The income level of urban residents in the Northern Song Dynasty

Although the social development of the Northern Song Dynasty was restricted by border wars for a long time, it was relatively stable and stable. National stability promoted economic prosperity, urbanization accelerated, the number of towns increased significantly, urban population expanded, urban handicrafts, commerce and transportation, and service industries gradually

Expanding, these booming industries provided residents with employment opportunities and sources of income, and also prospered the commodity economy of cities in the Northern Song Dynasty. The official class and their families in the Northern Song Dynasty were one of the main components of urban residents. The "monthly salary" of officials in the Northern Song Dynasty included

Currency, grain, silk, salary, mugwort, charcoal, salt, tea, paper and other items. "The list starts from the prime minister down to the Yuedu Temple Order, and there are forty-one grades." Among them, the highest monetary income is the "prime minister".

"Privy envoy, three hundred thousand a month", the lowest official's monthly monetary income is about 500 qian. Among them, there are 300, 200, 120, 90, 80, 60, and 50.

Five thousand, forty-five thousand, thirty-five thousand, thirty thousand, twenty-nine thousand, twenty thousand, eighteen thousand, seventeen thousand, fifteen thousand, fourteen thousand, thirteen thousand, twelve thousand,

Ten thousand, eight thousand, five thousand, three thousand, two thousand, one thousand five hundred, one thousand, seven hundred, five hundred and other levels, for example: "Henan Prefecture, Henan, Luoyang County Magistrate, thirty thousand. Zhuluzhou Army

Ten thousand households have been sent to the county magistrate, twenty thousand; book, Wei, twelve thousand. Seven thousand households have been given the order, eighteen thousand; book, Wei, ten thousand. Five thousand households have been given the order, fifteen thousand; book,

Wei, eight thousand. Three thousand households have been ordered, twelve thousand; book, Wei, seven thousand. Households less than three thousand have orders, ten thousand; book, Wei, six thousand." ("History of the Song Dynasty - Officials - Fenglu

system)

For officials below the county level, a monthly salary of 9,000 to 3,000 yuan is considered a meager income. If the family has a large population, then it is necessary to "combine the interests of agriculture and business" to support the family, that is, there must be other workers in the family, engaged in

Occupations such as "farmers and merchants" were developed to supplement life. Wang Anshi said in "The Book of Emperor Renzong's Statement": "Nowadays, most of the salaries are thin. Since I am not among the court servants, I have a little more food and drink, but I am not incompetent."

The profits from agriculture and business can be used to support one's life. The officials in the lower states and counties will receive eight or nine thousand in one month, and four or five thousand in the least, to guard the selection and wait for elimination. They will guard the ques and build six

After seven years and three years of salary, the salary in one month is really no more than four or five thousand, and the less is really no more than three or four thousand." When Su Xun was old, he wrote to Prime Minister Han to "beg for an official position". "Running for an official position"

The purpose of "begging for an official position" is to get a meager salary to support the family. He said: "I am old and bored, my family property has been destroyed, and I want to beg for an official position from my husband... If anyone asks my husband for help, it is because his family is poor and he has no money, so he gets six

Seven thousand yuan is not enough to support them, and if you endure poverty and old age, you will not get evil." ("Book of the Prime Minister of Han Dynasty") It can be seen that if an urban family has a monthly income of 7,000 to 6,000 yuan, although it is not

Although considered wealthy, such a family can maintain general living expenses. The income of slave laborers can reflect the living standards of lower-class workers to a certain extent. "History of the Song Dynasty - Food and Goods - Cloth and Silk and Water Transport" records that in the fourth year of Yuanfeng

The income level of the servants, such as 30,000 people in Junzhou and Dengzhou, transporting military materials for Yanzhou and Yanzhou, "30 yuan for rice per day, 10 yuan for firewood and vegetables, and give them together first"; while in Shaanxi, the transfer department

From "Zhuzhou sent people to hire a car and take a man", "a person has two liters of rice per day and fifty money". "Xu Zi Zhi Tong Jian Chang Bian" (Volume 343) says: In the seventh year of Yuan Feng, "the edict

"If there is Hexing Gongcheng Village on Huanqing Road in Fuyan, Xu He hires people, and the daily salary is 100 yuan, and the rice is two liters. If the imperial army is willing to hire people, they will do so." Roughly speaking, each laborer can earn 1,500 to 3,000 yuan per month.

Rice is about 60 liters. However, the wages for some laborers involved in special engineering projects are higher. For example, in the first year of Yuanyou, Su Che said in a memorial: "I have seen that a water mill was built outside the capital in recent years, so the Bian River is shallow.

Astringent, Ju separated the private boats of the officials... The folk hired 200 qian per man per day, and the monthly fee was 2.4 million guan. However, the Bian water was turbid and it was easy to fill up the silt. Next year, the people will have to dig out the water.

This fee is not exempted at every age." (Volume 370 of "Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian") It can be seen that when the price of rice is low (for example, less than 80 qian per bucket of rice), the daily salary of 200 qian per man is better than the daily salary of 100 qian, 2

For liters of rice, the income appears to be higher.

Doctors are also a relatively stable income group among urban residents. Wang Anshi praised a doctor surnamed Du in "The Tomb of the First Scholar Zhengjun", who could write poems and articles, and who practiced medicine "no matter whether rich or poor, high or low, he would go wherever he wanted. With his wealth,

It’s not righteous to refuse even if you thank me." Dr. Du treats people in his own apartment. "If he gets hundreds or tens of dollars a day, he won’t change the money." It seems that Dr. Du is very empathetic to medical ethics and is not willing to charge more money, or even reduce it.

For poor people, if they are willing to pay more for medical treatment, they can earn more. A monthly income of around 6,000 to 10,000 yuan should not be a problem.

One of the important functions of a city is industrial and commercial activities. Businessmen are a higher-income group among urban residents, and the income of wealthy businessmen is much higher than that of many officials. The consumption level of urban residents must be positively correlated with the income level of urban residents.

.Tokyo (Bianliang), the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, was the largest, most populous, and most economically prosperous city in the world at that time, and also reflected the highest consumption level at that time. Meng Yuanlao lived from the second year of Chongning (1103) to the first year of Jianyan

(1127) After the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, he lived in Tokyo for a total of 23 years. He described Tokyo in the "Preface" of the book "Tokyo Dreams": "The peace has lasted for a long time, and there are many people and young children, but

Xi Jinping is an old man, and he does not know how to fight." "When you look up, you will see the brothels and pavilions, the bead curtains on the edge of the house, the carved cars competing on the Tianjie, and the BMWs competing on the imperial roads", "The new voice laughs at the willow flowers.

Qu, tune the strings in the tea house and wine shop. The eight wastelands are fighting for it, and all the countries are connected. The treasures from all over the world are collected in the market, and the peculiar smell of Huihuan District is all in the kitchen." Su Shi also pointed out: "Fu Jing

Zhaofu is where the world waits and changes, and where the royal government begins. It is the intersection of the four directions, the intersection of two rivers, the gathering of boats and carriages, merchants, and the accumulation of gold, jade, and brocade. Therefore, its people do not know the labor of farming, weaving, and weaving.

Wealth and wealth are everywhere, and profits are dazzling, so they don't know the trend of being respectful, frugal and honest." ("Su Shi's Collection - Seventeen Poems (Part 4)") Tokyo's prosperous handicrafts, commerce and transportation industries, and services

The industry not only provides consumers with high consumption services, but also brings high economic income to practitioners.

The commercial taxation in the Northern Song Dynasty can reflect the scale of industry and commerce and the income level of merchant groups from the side. The commercial tax rate in the Northern Song Dynasty is: "Commercial taxes are set up in all prefectures and counties, and some towns may also have them; in large cases, officials and supervisors are specially set up."

, Xiao Zeling, assistant and leader; all states still ordered the capital to be imprisoned, and the prisoner was in charge of the same thing. Those who travel with goods are called "excess taxes", and every thousand coins are counted as twenty; those who live in the city are called "residence taxes",

Thirty for every thousand qian, it's about this." ("History of the Song Dynasty - Food and Goods - Trade, Taxation, Trade, Trade, Trade, Shipping, Law") In the first year of Chongning, Cai Jing, the right servant, pointed out: "The ancestors established the prohibition law, and the annual harvest

The net profit was more than 3.2 million guan, and the commercial tax of various states was 750,000 guan, which was not included in the calculation of tea. In its peak period, it was more than 5 million guan." ("History of the Song Dynasty - Food Products - Under Tea"

") In the sixth year of Chongning, Shangshu Zuo Chengyu pointed out in Wencui: "The capital's commercial tax, shop and housekeeping, and pawnshops collected more than one million yuan." ("History of the Song Dynasty-Food and Goods-Accounting") If adopted

According to the standard of "residence tax", that is, "thirty for every thousand qian", the scale of industry and commerce reflected in the "capital commercial tax, shop and house service, and pawnshop" during the Chongning period was approximately 33.4 million qian, which was the most prosperous period of the national economy.

The industrial and commercial scale (commercial tax of various states) is about 166.7 million yuan.

Urban consumption level in Northern Song Dynasty society

The Northern Song Dynasty lasted for 202 years from the establishment of the political power in the first year of Jianlong (960) to the fall of Shaoxing in the 32nd year of Shaoxing (1162). During such a long period of time, social development had periods of turmoil and stability, and there were bumper harvests every year.

There are also periods of famine in every period. It is very difficult to systematically explore the consumption level of society. Here we can only capture some sections to see the consumption level of society in a relatively stable development stage.

3.1 Consumption level of urban construction

Water conservancy project: In the autumn of the 10th year of Xining, the Yellow River burst at the Caocun Village in Chanzhou and flooded the city of Xuzhou. After struggling to fight the flood, the city was saved. Next year, the state will allocate special funds to rebuild Xuzhou's "small town, create four wooden banks" and fill in the

The 15 giant pits formed by taking soil from the city to build embankments to block floods were leveled, and "Chanzhou Lingping Pier, the water will never come again" was rebuilt. Su Shi's "Edict of Award" records the start of the project:

"There is a decree to grant 24.1 million yuan of money, and 4,023 people will be recruited. In addition, 6.34 million yuan of regular money and more than 1,800 dendrobium of rice will be given, and 3,020 people will be recruited.

"The repair and reinforcement project of flood-damaged buildings in Xuzhou should be classified as a large and medium-sized water conservancy construction project in the Northern Song Dynasty. The national special project amounted to 30.44 million yuan, more than 1,800 dendrobium meters (1 dendrobium = 5 buckets in the Song Dynasty), and a total of 7,043 people were employed.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, shipping on the Qiantang River in Hangzhou had long been threatened by tides and rocks in the river. First, "Empress Zhang Xian came to court, thinking that the water in the river was in danger of flooding, so she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a long reed.

Monk's house to save those who drowned. Later, in order to solve the "danger of Changhuai River", the "Guishan River" project was built, "one hundred thousand guan in money, one hundred thousand stone in rice, and 92,000 people". Although

The danger of shipping has been alleviated, but the problem has not been completely solved. There is still the "danger of floating mountains" in the river. Su Shi served as the governor of Hangzhou. "In the past twenty years, he has witnessed numerous capsizes and drownings." Floating mountains stood in the middle of the river, and ships running in and out ran against the rocks.

Sinking, "public and private losses, I don't know how many tens of millions a year old". Based on interviews and on-site surveys, Su Shi proposed the project of digging the "Shimen Canal", connecting the mountains to the east, turning north from Dacipu to Xiaoling, and "cutting the ridge for sixty years"

"Fifty thousand feet", "with a cost of 150,000 guan, and 3,000 troops to defend the river and Xiang troops from various counties", it will take about two years to complete. The people of Fujian and Zhejiang heard that "Shimen" was to be "opened", and "ten thousand people"

Everyone speaks in unison, thinking that the benefits are immense." (Su Shi's "Begging for help to open the Shimen River")

(2) Cultural facilities project: The construction of schools was a cultural project commonly carried out across the country during the Northern Song Dynasty. In March of the fourth year of Qingli, "Edicts were issued to establish schools all over the world and appoint academic officials." Jizhou's old school was in Confucius Temple, and the school building was narrow.

To build a new school, we raised "one and a half million yuan" in social donations, "21,000 yuan" in labor, and "223,500 yuan in good materials and hard work." After the new school was built, scholars often

There were more than 300 people. Ouyang Xiu praised Jizhou Academy and said: "The academy has a hall for banquets and lectures, a pavilion for collecting books, a place for guests, and a pavilion for resting. It is strict and majestic, but people do not think it is extravagant.

." ("Jizhou Academic Records (Fourth Year of Qingli)") Su Shi talked about the school construction process of Nan'an Military County in "Nan'an Military Academy". He said that "Nan'an's academics are best in Jiangxi" and the construction of school buildings "began

It was built in the winter of the second year of Shaosheng's reign and in the spring of the fourth year. "It built a hundred and twenty houses, a ceremonial hall and a lecture hall, which were regarded as the residence of the great king... and the rest were added to build a barn to feed hundreds of people."

This project is a government-built and public-aid project. It is said that private individuals donated a large amount of money (the specific amount was not specified), while the official investment was "93,000 yuan".

Temple construction. Jiancheng Zen Temple in Xuzhou built "Tiefu Tu, three levels out of ten, one hundred and twenty feet high". Then it built "Five Hundred Arhats", which cost "five million dollars", and the average cost of each Arhat was 1 Wan, Su Shi specially wrote "The Five Hundred Arhats of Jiancheng Chanyuan", and believed: "It is difficult to do things when you are the first to discuss; it is difficult to achieve things when you are the first." "Those who must be able to discuss and succeed will have great fame!" Qiantang , the "Qian's Tomb Temple" under the jurisdiction of Lin'an County, due to the "decay of the wooden plants" in the old temple building, "it has not been repaired for more than a hundred years, and all of them have collapsed", and the cost of the repair project is "12,890 Guanjiu" "One Hundred and Ninety-nine Essays". (Su Shi's "Beggars Guan Qian's Land, House, Money, Repairs, Zhongguan, and Tombs and Temples") Xiangtan County Pharmacy Institute built "Statues of Sakyamuni Buddha and Eighteen Arhats". Ouyang Xiu said, "Anyone who spends twenty Thousands". ("Record of the Buddhist Hall of the Pharmacist College in Xiangtan County (the third year of Jingyou's reign)")

(3) Office and barracks repair project: When Su Shi was the magistrate of Hangzhou, "large sections of the gate tower and warehouse of the official residence of the Hangzhou Office were damaged". Every time I pass under it, my heart trembles with chills." "The military equipment warehouse is particularly damaged." "The courtyard house collapsed, crushing the hands of the two writers." ... Su Shi reported that "twenty-seven places in the gate towers of official residences, oars and warehouses" should be repaired, which would require "more than 40,000 guan". (Su Shi's "Begging for a Certificate to Repair a Temple")

In October of the eighth year of Yuanyou, the Dingzhou garrison built four barracks: First, "a total of 4,117 barracks were built. According to the materials used, the estimated cost was 17,600 The second is to build a total of 3,720 barracks. According to the estimated materials used, the estimated cost is 15,500 guan and 281 cultural provinces. "; The third is "Repair and build 118 barracks, and add wells. According to the estimated cost of the materials used, the total cost is 558 yuan and 167 provinces"; the fourth is "There are a total of 16 barracks. According to the estimated cost of the materials used, the total cost is 74 guan and 612 guan." The cost of each barrack is approximately 4.63 to 4.03 guan. (Su Shi's "Begging for Surrender" Du ultimatum to amend the Dingzhou Forbidden Army Barracks")

(4) City outline construction project: "Since the Tang Dynasty, the city of Suzhou has been small, and most of the residents are outside the city." Su Shi proposed the "outer city construction" project, that is: "the outer city is more than 11 miles away, and the soldiers can be recruited There were more than 570,000 guan of labor and hired men. Each man spent 70 yuan to recruit hired men and materials. The total money was more than 19,000 guan, and the work was completed in about five years. shape")
Chapter completed!