To answer the question of why Shang Yang's political reform "abandoned the mining field to open the building", we must first understand what "abandoned the mining field to open the building" is about.
As for the content of "abandoning minefields and building buildings" in Shang Yang's political reform, most official textbooks explain it this way, saying that Shang Yang's move made the state recognize private ownership of land and allow land to be bought and sold freely, thus abolishing the state-owned ownership of land in slave society and implementing private ownership of land in feudal society. There is always a reason for the official explanation:
First, the Book of Songs says, "Is it the land of kings all over the world?" . Is leading the land king? The Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties in China implemented the "well-field system". Since the Book of Songs clearly stipulates that all the land in the world belongs to the "king" and the "king" is the "master of the world", the "well field system" as the basic political and economic system of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties in China is of course the state-owned land system. Secondly, Dong Zhongshu of the Western Han Dynasty once said categorically: "Qin used the method of Shang Yang to change the system of emperors. In addition to mining fields, the people have to buy and sell, rich fields and buildings, and the poor die. "Hanshu Shihuozhi" also said: "Qin Xiaogong uses Shang Jun, bad mining fields, and develops buildings ... The rich in Shu Ren are tired, and the poor eat chaff; A strong country has a country, and a weak country loses it. "The above two statements seem to prove once again that the move of' abandoning the mining field to open a building' is a change from state-owned land ownership to private land ownership, and it is a political and economic system that China must adopt from slave society to feudal society.
Of course, the most important reason for the official textbook's explanation of "abandoning mining fields to build buildings" is the "five-stage theory of history" put forward by Stalin in the Soviet era, that is, social development must go through five stages: primitive society, slave society, feudal society, capitalist society and capitalist society. As you know, "five stages of history" is the basic framework to explain the development of human history with Marxist historical materialism. Of course, it is impossible and unacceptable for others to doubt and make irresponsible remarks. Therefore, when scholars headed by Guo Moruo happily fiddled with the history of China with the framework of the Soviet Union's "five-segment theory of history" and announced that the two were in perfect harmony, whether you believe it or not, Lao Guo must have believed it anyway.
But is this really the case? What's the matter with "abandoning the mine field to open a building"?
To understand what it's like to "abandon mining fields to build buildings", we must first know what kind of system "Jing Tian system" is and what "Jing Tian system" is.
The official origin of the "enfeoffment system" is difficult to verify, but by the Zhou Dynasty, the "enfeoffment system" was very perfect and recorded in historical books in detail. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the "emperor" of China, that is, the king of Zhou, gave all the land in the world to his relatives, heroes or the nobles of the previous generation. The land he sealed was called "vassal state" or "founding the country", and the monarch who ruled the land was called "vassal". At the same time, the vassal gave the land to Dr. Qing in his own government. This is "home", also called "city". According to the hereditary system of "patriarchal clan system" in the Western Zhou Dynasty, after the death of the emperor, the world was passed on to his descendants, and the princes and doctors could also pass on their own territory to future generations. This is the "home of the world". However, although "country" and "home" seem to be independent "sovereign countries", they still belong to the emperor in principle. If a vassal commits a crime, the emperor has the right to personally conquer or order other vassals to conquer him or simply recover his territory. This is the so-called "national division". If the doctor commits a crime, the vassal can also take back his fief, which is called "family destruction." And how can such a hierarchical society be maintained? To put it simply, it relies on the four systems of the Western Zhou Dynasty: the enfeoffment system in politics, the Jing Tian system in land policy, the patriarchal clan system in power transfer and the ritual system in law and culture.
In the Zhou dynasty, which practiced the "enfeoffment system" politically, all the land in the world was not monopolized by Zhou, but enfeoffed to various princes. Therefore, the so-called "all over the world, is it the land of the king, the shore of the land, and the king's minister?" This statement only emphasizes that the right of enfeoffment is in Zhou's hands, and as a feudal vassal, according to the provisions of the enfeoffment system, he must fulfill the following obligations to Zhou:
First, obey Zhou's orders;
Second, defend the territory for Zhou;
3. Lead or send troops to fight against the Emperor of Zhou;
Fourth, pay tribute;
5. Responsibilities of reporting during the hajj.
Similarly, in the vassal States, because the vassal also gave his land to Qing Dafu, then Qing Dafu certainly had to bear similar obligations to the vassal.
According to historical records, the territory directly managed by the emperor himself is thousands of miles away, and the titles of princes of vassal States reach the level of public and Hou. The places are all hundreds of miles, 70 miles for the rank of Bo, and 50 miles for the rank of Zi and Men. In addition, during the regency period of the Duke of Zhou, the fiefs of the vassal States increased, with 500 Li, 400 Li, 300 Li, 200 Li and 100 Li. As mentioned earlier, the hierarchical society of Xia, Shang and Zhou relied on four systems: enfeoffment system, Jing Tian system, patriarchal clan system and ritual system. Even if the dynasties changed, Shang Tang changed to Xia Jie, and Zhou Wuwang changed to Shang and Zhou Dynasties, but only the son of heaven changed a surname, and the social system of the new dynasty did not change much compared with the previous dynasty. The Zhou dynasty established a new system, that is, the descendants of Yu, Xia and Shang in the former dynasty were in the ancestral temples of Chen, Qi and Continuation, which were called "three families". For this phenomenon, we can even understand that although a monarch of Yu, Xia and Shang died, the ancestral temple country did not die. In fact, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, the territory of the Zhou royal family was not much wider than that of the big vassal States, but the Zhou king still had absolute control over all the vassal States. Why?
"The world is not a person's world, but a person's world. Therefore, the destiny is impermanent, and only the sages live there. " When history chose Zhou Wuwang to conquer the world, as descendants, governors of all countries should adhere to Zhou's leadership and fulfill the above obligations to Zhou in strict accordance with the provisions of the enfeoffment system. But the above statement is only a theoretical guarantee. When Zhou Wang is in power in strict accordance with the patriarchal clan system and inherits the world, who can legally deny the legitimacy of Zhou Wang's administration? Therefore, in order to let the governors of various countries obediently implement the enfeoffment system, the Emperor of Zhou must have a system as a guarantee, and this system is the "Jingtian system".
Nowadays, people have different views on what is the "well field system". In order to meet the needs of the "five-segment theory of history", the official interpreted it as the state ownership of land in slave society; However, some people think that the "well field system" is actually the personal private ownership of the actual land cultivators in essence; Some people even think that the so-called "well-field system" is only a utopian imagination and does not exist in reality. What is the "well field system"?
Aside from the various descriptions of the "well field system" in historical materials, in fact, the "well field system" reflects a tax system before the Western Zhou Dynasty. Zhou Wang gave the vassal a piece of land. At this time, this land is his territory, that is, his private field. But "all over the world, is the land of kings, the place of leadership, and the minister of kings?" The vassal got this land because the right of enfeoffment was in Zhou's hand, so the vassal had to give one-ninth of the land income, that is to say, the so-called "well-field system" meant that the vassal had to give one-ninth of the land income to enfeoffment. As for the "square well", the well is 900 mu and the well is a public field. Eight private property, all raise public land. When you finish your business, you dare to mind your private affairs and don't be a savage. " Mencius' explanation of "well field system" is contrary to geography and common sense of farming, and it is almost impossible to exist in reality.
Now, this bannerman has obtained the fief of Zhou Wang. Similarly, the vassal will sublet the land to the doctors under his management. At this time, for the doctor, the land he subletted from the vassal was his private land, but at the same time, he needed to give two-ninth of the land to the vassal, and the vassal would get one-ninth and then give it to Zhou Wang. However, it is impossible for the doctor to cultivate this land by himself. He will only rent this land to farmers for farming, and after farmers get this land, they will pay three-ninth of their income to doctors. The taxes paid by farmers for three-tenths of these incomes are the taxes paid by the actual cultivators of the land under the "well field system". So, is this tax heavy?
During the Tokugawa shogunate era in Japan, the traditional heavy tax for farmers was "four men and six people". Therefore, the taxes of Japanese farmers in the Tokugawa era were slightly heavier than those under China's "Jing Tian system". However, as long as Japanese governors don't add other taxes on the basis of "four men and six people", Japanese farmers generally won't jump out and make trouble. There is an article in the Book of Songs, Shuo Shuo Shuo, which says, "Shuo Shuo Shuo, I have no food! Three years old, I am willing to take care of you. Death will come to you, suitable for another heaven. We can get the following information: First of all, farmers under the "well-field system" at least know that they support the upper class, so once they are in a bad mood, they will forget how to sing carols, and what they are good at is humming some negative energy tunes. Obviously, they won't feel that what they did was incorrect, that is, they ate Zhou Wang's rice and smashed Zhou Wang's pot. Secondly, the relationship between farmers and the upper class under the "well-field system" is only the relationship between farm labourers and employers, not the relationship between slaves and slave owners. Farmers still have the right to migrate freely, so they live a little willfully. If their host is harsh and looks unhappy, they will go to another house. It is unacceptable for the vassal to seal the country and go to another country. If you really think farming is not a promising career, you can live in seclusion and hunt beside Mount Tai. Although tigers can eat people, after all, tigers can't write tax bills, which leads Confucius to say endlessly that "tyranny is fiercer than tigers." Guan Zhong's reform of "taking part in other countries but neglecting other countries" only strengthened and rectified the management of Chinese and contemptible people, but did not deprive farmers of their right to move freely. Therefore, in any country in the world, as long as they are good at politics, farmers will jump ship to work there. As long as they can live and have the right to choose freedom with their feet, they will rarely give their lives to kill, set fire to and revolt. This is the reason why there was no large-scale peasant uprising in the pre-Qin period in China history. After Shang Yang's political reform, the household registration system was established, the household registration was compiled, everyone's household registration was registered, and taxes were levied according to the number of households. At this time, farmers were imprisoned on the land like slaves and let them slaughter, and fish exploited farmers to the point where life was worse than death. When people are not afraid of death, there will be a fight between trapped animals, people will start a prairie fire and everything will burn. Every dynasty after the Qin dynasty was like this.
Some people hold this view now, although they admit that under the system of enfeoffment and the system of rites and music, the vassals in the pre-Qin period of China can only be subordinate to the emperor, and the hierarchy is strict and unchangeable. If the princes don't obey, they will be punished by the emperor. But at the same time, according to the four years of Xi Gong in Zuo Zhuan, they recorded Guan Zhong's excuse for cutting Chu: "I can't reduce my wine because I can't afford to pay for it, so I'm asking for it." This historical data mistakenly thinks that the tribute paid by local governors to the emperor is only a symbolic tribute to some local things, and the fief representing the governors belongs to the emperor, and mistakenly thinks that the emperor and the governors have no economic affiliation. The political significance of the tribute system in the pre-Qin period was far greater than the economic significance. This view is wrong because it ignores the historical background of Guan Zhong's attack on Chu. Guan zhong attacked Chu, and the princes of various countries were too big to fail, and the royal family declined. In fact, as the overlord at that time, in the name of respecting the king, it actually replaced Zhou to exercise the "enfeoffment right" to the world. At that time, Guan Zhong, in the name of the Emperor of Zhou, led a group of allied forces of vassal States, known as the teacher of justice, and crusaded against Chu. Because this battle is of great significance, we can only win, not lose. This is indeed a war that the United Nations army can't afford to lose. However, Guan Zhong did not expect that Chu, a powerful state in Mazhuang, was not intimidated by the allied forces. He had already prepared for the battle and showed weakness everywhere. Guan Zhong thought there was no absolute chance of winning, so he dared not go to war easily. However, "there is no turning back arrow before opening the bow." If you withdraw your troops, you will always lose face. You have to find a step. Therefore, Guan Zhong declared to Chu that this expedition was because Chu did not pay tribute to Zhou. The implication is that as long as Chu pays tribute to Zhou and symbolically recognizes Zhou's authority, there is no need to resort to force, and everything can be solved through peaceful means. Of course, the Chu side is also unwilling to fight, happy to do the same thing, so at the expense of paying a tribute to a car, both sides are happy, and they retire with a golden bell and return home with their triumphant songs. Therefore, the historical data recorded in Zuozhuan Xigong Four Years can't prove that the political significance of the pre-Qin tribute system is far superior to the economic significance, and the view that the governors have nothing to do with the emperors economically is absolutely untenable.
As we know, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Tiandi had strong control over all feudal countries and maintained a strict hierarchy. Once a vassal oversteps or disobeys, he will be punished by the Emperor of Heaven. At the same time, we also know that the territory of the Emperor of the Western Zhou Dynasty is similar to that of those big vassal states. However, why did the emperor of Zhou, whose territory was almost the same as that of the vassal state, have such power? Why do the governors of all countries obediently submit? The answer is actually very simple, and it is still the old saying of the great man: "Political power comes from the barrel of a gun", that is to say, compared with a single vassal state, Zhou has an overwhelming army, which is why history books call Zhou a "thousand times country" and princes a "thousand times country". As you know, of course, it needs huge economic resources to support so many troops, but Zhou's territory is so large, and its territory is almost the same as that of a single vassal state. How can Zhou have so much wealth to support the army? There is only one answer. The great wealth of the Zhou Emperor can only come from the taxes paid by the vassal states in accordance with the "Jing Tian system". Imagine that hundreds of vassal states have to pay one-ninth of Zhou Wang's own fiefs, which is undoubtedly a huge wealth.
In a civilized farming society, whoever controls the land is the ruler of the world. Zhou Tianzi of the Western Zhou Dynasty mastered the right to enfeoffment the land in the world, so he could rule the world. Governors have mastered the right to enfeoffment of their fiefs and can rule vassal States; When the doctor owns the fief, he can rule his motherland. However, please pay attention here. Under the "enfeoffment system" of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the class that could get fiefs and have autonomy over their own land reached the doctoral level. Some people think that doctors will sublet land to scholars, and scholars will lease land to civilians or slaves for farming, but these people's views are wrong. Because under the "well-field system" tax, after taking one-ninth of the tax from the emperor, vassal and doctor, the land income is close to the survival limit of farmers. If one-ninth of the tax revenue is taken from the "scholar" class, the tax revenue of farmers under the "well-field system" in China will exceed that of farmers in the Tokugawa era. Obviously, in the Western Zhou Dynasty in China at that time, and the historical materials in the pre-Qin period can also prove that the "scholar" class did not own land. The word "friar" appeared repeatedly in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, meaning that "scholar" depended on the salary of nobles, who could own land according to the patriarchal clan system because of their blood relationship. Historical Records and Zi Zhi Tong Jian both recorded such a story. Prince hit of Wei Wenhou (later Wei Wuhou) met Tian Zifang in the street of Chao Ge. Although Tian Zifang is a teacher of Wei Wenhou, his identity is only a "scholar". The prince took a taxi out of the way and got off to meet Tian Zifang. Tian Zifang was arrogant and didn't reciprocate the prince. The prince was very unhappy and asked Tian Zifang, "I only heard that the rich are proud of others. Are poor and humble people proud of others? " Attention! The difference between the rich and the poor in the prince's mouth here is based on whether he owns his own land and enjoys autonomy. The son of heaven, princes and doctors have fiefs, so they are rich, while the scholars, peasants and businessmen have no fiefs, so they are poor. Therefore, Tian Zifang answered the prince's attack like this: "Of course, poor people are entitled to be proud of others. If a rich man is proud of others, such as a vassal who is arrogant to his compatriots, it is a country loss; If a doctor treats others proudly, he will lose his fief. People who have lost their vassal state have never heard of anyone treating him with the specifications of a monarch; The man who lost his fief has never heard of anyone treating him like a doctor. But the poor don't care about this, their actions can't fit in, and their words can't be recognized. Then leave here, go to the distant Chuyue, and live in another place, just as it doesn't matter if you abandon your sandals. Can rich people compare with it? " From this conversation between Tian Zifang and Wang Wei, we not only know that taxis, farmers, workers and businessmen in the pre-Qin period did not own land, but also know that taxis, farmers, workers and businessmen in the pre-Qin period were free to migrate.
Through the above description, we have a general understanding of the "enfeoffment system" and "Jing Tian system" in the pre-Qin period. If these two systems can be strictly implemented by all walks of life in the world, coupled with the restraint and edification of the "ritual and music system" and the continuation of the "patriarchal clan system", then the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty should be as eternal as the emperor of Japan. However, with the development of history, the social system of the Zhou Dynasty, "Rites collapse and music breaks down", finally appeared in the world, which is difficult to reproduce in the later history of China. Although Xiang Yu, Wang Mang and Dong Zhuo all tried to restore ancient ways during this period, their efforts led to tragic death and left a permanent stigma. Why is this?
We know that once the pre-Qin pyramid-shaped hierarchical society is formed, the emperor who enjoys the highest power at the top of the pyramid will certainly try his best to curb the development of the vassal state in order to let himself and his descendants continue to enjoy this highest power. The essence of this system is to weaken the princes and strengthen the royal family. After the emperors of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties in China ruled the world, the first thing to do was to collect a lot of wealth from local governors by relying on the "well-field system", and then use this wealth to attract talents and attract taxis, farmers, workers and businessmen from all over the country to gather at the emperor's feet, so as to ensure that the governors were completely suppressed politically, militarily and economically. This is the scene of "the country is thousands of miles away, and the people stop here" described in The Book of Songs, Shang Song and Xuan Bird. Secondly, if the son of heaven thinks that relying solely on the "well-field system" is not enough to weaken the vassal and strengthen himself, then the son of heaven will conquer in all directions and expand the territory, because the son of heaven can justifiably order the vassal to lead troops or send troops to fight against it, thus consuming the financial and material resources of the vassal state. Once the territory was opened after the victory, the son of heaven increased his vassal state, and the tax revenue increased, while the vassal state increased. Shang Zhouwang said in Historical Records, "He is very sensitive to the discrimination of diseases, and he is very talented, and his hands are powerless." In other words, Zhou Wang is a man with both wisdom and courage. Therefore, it is impossible for him to think of such a way to weaken the vassals and strengthen himself by waging war against Dongyi. However, cleverness is mistaken by cleverness. Zhou Wang's actions caused the rebellion of the princes headed by Zhou Wuwang, and Zhou Wang was defeated in Konoha and died in Lutai. Zhao Gong was born twelve years ago in Zuo Zhuan, and it is recorded that "Dongyi invaded and Shang Zhouwang was defeated". Here, he lost his country and died because he launched a war against Dongyi. Finally, in the emperor's own territory, the emperor will also sublet the land to doctors. According to "Zhou Li Shang", "You think thousands of miles away is a tribute", and those princes outside Ji Wang are called "Hou Fu". The higher the title of "Hou Fu" warlord, the more fiefs he owned and the more tribute he gave to the emperor. However, nobles who have fiefs in their own country, that is, "Dian Fu", have to pay a heavy tax of two-ninth times that of princes, because "the prince depends on the ground and the doctor depends on the ground". Although the nobles who were "canonized" were nominally regarded as Hou and Bo, they were actually a big doctor, and this doctor linked these feudal countries with the emperor according to the "Jing Tian system". Once the elbow armpit changes, it will cause disaster and pose a great threat to the emperor. Of course, the emperor should increase the containment of these aristocratic forces to prevent them from developing and growing. Zhou Liwang is also a man of wisdom and courage. Of course, he will know this truth. In order to crack down on the nobles economically, strengthen the royal family and reform measures, the "patent" policy was adopted by appointing Rong, which violated the rules and regulations of sharing mountains and rivers with nobles in Bangji, took the ownership of mountains and rivers for himself and forced the nobles to pay taxes. Eventually led to the "Chinese riots" of the nobles. Zhou Liwang had to run away. He fled all the way to Bi and finally died in the city called Pig Head.
As for Shang Zhouwang and Zhou Liwang's policy of suppressing vassals, at that time, the vassals and nobles used violent means, but more often, the struggle between vassals and emperors was a struggle of "having policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom". In fact, from the first day when vassals of various countries accepted fiefs and established vassal States, they would take corresponding countermeasures for their own survival and development. The first thing a vassal can do is to cultivate wasteland outside the mine field without telling the people, and these cultivated farmland is his own private field, and there is no need to pay taxes to the emperor according to the "well field system". During the prosperity of the Zhou royal family, it was considered illegal for princes to cultivate private fields, and the Zhou royal family did not allow princes to cultivate private fields. However, by the time the Duke of Zhou succeeded to the throne, due to Zhou Muwang's long journey, the country had spent a huge amount of wealth, and the national situation began to decline. It can't prevent the governor from taking back the private sector. The Duke of Zhou later admitted the legitimacy of the vassal's private land, but the private land must be truthfully declared and paid a certain amount of tax, otherwise it will be regarded as illegal private land, and once it is found out, it will be confiscated. Although such reforms were carried out, the Zhou royal family could not stop the development of princes. During the period of Zhou Yiwang, some powerful vassal states with different surnames attacked first, and Xiong Qubing, the king of Chu, was one of them. Instead of paying tribute to the Zhou royal family, he imitated the trespassing system of the Zhou emperor, enfeoffed his three sons as kings, and even attacked other vassal States enfeoffed by the Zhou royal family. This is the beginning of Chu's "not from Zhou". When the time comes, don't say that you want to take back the illegal private land of the vassals who "serve" outside Ji Wang, even the illegal private land in the hands of your own nobles in Ji Wang, the Zhou royal family doesn't have this ability. The Book of Songs records the grievances of the nobles after Zhou Youwang confiscated the illegal private fields of the nobles inside Wang Ji according to law: "People have soil fields, but you have them; People have people, you take it back. " Followed by a bonfire, the princes were killed by the dog Rong. Now there is a view that the so-called "prince of war drama" should be a myth, so only God knows the real cause of Zhou Youwang's death.
Once the vassals stopped paying tribute to the King of Zhou according to the "well-field system" and began to annex the land of other vassal States, it marked the arrival of the period of "ritual collapse and bad music" in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and there appeared "five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period" and "seven chivalrous men in the Warring States Period" in China. The reason why these countries can become "the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period" and "the seven heroes in the Warring States Period" is of course that different people have different opinions, and all of them can give their own reasons. But I don't know if you have noticed a phenomenon, that is, these hegemonic countries are located in the frontier of the Zhou Dynasty. In fact, this is not a coincidence, but a necessity, because only when they are located in the frontier of the Zhou Dynasty can these vassal States have room to expand outward, thus constantly expanding their national strength. Among the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi was in the easternmost part and could annex Dongyi and other foreigners, Qin was in the westernmost part and could annex Xirong and other foreigners, Jin was in the northernmost part and Di and Chu was in the southernmost part. The biggest reason why the Song State in the Five Overlords in the Spring and Autumn Period was nominal was that it was located in the Central Plains and there was no room for development and expansion, so it was very difficult. "Seven Heroes in the Warring States" is actually a continuation of "Five Overlords in the Spring and Autumn Period". Korea, Zhao and Wei were originally separated from the State of Jin, and the newly joined State of Yan was also located in the northernmost part, so it was able to expand its territory and become a big country by defeating foreigners in the north. Therefore, in the pre-Qin period of China, although the vassals of China were independent and composed of seemingly divided small countries, such a pattern and framework was synonymous with stability. Therefore, in the pre-Qin period, the foreigners around China were only bullied by China, and it was difficult for them to pose a fatal threat to China. On the contrary, it was during the period of centralization and unification after the Qin Dynasty that foreigners were unable to attack again and again, which was always a border issue.
Once the Zhou Dynasty decided to take the road of agricultural civilization, land would be the foundation of everything, and everything would develop around the core of land. The vassal States in China's frontier conquered foreign countries, merged with the vassals of the same clan and expanded their land, so they became powerful countries. Because of the loss of land, the Zhou royal family gradually declined until it was overhead by the princes. Similarly, in the vassal state, because the vassal state also has to enfeoffment the land to doctors, those doctors who get the land will first cultivate private fields and then annex the same kind, which will also put the vassal state on the shelf. Although the governor will also issue decrees to curb the financial power of doctors, such as the "initial tax mu" first introduced by Lu, in fact, all taxes must be paid to the governor on an acre basis, regardless of public or private fields. But even so, it doesn't help. As long as the doctor has land in his hand, it will be difficult to change the fact that the doctor in the vassal state is too big to fail. Therefore, the Third Ring Road was dedicated to Lu, and the three clans finally got into Jin, and Tianqi was still replacing Jiang. When Shang Yang's political reform came, the governors of all countries actually wanted to solve two problems: First, how to win the merger war in foreign wars. Second, how to strengthen the centralization of monarchy in China without being shelved by doctors. Shang Yang's political reform was aimed at solving these two problems, and the most important land policy was "abandoning mines to open up wasteland".
Shang Yang's reform is divided into two steps. In the first political reform, the most important thing was to abolish Shi Qing's official position system, reward meritorious military service, prohibit private fighting, and promulgate the system of 20 th rank knighthood rewarded according to meritorious military service. In this way, a few years later, the land originally in the hands of aristocratic doctors gradually returned to the hands of the monarch. Six years later, seeing that the land recovered by the monarch was almost the same, Shang Yang began the second political reform and implemented the policy of "abandoning mining fields and opening buildings". The essence of this reform is to abolish the enfeoffment system and implement the county system. In other words, the monarch will never give the land to noble doctors as his own private fields, and all the land will be returned to the monarch for public use. No matter how great the meritorious military service is, it will only increase your title. Because as long as all the land is in the hands of the monarch, then all the power is in the hands of the monarch.
In fact, the "county system" was not initiated by Shang Yang, but originated from Chu in the Spring and Autumn Period. The county system originated from the state of Qin in the Spring and Autumn Period. At that time, the administrative area of the county was larger than that of the county. Counties directly belong to the monarch, that is to say, counties belong to the monarch's own commons, and the monarch directly appoints some non-hereditary officials as managers and pays their salaries. Land taxes in counties and counties will be collected by these managers and turned over to the monarch, and will never be intercepted by doctors as in the "Jingtian system" period. However, the managers of these counties are generally held by scholars. Although the literati would not own their own land as they did under the feudal system, under the county system, they obviously felt that their status had improved, because the doctors under the feudal system were all hereditary "great doctors", even if they were no better, and the development of history was so paradoxical. Although the status of scholars under the "enfeoffment system" was humble, due to the independence and competition of vassal States, scholars had a free body, and they could give full play to their talents and get courtesy from monarchs and nobles everywhere. Under the "county system", although the status has risen, the situation is tragic, so that.
To sum up, Shang Yang's political reform and his "waste mine fields and open buildings" are actually wartime state ownership, just like the wartime collective farms of the modern Soviet Union and the land reform policy during the civil war. This system can make the whole people become soldiers and turn the whole country into a war machine, but after all, this system is a special product of a special period and cannot become a human society. It is precisely because all the dynasties after Qin dynasty adopted the "county system" of centralized monarchy that the "dynasty cycle rate" appeared, and China's dynasty was different from Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties in the pre-Qin period, and its life span was doomed to not exceed 300 years. As for why autocratic monarchy is centralized, if we want to analyze and discuss it in detail, we have to make another article.
20 17- 10-28