Caoyun System Cáoyùn Xìtǒng 漕运系统

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Caoyun System Cáoyùn xìtǒng 漕运系统

For more than two thousand years caoyun was From the Qin dynasty to the Qing dynasty, a period the centralized transportation system used of about two thousand years, the caoyun system played by central governments of imperial China to an important role both politically and economically. The collect grain—an important form of tax lev- caoyun system was developed and improved throughout the major dynasties in between—the Han (206 bce– ied on agricultural land—and transport it to 220 ce), Sui (581–618 ce), Tang (618–907 ce), Song (960– locations such as capitals, the metropolitan 1279), Yuan (1279–1368), and Ming (1368–1644). garrison, the court, and the metropolitan bu- For instance, during the Han dynasty the Cao Qu reaucracy. Thecaoyun system consisted of wa- Channel was built, running parallel to the Wei River. ter transportation and land transportation. Hence, the distance of water transportation between the grain-producing areas and the capital city Chang An (Xi’an) was significantly shortened. The amount of grain tribute able to be shipped to the capital had once reached he centralized caoyun system of water and land trans- 6 million shi (1 shi is about 62.5 kilograms) a year. The av- portation was established during the Qin dynasty erage yearly amount was about 4 million shi, according to ( 2 2 1 – 2 0 6 bce) to meet the consumption needs of historian Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian. the government and military and to distribute grain as wel- Although the Sui dynasty spanned a relatively short fare to people who needed it. During a warring period with period, its contribution to the caoyun system was signifi- a neighboring tribe to the north, Qin Shi Huang— who was cant. The newly dug canals of Guang Tong, Tong Ji, Shan the first emperor of the Qin dynasty and unified China— Yang, and Yong Ji had connected five large rivers: Hai, ordered the Linqu Canal to be built. This canal connected Huang (Yellow), Huai, Yangzi (Chang), and Qiantang. the Li Jiang River in Guangxi and the Xiang Jiang River in As a result, a great water network was formed that was Hunan, enabling faster supplying of troops. maintained and expanded by the Tang, Song, Yuan, and By the late Qing dynasty (1644–1912), the caoyun sys- Ming dynasties. tem was out of use. One of the obvious reasons for its de- The caoyun system reached its maturity during the mise was the destruction of the Grand Canal during the Tang dynasty. The Grand Canal served as a lifeline to pro- lengthy civil war between Hong Xiuquan’s Taiping Heav- vide the grain needed by the central government and the enly Kingdom (1851–1864) and the Qing government. In capital city. The flow of grain was mainly from south to fact, in the late nineteenth century China’s moderniza- north and from east to west. tion and the increasing use of steamships and railways The Song dynasty had its capital at Da Liang (now made the caoyun system obsolete. Kaifeng city in Henan Province). The nearby four

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rivers—Bian, Huang, Huimin, and Guangji—were con- Nanjing and controlled a long segment of the Yangzi River nected to support he distribution of grain tribute. for more than ten years. The war destroyed many of the During the Yuan dynasty the caoyun system experi- major cities along the Grand Canal. The final blow to the enced a shift from shipment by rivers and the canal sys- caoyun system came from modern transportation by sea tems to shipment by sea. Two special caoyun offices were and by railway. In 1872 the Ship Bureau was established established. One office was responsible for gathering and in Shanghai. In 1911 a railway between Tianjin and Pukou transporting grain from all over the empire to the city of was opened. The grain tribute system officially ended in Zhongruan. The other office was responsible for shipping 1901. The demise of imperial China followed in 1912. the grain from Zhongruan to the capital city Dadu. Three Di BAI thousand ships were built for the grain tribute. The Grand Canal, connecting the Qiantang, Yangzi, Huai, Huang, and Hai Rivers, was in its grandeur during Further Reading the Ming dynasty. Staring in 1415 the Ming dynasty or- Bao Yanbang. (1996). Mingdai caoyun yanjiu [The study dered that all grain tribute had to go through the inland of Caoyun system in the Ming dynasty]. Guangzhou, rivers and canals. As a result, the grain transported via China: Jinan University Press. the Grand Canal system accounted for three-quarters of Cai Taibin. (1992). Mingdai caohe zhi zhengli yu guanli [The restoration and management of the grain tribute the total. At the time the Grand Canal ran through most canals in the Ming Dynasty]. Taipei, Taiwan: Taiwan of the major cities. Commercial Press. Like so many other Chinese institutions, the grain Hinton, H. C. (1956). The grain tribute system of China tribute system entered a period of crisis during the Qing (1845–1911) (Doctoral dissertation, Harvard Univer- dynasty. The First Opium War (1839–1842) between the sity, 1956). Qing empire and Great Britain severely damaged the Peng Yunhe. (1995). Ming Qing caoyun shi [The history Grand Canal, which was the lifeline of the Caoyun sys- of Caoyun system in the Ming and Qing dynasties]. tem. After that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occupied Beijing: Capital Normal University Press.

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