust the price, which also increased the income for the country. The principle of equality is that the government is responsible for stabilizing prices in the capital and big cities. When it's cheap, the state buys it, and when it's expensive, the state sells it, curbing profiteers' speculation and stabilizing prices.
Huan Kuan's thought is the same as that of a virtuous writer, so there is inevitably criticism of Sang Hongyang in the book. The language in the book is very concise, and the descriptions of all parties are very vivid, which reproduces the scene at that time for modern people. Tu Youyou edition in the 23rd year of Chenghua in Ming Dynasty is a good edition, and modern reference editions include Guo Moruo's A Reader on Salt and Iron and Wang Qili's A Collation on Salt and Iron.