A Study on Juzheng ’s Financial Thought and Its practices In the of China（1368-1644）

Author: Xinhong Su, Associate professor, Economics School , Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang ,Guizhou Province, China, 550025 E-mail:[email protected]

Abstract: This study shows that Juzheng Zhang’s financial thought was very traditional and simple, and the reason that he could succeed in the reforms with such financial thoughts was firstly because of the peculiar highest political power that no other official could ever have before or after him in the Ming Dynasty. Also his strong belief and high achievements in the Confucian classics and the ambitions to enrich the country, strengthen the military forces ,and help the common people enjoy their lives were very significant elements for his success. His reforms decreased the interests of the powerful people for the survival of the country and the common people. Just because of this, with the end of his power due to his death, the reforms collapsed. Leading by the emperor himself, the private interest eroded the financial system and ruined it at last. From this study, it can be seen that the financial system of the Ming Dynasty aimed to collect tax as little as possible to keep the country running well and needed officials willing to work for the public instead of personal interest. This system matched perfectly well with the scholars specially educated by the Confucian classics. The basic conflict of this system was between the public and the private interests all through the Ming Dynasty. Key words: Juzheng Zhang, the Ming Dynasty, Financial Thought, Financial System, Revenue, Silver tax, deficit

Juzheng Zhang(1525-1582),in less than 10 years, tremendously improved the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty when he was in his highest power as Shoufu,a position almost like the prime minister. However, he and his family suffered great unfair treatment after his death, resulting in one son’s killing himself and the other’s doing so without success. This contrast made him even more famous in history. Hence, the study on Juzheng Zhang’s reforms has always been an attractive topic in China’s related academic field and great achievements have been obtained. Among them, the researches on his financial reforms usually focused on his financial measures or the financial systems promoted by him, such as the cleaning up of the bureaucracy, recovering the tax in arrears, the system aiming to improve the government efficiency(Kaocheng ),re-measuring the tax land, expanding the corvée collecting in silver(Yitiaobian) and so on. The researches on his financial thought have been few and none of them studied

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Juzheng Zhang’s financial thought with his practical reforms combined closely. The most important research on Juzheng Zhang should be The Great Biography of Juzheng Zhang, written by Dongrun Zhu. This book studied Zhang’s reforms comprehensively according to the time order, combining his concepts and real practices of governing the country together, and thus benefits this paper a lot. Yet this book considered Juzheng Zhang as a politician and so did not study him in the point of financial view. Besides, the author had no chance to read Ming Shi Lu, the historic record of the important events and affairs of the emperor and the central government written by the emperor’s very next successor. Thus, this paper will study Juzheng Zhang’s financial thought and its practices from the time that he entered the politics in time order, with his whole reforms combined.

1，The Research Background of Juzheng zhang’s Financial Thought and Its Practices

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the late fourteenth century, the financial situation of the whole country was quite ideal, considering the fact that the practical revenue often exceeded its number regulated by law and that the income often went over the expenditure, resulting in a great deal of the financial surplus sent to the central government in forms of gold, silver, cotton and paper money. ① Down to the 16th century, the country’s financial revenue, including the land tax, labor-service tax, salt tax, commerce and industry tax and so on, was worth about 37 million Liang(tael) in silver.②This number includes two parts. One part was used for the local government’s management,called Cunliu, and the other part was sent to the central government or places assigned by the central government, called Qiyun. At the end of the 16th century, the latter part Qiyun was worth 14.61 million Liang in silver and 9.1 million liang of it was used for the administrative and military expenditure of the Capital and the military towns in the north border.③ Since every tax-collecting unit sent the tax directly the division needed it, ④most of the above mentioned silver would not be kept in the silver treasury of the central government in the capital. Hence, it was 74 years after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty that the National Silver Treasury(Taicangku, 太仓库) controlled by Ministry of Revenue(Hubu,户部)

①Xinhong Su, “An Analysis on Neiku’s Fiscal Features and Influences in Hongwu’s reign in the Ming Dynasty of China”.Guizhou Social Sciences.N0.2(2012):112-113 ②,Taxation and Governmental Finance in Sixteenth-Century Ming China. trans. A Feng ( Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company ,2001),363,339. ③Xueyan Zhang, Wanli Kuaiji Lu. (Beijing: catalogs & documentations publishing house,1989), Volume I,21-22. ④Ray Huang,Taxation and Governmental Finance in Sixteenth-Century Ming China. trans. A Feng ( Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company ,2001),5.

2 was established.① After many changes and efforts of skimming silver from the financial system, between 1522 and 1617, the annual income of the National Silver Treasury increased from two million Liang to three or four million Liang.② This amount of silver should not be significant in maintaining the country’s regular operation, when compared with the 37 million silver Liang of the whole country’s revenue, and it was so before the middle reign of Emperor Jiajing(1522-1566),in which the silver in this Treasury was used mainly for irregular spending caused by military conflicts or the relief of the local natural disasters. However, after the middle of Jiajing’s reign, this very silver Treasury began to bear more and more regular military provision expenditures in the north frontier. The basic reason was that the initial supplying systems for the military towns’ provisions lost their efficiency step by step.③Hence, from 1549 to 1644,the last year of the Ming Dynasty, this silver Treasury kept a long term fiscal deficit, except for the decade that Juzheng Zhang was in power as Shoufu(1572-1582).In fact, during this decade, not only this silver Treasury got more and more silver deposit, but also the whole central government had surplus again. ④In June，1582， Juzheng Zhang died. ⑤ In the very next year the silver National Treasury got a deficit of 1.93 million Liang in silver and never recovered from it after that. ⑥Down to the last year of the Ming Dynasty，this Treasury had only one thousand and three hundred Liang of silver.⑦ This naturally raises a question: what financial thoughts led Juzheng Zhang to obtain such an amazing economic miracle?

2.The Displaying of His Financial Thought for the First Time

In the 28th year of Emperor Jiajing’s reign(1549),the National Silver Treasury had its first deficit in its history, with the silver income of 3.95 million Liang and spending of 4.12 million Liang, ⑧ and the whole financial system began to work less and less efficiently. ⑨At this time, Juzheng Zhang was only 24 years old and had entered the central government for two years as a Jinshi, a title for the outstandingly excellent educated people chosen by the highest imperial examination system.⑩ This young low-ranked official

①Sijie Liu, Taicangkao. (Beijing: catalogs & documentations publishing house,1989),711. ②Xinhong Su, A Study of Taicangku in the Ming Dynasty(D). (Changchun: Northeast Normal University,2009), 263-273. ③Ming Muzong Shi Lu.(Taibei: Institute of History and Philology of Academia Sinica ,1962),414. ④ Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book II),ed.Lin Pan.(Shanghai: East China Normal University Press,2014),526. ⑤Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 125, Bingwu, June, the 10th year of Wanli’s reign. ⑥ Xinhong Su, “The Reforms of the Central Government’s Financial System When Juzheng Zhang was in power----in view of the TaicangKu”. Ancient Civilizations. No.1(2013):68-77. ⑦ Qing Li, Sanyuanbiji.(Beijing:Zhonghua Book Company,1982),82. ⑧ Mingshizong Shilu. Volume 356,Jiawu, January,the 29th year of Jiajing’s reign. ⑨ Mingshenzong Shilu.Volume 449,Gengchen,August, the 36th year of Wanli’reign. ⑩ Mingshizong Shilu. Volume 322, Yiyou, April, the 26th year of Jiajing’s Reign. 3 keenly studied the country’s administrative system, confidently thought that he himself had obtained the solution of its problems, and submitted a petition to the emperor Jiajing.① This petition was the first time for him to show his financial thought. Although financial difficulty has always been a tough and knotty problem in the world, in the eyes of the young Juzheng Zhang, the reason for it was as simple as common sense: the spending went over the income. The solution was simple too. That is to collect the tax according to the system and to use it within sensible limits.② What’s not simple was that Juzheng Zhang never believed that the financial problem could be settled by the financial reform alone. This petition pointed out that there were five principal problems in the country: the first was that the imperial clans were lawless, the second was that the officials were indifferent to their duties, the third was that the clerks were indolent, the fourth was that the military forces were in need of strengthening, and the last was that the expenditure surpassed the revenue.③ Behind these five five problems was that the emperor estranged himself from the high officials in the court, for “the high officials in the court had not seen the emperor for eight or nine years”. If the emperor could communicate sincerely with the high officials, and assign specially-gifted official to deal with those five problems separately, there was no need to worry about them at all.④ From the above, it is clear that Juzheng Zhang thought that the emperor himself played a very important role and had huge influence on the whole administrative system. Also, the time to settle those problems was significant too. Although those five problems were not too serious to be settled, it would be very difficult if the emperor missed the current chances.⑤ chances.⑤

2，Hiding His Light and Living in Seclusion The petition Juzheng Zhang submitted to the throne in 1549 produced nothing, for the emperor paid no attention on it at all. The emperor still kept quite a distance with the high officials and was unwilling to discuss state affairs even with the highest official Shoufu, which made Juzheng Zhang deeply disappointed. For the officials at the high rank, Juzheng felt greatly dissatisfied too, because they did not improve the law, the custom and the administrative system. For the career development in himself, he could see no chance at all. All these raised his desire to be aloof from the world.⑥ In the 33rd year of Jiajing’s reign(1554),Juzheng Zhang resigned his post because of illness, and remained aloof from the political life for about 6 years.⑦ During this period, he built a small house on the hill of the lake, stayed inside all day, reading books or doing meditation. As time went, Juzheng Zhang not only became healthier and stronger, but also got excellent improvement in learning by reading the important classic books of different schools. As a result, he became enthusiastic about the state affairs

① Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book I),4. ② Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Boook I),8. ③ Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book I),5. ④ Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book I),4,8. ⑤ Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book I),4,8-9. ⑥Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Five).(Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1935),512. ⑦Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Seven), 667. 4 again.① He found that there were many problems in the local administration and that these problems affected each other. For example, in , the royal clans became larger and larger, and they abused their power and acted against the law, which led the law to be less and less effective. Then the burden of the land tax became uneven and the poor peasants lost their lands, suffering from the land annexation. Next people from other provinces mixed with the local people and various kinds of tax evasion appeared. Compared with what he thought in 1549, he did not believe it was easy to settle them now. Instead, it would be very difficult to handle them, unless there was someone who was deep, persevering, perceptive, decisive and willing to do everything to redress the wrong.② For the local peasants, Juzheng Zhang had the chance to study them closely and felt sympathetic to them. He wrote:”I watched them work hard each year, suffering from the wind and hot sun, and as a result they could only make ends meet. If the crops failed somewhat, then the parents and children would not take care of each other. The clerks collected the tax in a much more hurried way than that to put out a fire……Watching this, I felt sad and fearful. ”③ As to the relationship among agriculture, commerce and finances, he had his own thought. At that time, due to the military conflicts in the north frontier and the palace re-establishment, the central government needed money badly. Hence, the tax was collected much more actively, much more labor service was levied on the people and the commercial taxes were increased too. Juzheng Zhang disagreed with these. He thought that to require less labor service would be good to agriculture while commerce would benefit from it, and that to levy less commercial tax would be good to commerce while agriculture would benefit from it indirectly. Although the trade inside and outside the country was quite advanced, Juzheng Zhang still believed that the foundation of the country was agriculture and that to cut down expenditure was the best way to solve financial difficulty.④ All these ideas formed the basis for Juzheng Zhang to make financial reforms in the future. Facing the social reality similar to the end of the Song or Tang Dynasty, Juzheng Zhang was ready to enter the state administration system .⑤

3，Displaying A Small Part of His Talent In May of the 39th year of Jiajing’s reign(1560), Juzheng Zhang got a small promotion, which was nothing significant compared with his ambition.⑥ Yet this was the beginning of his upward movement towards the final power position he desired. In July of the 40th year of Jiajing’s reign(1564), Juzheng Zhang was appointed teacher of the crown prince.⑦Two years later, this prince became emperor and Juzheng Zhang

① Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Eight), 769. ② Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Seven), 651. ③ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Seven), 650. ④ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Six), 621. ⑤ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Five),438. ⑥ Mingshizong Shilu, Volume484,Wuchen, May, the 39th year of Jiajing’s reign. ⑦ Mingshizong Shilu, Volume 536, Jiwei July, the 43th year of Jiajing’s reign. 5 became one of the high officials of the Cabinet, called Daxueshi in Chinese.① Juzheng Zhang went inside the core power part of the country at last. As to the duty and power of the Cabinet official, Juzheng Zhang believed that this position was in charge of the confidential state affairs, spoke in the name of the emperor and assisted the emperor to make the whole country flourishing,② and that he could submit his advice to the emperor on almost everything in the state administration.③ This position fitted Juzheng Zhang, who was anxious to make a thorough cleaning up in the country. In the first year of the new emperor Longqing’s reign(1567), the central government met serious financial deficit because of the huge tax exemption for the sake of the accession of the emperor and the large military expenditure and the minister of the Ministry of Revenue specially submitted a petition to the throne, suggesting various ways to increase income. The financial difficulties continued anyway. In this financial situation, in August of the second year of the new emperor Longqing’s reign(1568), Juzheng Zhang submitted one of his famous petitions to the throne, giving his advice on six important issues of the country. These six issues were to reduce useless discussion, to strictly follow the discipline, to make the imperial edicts effective, to strengthen the administration of the officials, to relieve the common people’s pressure of the tax and labor service, and to strengthen the military forces. Among them, only the fifth one had something related with the finances. Being fully aware of the deficits, Juzheng Zhang asked to stop the money-increasing measures so that the common people could survive in a better way. Also he definitely disagreed that the central government sent special officials to supervise the local governments’ tax collection and to re-measure the local military tax land, which only forced their financial savings to be sent to the central government, leaving the local government financially weakened.④ Instead, his first suggestion was to cut down the royal spending, setting an example to the whole country. His second suggestion was to choose very carefully the officials who really cared for the interests of the common people and then gave them quick promotion. His third suggestion was to require the Ministry of Revenue to analyze the reasons of the financial difficulties. In fact, Juzheng Zhang himself had pointed out those reasons: land annexation, tax and corvee injustice and inequality, illegal tax evasion, the corruption of the court and the ill management of the local finances, the tricks in the revenue collecting system and so on .All these led to the revenue decrease and did harm to the common people. If all these above mentioned problems were cancelled,

① Mingmuzong Shilu, Volume 3, Renwu, January, the 1st year of Longqing’s reign; Mingmuzong Shilu, Volume 4, Yiwei, February, the 1st year of Longqing’s reign; Mingmuzong Shilu, Volume 7, Gengzi, April, the 1st year of Longqing’s reign. ② Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book I),113. ③ Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book I),126. ④ Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book I),134-135. 6 then there was no need to increase the tax pressure of the poor people.① In this petition to the throne, what was the same with that submitted to the emperor in 1549 was that Juzheng Zhang still believed the emperor himself played an irreplaceable role②, for the finances are always closely connected with the political power. As a result, this petition caused a big stir. The second month after this petition was submitted, the Ministry of Revenue submitted a formal petition in response, suggesting 10 ways to solve the financial problem.③ In the reign of Longqing(1567-1672), the second important affair Juzheng Zhang did was that he successfully made the peace realized between the Ming government and the nomadic tribes in the north frontier, which cut down the military expenditure tremendously in the following decades. Since the early period of Jiajing’s reign(1522-1566), the nomadic tribes led by the leader Anda had continuously invaded the border.④ Yet these invasions had not consisted of obvious financial pressure on the Ministry of Revenue.⑤As Anda’s requests of trading were rejected again and again, he mustered more than ten other tribes to invade in the 28th year of Jiajing’s reign(1549).⑥ From this year, the silver Treasury could not make ends meet any more. In the 3rd year of Longqing’s reign, the deficit of the national silver Treasury was about 1.5million Liang of silver, Juzheng Zhang kept thinking about it and could find no way out.⑦Besides, the various problems existing in in the troops were hard to settle. For example, the troops had no will to fight, bribery was rampant, the soldiers were lazy, the orders could not be followed and so on.⑧ Just at this time, Anda’s grandson came to surrender himself to the Ming government because a lady that he loved was taken away by his grandfather.⑨ Juzheng Zhang was very glad to hear the news and made full use of this event to encourage the trading between Ming and the nomadic tribes.⑩ At last, the emperor agreed to grant Anda a title and trade with them.11 Juzheng Zhang happily said:”What we give to the savages were a drop in a bucket, and what we get are so great. Aren’t we faithful for what

① Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book I),135-136. ② Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book I),136-138. ③ Mingmuzong Shilu, Volume 24, Renxu, Wuchen, Xinwei, September, the 2nd year of Longqing’s reign. ④Mingshizong Shilu, Volume 164, Wuxu,June, the 13th year of Jiajing’s reign; Mingshizong Shilu, Volume 203, Jiayin, August, the 16th year of Jiajing’s reign; Mingshizong Shilu, Volume 254, Guichou, October , the 20th year of Jiajing’s reign. ⑤ Xinhong Su, A Study on Taicangku In the Ming Dynasty, 263-264. ⑥ Mingshizong Shilu, Volume 345, Dingwei, February, the 28th year of Jiajing’s reign. ⑦ Mingmuzong Shilu, Volume 31, Guiwei, April, the 3th year of Longqing’s reign. ⑧ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Three), 667. ⑨ Mingmuzong Shilu, Volume 50, Guimao October, the 4th year of Longqing’s reign. ⑩ Dongrun Zhu, The Great Biography of Juzheng Zhang, 90-100. 11 Mingmuzong Shilu, Volume 55, Gengwu, March, the 5th year of Longqing’s reign. 7 we contrived for the country?”① However, Juzheng Zhang was far from being satisfied with what he did. This was firstly because the expenditure of the silver national Treasury still surpassed its income; Secondly, Juzheng Zhang felt confined everywhere since he meant to make a thorough cleaning up of the country and he had not enough power to do so.②

4，Realization of His Ambitions 4.1 Reorganization of the Whole Official System and the Law of Kaocheng ----the Solid Foundation of Juzheng Zhang’s Financial Reforms In May of the 6th year of Longqing’s reign(1572), Longqing died and Juzheng Zhang and his colleague Gao Gong in the Cabinet were ordered to assist the new emperor Wanli.③Next month, Gao Gong was dismissed from the Cabinet while Juzheng Zhang was granted an audience and ordered to take care of everything by the new emperor Wanli.④ The new emperor Wanli Wanli was only ten years old and since this audience all the things of the government and the royal family were entrusted to Juzheng Zhang. The new emperor’s mother trusted Juzheng Zhang deeply and the most powerful eunuch Feng, who was in charge of writing down the emperor’s oral orders and sending them to the high officials in the Cabinet, were friendly to Juzheng Zhang and had no interest in interfering in Juzheng Zhang’s affairs.⑤ This deep trust and close relationship between the high official and the emperor had been expected by Juzheng Zhang for more than 24 years since his first formal petition to the throne in 1549. No wonder he was so grateful and happy as to cry with tears full of his eyes and praised that it was the great fortune for himself and the whole country to be granted that audience by the emperor.⑥ Now, Juzheng Zhang finally obtained the power he desired and could do almost everything he wanted to reorganize and reform the national governance. ⑦ As to the relationship between the governing system and the person in charge of running this system, Juzheng Zhang believed that the system established by the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty was good enough. The reason that this whole system became less and less effective was that the people in power were not efficient and capable enough. Hence, the key point was to strengthen the personnel management.⑧ With this thought, firstly, Juzheng Zhang organized a very large scale of

① Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Three),280. ② Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Three), 237-238. ③ Mingmuzong Shilu, Volume 70, Yiyou, May, the 6th year of Longqing’s reign. ④ Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 2, Guiyou, June, the 6th year of Longqing’s reign. ⑤ Dongrun Zhu, The Great Biography of Juzheng Zhang, 123-129. ⑥ Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 2, Guiyou, June, the 6th year of Longqing’s reign. ⑦ Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book I),157. ⑧ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Six), 667. 8 inspection to the officials in the country in the next month after he was granted the audience by the emperor. From the high officials in the central government, such as the heads of the Cabinet, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of the Military, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites and so on, down to the officials in charge of the local finances, military forces, the clerks responsible for collecting taxes and the soldiers distinguishing themselves in the battle, there were about 883 people to have been promoted, punished, degraded, praised or regarded as capable of their work, according to the name or number record of Ming Shi lu. ① The actual number certainly exceeded it. This wide spread personnel regulation established solid foundation for his next reforms. Secondly, in November of the first year of Wanli’s Reign, Juzheng Zhang enforced his famous Law of Kaocheng, whose purpose was to really strengthen the supervision on the efficiency of the whole administrative system. This idea had already been proposed by Juzheng Zhang in his petition to the throne in 1568 and failed at last despite the fact that the related departments had set deadlines for the officials’ work. This time, with his unique power, endless patience and infinite determination, Juzheng Zhang made it realized, producing great effect on the tax collection. After a few years’ enforcement of this law, the taxes were collected on time and the government’ s finances became more and more sufficient.② What is worth to be pointed out is that the same law could not work well at all after Juzheng Zhang died. The combination of his wide and deep influence on the officials’ choosing and appointment and the Law of Kaocheng itself ensured the financial increase in Juzheng’ s period. With the emperor’s deep trust, with the wide influence on the government’s personnel, with the guarantee of the Law of Kaocheng, regardless of his personal interest and the criticisms from all sides, Juzheng Zhang made a series of financial reforms.

4.2 Achievements of Enriching the Country, Strengthening the Military Forces and Making the Common People Enjoy Their Lives

The basic purposes of all the reforms of Juzheng Zhang were firstly to ensure the Ming country to be rich in finances and powerful in military.③ What’s more is that he also wanted to help the common people live a peaceful life, for from the history he saw clearly that the country would be good if the common people lived a good life and that the country would be in danger if the common people had a miserable life.④ The question is how he could increase the revenue without putting too

① Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 3, From Jiashen to Renzi, July, the 6th year of Longqing’s reign. ② Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 111, Xinhai, April, the 9th year of Wanli’s reign. ③ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Four), 417. ④ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Five), 438. 9 much tax pressure on the common people. In a letter to a local official, Juzheng Zhang explained his thought and plan. He said that since the reign of Jiajing(1522-1566) the land annexation and the tax evasion or delinquency of the powerful local families made the public government poorer and poorer and the private big families richer and richer. Hence, he would make efforts to measure the exact tax lands so that the tax pressure on the common people was reduced and they could stick to their original career while the punishment of the corrupt officials and clerks would prevent the common people from the exploitation and thus they could make a peaceful living from the farming. Then he would reclaim the delinquent taxes to make the country rich. Besides these, to keep the frontier peaceful, to encourage frugality everywhere and to educate people with rite and morality were also part of his plan.① With the guidance of the above thought, Juzheng Zhang set about his reforms. The following issues were only part of them, more closely related with the finances. In the 3rd year of Wanli’s reign(1575), Juzheng Zhang regulated the government’s postal service system by cutting down its expenditures, ordering that no one could use the postal service unless it was government or military business and that even it was so the expenditures should be controlled carefully.② The reason for this regulation was that it had been too heavy a burden for the local people to provide food, horses and other things needed by this postal service and this regulation would reduce the burden to the lowest necessary level so that the common people would be relieved.③ For example ,in the 5th year of Wanli’ reign(1577) alone, this regulation saved about 400,000 Liang of silver, which was used to offset the local people’s taxes.④ In the 4th year of Wanli’s reign(1576)，Juzheng Zhang suggested to the emperor that the first and highest criterion to judge an official should be whether this official was considerate enough towards the common people so as not to bother them too much.⑤ Also in this year, considering the fact that the grains in the capital were enough for the usage of the next 7 or 8 years, Juzheng Zhang suggested to the emperor that 30 per cent of the grain tax of the next year should be collected in silver instead so as to save the transportation cost of the local provinces which suffered from heavy taxes or

① Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Four), 320. ② Shixing Shen, Ming Hui Dian(Revised in the reign of Wanli), (Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company,1989),763. ③ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Four), 365. ④ Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 69, Jiazi, November, the 5th year of Wanli’s reign.Note:From this year down to the10th year of Wanli’s reign, silver tax collected for the postal service was cut down from thousands to tens of thousands by the local government every year and these were kept recorded in Mingshenzong Shilu, and this paper will not give more illustrations due to the limited space. ⑤ Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 52, Dingyou, July, the 4th year of Wanli’s reign. 10 natural disasters.① This kind of indirect tax cuts occurred frequently when Juzheng was in power. From the 4th year to the 9th year of Wanli’s reign(1576-1581),Juzheng Zhang expanded the reform of the labor service system in the whole country. A local official in the early period of Jiajing’s reign(1522-1566) invented this improving method and its key purpose was to make the labor service more fair and equal to all the people.② From the 6th year to the 10th year of Wanli’s reign(1578-1582), Juzheng Zhang spared no effort to carry out the re-measurement of the tax lands of the whole country. This means to help the country reclaim the tax lands embezzled by the noble or powerful families. With the increase of the tax lands, the revenue would be restored and the burden of the common people would be lessened. Just like Juzheng Zhang said, it was a significant policy to equalize the tax burden of the country.③Just because it was against the interests of the noble, powerful or rich big families, the local governments refused to follow the order and until the 9th year of Wanli’s reign(1581), only Shandong Province finished the re-measurement.④ With the determination that if it was beneficial to the country he himself would be willing to die for it, Juzheng Zhang firmly pushed this work and as a result the tax land in the 10th year of Wanli’s reign (1582)increased a lot and was equal to 67 percent of the early Ming’s tax land.⑤ From the 8th year to the 10th year of Wanli’s reign(1580-1582), Juzheng zhang cancelled the redundant official posts in a large scale.⑥ About 20 to 30 30 percent of the officials in the whole country were reduced.⑦。The silver saved by this was also used to offset the tax of the local people.⑧ In the 9th year of Wanli’s reign(1581),considering that the finances became well-off, Juzheng Zhang started to remove some taxes in long-term arrears, which had a very complicated causes ,formed great pressure on the local people for a very long time and affected negatively the current tax collection. With the agreement of the emperor, about 2 million Liang of silver tax from the 1st year of Longqing to the 7th year of Wanli(1567-1579) were cancelled.⑨

① Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 52, Dingyou, July, the 4th year of Wanli’s reign. ② Mingshizong Shilu, Volume 123, Yiyou, October, the 10th year of Jiajing’s reign. ③ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Five),474. ④ Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 116, Yihai, September, the 9th year of Wanli’s reign. ⑤ Dongrun Zhu, The Great Biography of Juzheng Zhang, 272. ⑥ Bingwen Nan, “The Reform of Reducing the Redundant Officials of Juzheng Zhang and the Causes of His Failure”, Shixue Jikan, (7)2005:82-89. ⑦ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book eight),789. ⑧ Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 119, Renchen, December, the 9th year of Wanli’s reign;Volume 122, Bingxu, March, the 10th year of Wanli’s reign. ⑨ Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 121, Dingyou, February, the 10th year of Wanli’s reign. 11

4.3 The Death of Juzheng Zhang and Changes After His Death

In June of the 10th year of Wanli’s reign(1582), Juzheng Zhang died.① Things changed dramatically after his death. The next year after his death, all his positions and titles were deprived of.② When the great Eunuch Feng, who was in power for almost the same period as that of Juzheng Zhang, had his property confiscated, more than 1 million Liang of silver was found.③ However, Juzheng’s property in the capital was worth 10 thousand Liang of silver at most.④ In tracing the imagined huge property, the related official tortured Juzheng’s sons cruelly, resulting one son killing himself and another son doing so without success. The important financial reforms carried out by Juzheng Zhang were cancelled by the emperor.⑤

5. The Deeper Incentives of Juzheng Zhang’s Financial Reforms

The financial thoughts behind Juzheng Zhang’s reforms were simple and traditional, such as to strengthen the financial administration, to keep expenditures within the limits of income, to restore the legal revenue, and to be frugal in the spending. Yet how could these simple financial thoughts sustained Juzheng Zhang through the extensive reforms, which resulted in a richer country, strengthened military forces and more suitable life of the common people, went against the private interests from the emperor, the royal family to the local landlord families and cost him high prices of his individual life? Therefore it is necessary to explore his deeper source and motivation behind those financial thoughts.

5.1The financial ideas and successful examples in history---- the foundation of Juzheng Zhang’s confidence towards his financial thoughts Juzheng Zhang had been an official historian for a few times and often studied and analyzed the historic affairs and administration which were closely related with his current world.⑥ For example, Juzheng Zhang had read Yantie Lun in the Han Dynasty and learned its cutting down the expenditures to solve the financial difficulties.⑦ As to the governing system established by the first emperor of the Ming, Juzheng Zhang studied even more carefully and believed that it was much better than the systems of Han, Tang and Song Dynasties. ⑧ Also Juzheng Zhang completely accepted China’s ancient financial ideas that a country should keep expenditures within the limits of income and that three years’ income should produce a

① Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 125, Bingwu, June, the 10th year of Wanli’s reign. ② Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 135,Jiawu, March, the 11th year of Wanli’s reign;Volume 140, Wuwu, August, the 11th year of Wanli’s reign. ③ Dongrun Zhu, The Great Biography of Juzheng Zhang, 336. ④ Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 149, Gengchen, May, the 12th year of Wanli’s reign. ⑤ Dongrun Zhu, The Great Biography of Juzheng Zhang, 337. ⑥ Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 125, Bingwu, June, the 10th year of Wanli’s reign. ⑦ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Six),621. ⑧ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Five),438. 12 surplus equal to one year’s revenue.① These examples and ideas made him fully confident.

5.2The Confucian Classics----the Solid Foundation for Juzheng Zhang’s Outstanding Capabilities Juzheng Zhang thought highly of the Confucian classics and used their thought to guide his personal life and state affairs. He disliked the empty discussion about the Confucian thought. Instead he tried to put them into practice.② Finally, he achieved a very high level in the comprehension of the Confucian thought, suddenly seeing the light and obtaining a very profound insight.③ Hence he became quite willing to do the most trivial, insignificant and tangled things so as to connect his mind and brain with the practical world and pursue his true self.④

5.3The willingness to die for the country’s benefits---- Juzheng Zhang’s high ideological level The accomplishment in enabled Juzheng Zhang to regard the whole world as one family and the whole China as one person. ⑤ On the other side, he believed that the state affairs did not belong to one person or one family, and like many other excellent Confucian scholars, what he really cared about was the benefits of the whole country rather than the private interests of the royal family. He did what he thought right for the sake of the country and he stopped what he thought wrong for the sake of the country.⑥ In a letter to his friend, he said:”I sacrifice my family and my life for the country and yet there were still some people to criticize me. I do things even more firmly, regardless of them and hence obtained a little achievement.”⑦To achievement.”⑦To him, the standard of being a faithful official was to do things for the public state, regardless of his own interest. ⑧ As the highest official in the country, he swore to die for the country.⑨ His belief was so deep that it deeply influenced his descendants. In the last year of the Ming Dynasty(1644),when the peasant uprising troops invited Juzheng Zhang’s third son to be their official, this son committed suicide for the sake of his country.⑩

In conclusion, this study shows that Juzheng Zhang’s financial thought was very traditional and simple, and the reason that he could succeed in the

① Juzheng Zhang, Juzheng Zhang’s Petetions to the Throne(Book II),527. ② Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Four),402. ③ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Five), 520. ④ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Five),519. ⑤ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Five),519. ⑥ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Three),257. ⑦ Juzheng Zhang. The Complete Collection of Zhang Wenzhong Gong. (Book Five),451. ⑧ Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 2, Guiyou, June, the 6th year of Longqing’s reign. ⑨ Mingshenzong Shilu, Volume 76, Renyin, June, the 6th year of Wanli’s reign. ⑩ Dongrun Zhu, The Great Biography of Juzheng Zhang, 342-343. 13 reforms with such financial thoughts was firstly because of the peculiar highest political power that no other official could ever have before or after him in the Ming Dynasty. Also his strong belief and high achievements in the Confucian classics and the ambitions to enrich the country, strengthen the military forces ,and help the common people enjoy their lives were very significant elements for his success. His reforms decreased the interests of the powerful people for the survival of the country and the common people. Just because of this, with the end of his power due to his death, the reforms collapsed. Leading by the emperor himself, the private interest eroded the financial system and ruined it at last. From this study, it can be seen that the financial system of the Ming Dynasty aimed to collect tax as little as possible to keep the country running well and needed officials willing to work for the public instead of personal interest. This system matched perfectly well with the scholars specially educated by the Confucian classics. The basic conflict of this system was between the public and the private interests all through the Ming Dynasty.

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